I did not read it all~~can you use this method on colored hair?? I normally only wash my hair every 3-4 days. I do not use a lot of 'poo', I do not go for bubbles just cleaning, I do use a conditioner but not as much of that either, I think that is where they greasies come from.

I do love 'WEN' shampoo/conditioner together sold @QVC, but I am too cheap and lazy to buy it.

Have you tried this yet??

I just don't know if I could handle that. I work out on the farm and sweat a lot and get dirty, poop, hay, and assorted other things in my hair on a daily basis. It also picks up the Eau De' Barn scent.

In the winter, when I am not out in "it" as much - I don't wash my hair every day. I have curly hair and it does better if I don't wash it every day.

I do like the Dove shampoo! I buy it at WalMart.

She says it's safe for colored and, better for grey hair (as some shampoos can change the hair yellow).

I haven't tried it 100% yet, but I'm in the stage before going. I've gone to lower [sham]poo (containing less "offensive" ingredients) and, my idea: shampoo every other day so as to wean off.. and so that there are almost no chemicals in my hair.

That's the key to starting. Free of the sulfates, waxy stuff, etc. It's bite the bullet time or go back to the commercial way of doing things.

I'm pretty sure it's gonna work. I absolutely know the vinegar part works fantastically. It did things for my hair even when using the rest chemical.

I use DevaCurl No Poo Shampoo (along w their One Conditioner) most days, occasionaly using regular shampoo when I feel my scalp is needing it. I have also used Wei but it was too heavy for my long, wavy curly hair and would relax the curl out of it. I do usually shampoo every night because I workout & sweat a ton in the evening, after showering I go to bed w wet hair, wake up w perfect wavy curly hair w no work. I could not do that wash above and feel like it cleaned my scalp, I probably would not get the type of curl out of my hair w that wash. The No Poo has a cool, minty clean feel to it so I feel like it is clean. Ever since I found a particular stylist who specializes in curly hair & recomended the non-sulfate shampoo's, my hair has been unbelieveably easy to get what I want out of it.

For me I started using these non-shampoo formulas to get away from using sulfates, parabens and silicones. I am working towards eliminating harmful chemicals from my life. I studied Biochemistry alongside my Plant Sciences degree and now that I can afford products w/o all the harmful chemicals I am following what I believe in. ~ liz

I can see that iowagirl. She says this really does clean it, and to use essential oils on your brush for fragrance if you want that. I like being able to pick my scent? So maybe it's better for me? Dunno yet!

I cannot find any Dove shampoo that did what did :( I wish I could find it again. It was a bottle that was "flesh" toned. I've even tried looking for it online, and to no avail.

Yogalady, I saw Wen but you had to commit to ongoing order . Can you but just one bottle on QVC?

You can buy the Wen from Amazon and then if you like it get it from QVC. I have been tempted but that's out of my price range. If it works it might be worth it though.....

Here is a link that might be useful: Wen at Amazon

Be careful: I've read many many reviews that said Wen weighed hair down. I too was mesmerized by their ads, for the same reasons I'm going natural. So many negative reviews!

____________________________
By the way, I'm not trying to get anyone to join me on this no shampoo journey. I merely feel like Liz does (less chemicals) along with my hair already not needing anything to really maintain it too much. It's nice to be balanced some place! We're all different and do things in different ways.

:)

My DD gave me 3 bottles of 3 different hair types of the Wen~~~I liked it alot. My hair is wavy, curlie and straight. it did not weigh my hair down, you use different pump amounts for the length of your hair.

On QVC you do not have to commit to ongoing orders~~but when they have great sales, gals like to lock in their orders at that price. I am just lazy about ordering it.

I just use less of both the shampoo and conditioner, and I like my hair much better~~

When I was young, my DM, my sisters and I always rinsed our hair with vinegar in the water. I should get back to doing that.

Thanks for the reminder.

Sue

I just have a question about the vinegar rinse..do you smell like a salad afterward? And do you rinse with straight vinegar or should it be mixed half and half with water?

