12 Projects in 2013 {Go "Poo-Free"}

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I would like to say that I am a health conscientious person. The reality is that I am just a cheapskate at heart who likes healthy stuff, but errs on the side of cheapness.

So when I read in Tsh Oxenreider's ebook One Bite at a Time about skipping conventional shampoo and conditioner for baking soda and cider vinegar, I was intrigued. Not so much by all the facts on why shampoo is bad for you {to my own shame}... more just out of sheer curiosity and the desire to cross one more product off of my shopping list. Told you; cheapskate at heart.

This spring I finally decided to give it a go when I ran out of my regular bottle of shampoo. I mixed a tablespoon of baking soda with a cup of water in an old squeeze bottle, and a tablespoon of cider vinegar with a cup of water in another. Voila, my new shampoo and conditioner!

What most surprised me at first is that my hair still got squeaky clean when I scrubbed it- the literal squeaky noise it makes, if you know what I mean.

Unfortunately, my hair seemed a little coated and strange in texture. Maybe it was years of shampoo build-up that takes time to come off? Maybe my hair took a little longer to adjust than most people's. Maybe I needed to mix a different amount of baking soda to water. Maybe my pregnancy hormones interfered. Or maybe I should try the alternate no-poo method of just scrubbing down my head with a tablespoon of soda, more like a paste in consistency.

Regardless, about six weeks into my experiment, I still wasn't in love with my new hair. When I went on bed rest, I decided to just buy another bottle of shampoo. Because when I am on bed rest, I need to feel as clean and pretty as I can get. Also, my licensed beautician mother was coming out to help us, and I just wasn't brave enough to fess up to my experiment if I hadn't worked out the kinks.

Other observations: I shed drastically less while washing my hair with soda. I also needed to use less shampoo, less frequently, when I went back to regular shampoo.

I will say that apple cider vinegar is the best conditioner I have ever used. My hair felt smooth and was basically tangle free. My hair-styling mama even vouches for its excellence {and she is a self-proclaimed hair products snob}.

I still want to try this experiment again- because it is probably much healthier for me, and I would still like to cross shampoo off of my shopping list permanently. My plan is to give it another go a couple of months postpartum, giving my hormones a chance to normalize first.

Have you ever gone shampoo-less? I would love to hear about your experience {especially as I prepare to try it again}! What method did you use? Were the results everything you'd hoped for?