I've recently switched to Dove Intensive Repair and I can already see the difference..not as dry and more shine.

I just have a question about the vinegar rinse..do you smell like a salad afterward? And do you rinse with straight vinegar or should it be mixed half and half with water?

I've recently switched to Dove Intensive Repair and I can already see the difference..not as dry and more shine.

Vinegar is much too drying for my very fine hair.

I have switched to conditioner only(CO) "washing" about a year ago. I will tell you that I have extremely fine hair that is easily damaged and it was getting dry as hay so I tried the CO method and at first I didn't like it. I did a little more research and found that most of the people that are into it are using the cheap VO5 conditioner so I bought that and it's amazing really! It's less than a $1 a bottle. My hair was always extremely oily and had to be washed daily or it was an oil slick. Now I can actually skip a day and wash my hair every other day! For me that's saying something. I would highly recommend CO and use the VO5 cheap stuff, it's the best for the method.

WEN is just an expensive version of CO washing. If you feel better doing that because it's marketed for that then go for it but it's just really a waste of money IMHO. There's no big trick to it.

Your hair is very clean after using the CO method and will be less oily and you hair will be less fried on the ends. I've told a lot of friends about it and even though it's kind of all the rage, everyone I've told have not bothered to try it. But if it's on QVC though, then it's the bomb...LMAO!

I love WEN. Definitely worth the money.

The vinegar dissipates and there is no odor left.

So it sounds like you're uncovering the secret of Wen Arkansas! If you have typically oily hair, Wen likely weighs it down. But it's great for those who have drier hair. I bet all those bad reviews I read were oily hair people :)

I think the biggest thing that needs to happen with all shampoos is to get rid of sulfates. It's eating our hair up!

rob333, my hair used to be just fine and healthy, I used to perm my hair and bleach it and all sorts of stuff and had nice healthy hair. THEN WHAM...I don't know what happened but about the same time that Pantene came up with 50 zillion different varieties of shampoos and conditioners and Target has 20 feet of shelf space dedicated just to Pantene products is when I suddenly noticed that the products just didn't work anymore like they used to. Haven't shampoos always had sulfates? I don't know what happened to shampoos and conditioners about 15 or 20 years ago, but they haven't been worth a darn since if you ask me.

So you probably used to go through what I am going through... pick up one it says add volume. Nope. The next is, damage repair. Nope. So on and so forth... it's why I give up. They're all so "specialized", but none of them fit my need at all. I just want clean, nothing else. Sheesh! What really sucks--before Pantene went to that new line, they had a type in a smaller bottle that smelled heavenly and worked wonderfully!!!! I actually saved the shampoo and conditioner, using it only for special occasions, for at least ten, if not 15, years. I was so sad when it finally ran out. I hate the new Pantene. Miss the fragrance, but moreso, the way that shampoo worked. Had a huge gold top on it.

I do have to add that I liked Wen alot & I have oily hair it just weighed down my curl-wave too much. I love their scents, especially the Summer Tropical Mango mix! I did have to use alot more of the Wen than Devacurl to get it to feel clean. AND that ridiculous teeny pump on WEN is sooo annoying LOL I have hair down to my bra strap and it takes alot of tiny pumps to get enough product LOL! ~ liz

I could have sworn the title of this post read
"Anyone ever gone to the No Poo method?"
Am I going crazy??? (don't answer that LOL)

I'm off to try the CO approach with some cheapo conditioner I have.

Jodi-

My information of using the cheap VO5 conditioner came for reading some treads at the Long Hair Community forum...unfortunately, now you cannot even read their threads unless you are a member and you can't ever get a membership there because you sign up to register and no one ever approves the membership? Crazy...so anyway, after reading and reading and reading what everyone liked the best, the VO5 cheapy stuff was the all time winner by a landslide. So VO5 is not something that I, arkansasgirl, came up with....this is from the women that really do know because they have to have the best conditioned hair or else it's not going to grow down to their rears!

I have short hair and don't want it to grow down to my rear. In fact, don't even want it to grow down to my ears!

I did the CO and love it. Feels so soft and looks shiny. :-) I think I'm hooked. ... now, what will I buy with the money saved from not using shampoo ... oh, I know, a new camera. LOL

Jodi-

Well it wasn't my point that anyone wanted long hair to their rear, but I tell ya, if anyone can actually grow hair that long, they HAVE to be doing something right because I can't get my hair past my shoulder blades. It was so damaged from using regular shampoo and conditioners that I had to pretty much cut it all off to mid-neck length. Not attractive on me...at least IMHO...

I love your report Jodi, made me giggle. Buy something fun!

I used to put rinse out conditioner on after I got out of ths shower, and leave it. That also works amazingly. Just don't brush it until it dries, is the trick. I have long hair. It grows so fast, I can't really keep it short. I wish I could!

I had never heard about the Conditioner-Only method until I read it here yesterday. I then proceeded to Google (you can get to that long hair forum without a memebership if you go in thru google and a specific topic). I am intrigued and will definitely try it. Too bad I just bought new shampoo. Oh well. If it works I'll be a happy girl!

rob333, it's funny our similarities! I also USED to use a regular, Pantene conditioners as an after shower leave in conditioner. I would shampoo my hair as normal and towel dry my hair some and take the regular Pantene conditioner and squeeze about a scant dime sized portion of conditioner in my hand and rub my palms together and put it all over the ends of my hair. I did this for many years UNTIL...the dreaded change of Pantene when they invented a zillion different varieties. I can remember going to the store to buy my old staple conditioner that I'd used for years only to find it had been discontinued (now the story of my life) so I got whatever seemed like it was a replacement for it and it was not the same and since then I have never been able to replicate that same product.

This post was edited by arkansas_girl on Fri, Aug 9, 13 at 22:07

My daughter used Wen for awhile, then said it made her hair flat and oily so now she uses Dove and her hair looks great. She has longer, thicker and drier hair than me. I shampoo every evening and don't use conditioner regularly although I do have a conditioner for oily hair.

Bingo! That is it. And I'm tired of trying to replicate.

If this works, I can't see ever running out of baking soda or vinegar. So they won't be able to take it away again :)

Day 2, CO. I'm researching cameras. :-)

I use sulfate-free shampoo, though I am more concerned with parabens than sulfates. I have yet to find a chemical/preservative free shampoo and conditioner that I'm happy with.

I'm going to try Colure next. I heard one of the makers of Pureology (which I use now) makes it and it's even cleaner, plus it's made fairly locally. It claims "100% Non-Toxic organic chemistry means no sulfates, parabens, dyes, hyrdofluorocarbons, propanes, petrolatums, denatured alcohols, and butanes."

It's expensive but it takes me a while to go through shampoo despite my long hair because I only wash it a few times a week.

If you want that is silcone, dye, and paraben free, I have one (although, I'd swear it also says sulfate free on the label? ). It's Garnier's Pure Clean. It's pretty good. And it's inexpensive. It's the one I've chosen before going without shampoo altogether. I'm waiting until it runs out, which will be shortly. I would've thought last week, but it's looking like this week.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garnier Fructis-Pure Clean

I grew up in the country,and we were poor,only we didn't know that at the time.We used to wash our hair in spring water most of the time with ivory bar soap,and rinse it with vinegar water.In the summer time we'd stand out in the rain with our ivory soap,and washour hair with rain water and soap,Shampoos were always followed with a vinegar water rinse.Our hair never suffered one little bit.

We are native americans,so we all had long beautiful hair..
We never ever had conditioner as we know it today,and our hair is still very healthy.

I do use shampoo and conditioner now,but never buy the expensive stuff.My beautician tried to talk me into some of that expensive stuff from the salon,but I told her this head of hair survived ivory soap and spring/rain water,so I really don't think I need that stuff.
Kathi

Speaking of "poo" ...

... does anyone remember the picture of the bear asking the rabbit whether it bothers him/her when s/he gets poo in her fur ...

... and when the rabbit said that it didn't - the bear grabbed the rabbit. To take care of the necessaries.

Hi Iowa Girl (vintage 2006),

Having had lots of farm work to do when the hired men went to World War II when I was 10, I know what you mean by your reference to "Eau de Barn".

By the way ... as I consider that reference ... those are my initials!

I've been using a large bottle of shampoo (or "poo" if you prefer) that I got at a low price on special, years ago ... so long, that the (plastic, of course) bottle has cracked with age and I'm going to have to transfer the remaining amount into another container or have it leak all over the cupboard.

When you have a limited amount of hair ... you don't need much 'poo per (occasional) use.

ole joyfuelled ... who has tried to avoid the eau de barn for eons

DevaCurl is a bit expensive, I usually get the No Poo 32oz from Amazon -free shipping- for $35-38. but it brings out the beautiful curl in my hair which I have spent years hating & fighting LOL. Even better I wash it at night, put in leave in conditioner and an oil (both Loreal Curl) and that is it, go to bed w wet hair, wake up w magazine cover ready hair w/o doing anything else and spending no time which is PRICELESS to me. I don't need mousse, gels, hair spray nothing...execpt a hair cut from my stylist who specializes in curly hair. I haven't even used my hair dyer this year yet LOL! The curl infact looks 10x better than if I do dry it. ~ liz

Okay...I admit...I didn't read all of the responses. The two days to a week between shampoos......I don't see as a big deal. I often go several days without washing my hair. I don't think I am any nastier than most of you. Well, maybe I am. I also don't buy expensive shampoos. I think my hair is one of my better features. I have "good" hair.

I think many of us are after using less or no chemicals. Or a reduction in price, but less of an objective than the chemical part. I for one, and tired of my hair being stripped down by shampoo. I have pretty good hair, and it'd be nice if I could get I clean without adding damage. Does that make sense? I hope so!

update:

We still aren't 100% shampoo free. We cut down to only washing every other day, and then substituting every other of those with baking soda. I've gotten to where I look forward to a fully baking soda cleansing routine. I certainly like it even better than days when I shampoo (the one which was chemical free). We have finally run out of the chemical free shampoo and now it is time to be 100%.

My son's hair was crazy oily all the time (no matter what type of shampoo or how often he cleaned it). He'd get out of the shower and it'd still look greasy?! Going this route has sent him back to the non-greasy days, AND his face acne has reduced. His hair is so soft. He loves it.

Me? I love it. I feel like my hair so much less stressed. And people keep offering compliments without my asking. People who have no reason to talk to me about my hair, e.g. someone standing behind me in church and we've never talked about hair? So I think that's pretty unbiased. No one knows in real life knows we've done, except on this forum (and anyone reading it). When it gets to the point someone says, I really love how great your hair looks! What's your secret? Then I'll know I have "arrived". It's getting there. I appreciate the feedback y'all gave me before trying it. What was really cool? It was super easy to get through camping this weekend. I washed it before we went out and then this morning. But it was fine all weekend! Let me focus on the more fun stuff.

____________________
Jodi, did you stay conditioner only? How's that going?

It's official!

So D was in our meeting today, but wasn't in our last meeting (where I talked about this to everyone) and she quipped, across the room, "Robin, I don't what you've done but I like your hair! what did you do to it?" Everyone laughed. She couldn't believe I quit using shampoo. She even smelled my hair to see if she could tell I'd used vinegar on it. Nope, just smelled clean to her.

Woohoo!

So? Did you keep it up? I just quit shampoo three weeks ago. I am doing 1 tsp baking soda and apple cider rinse at the end. The first week, my hair was off? My hair didn't feel very good but I made it through the transition and now it is fine. I was getting hair loss like crazy two months ago and now only a couple of strands are falling out:).

Sad to say, I did not keep it up. Too much of a traditionalist I guess.

Yes, I continue to do this. It's fantastic to have fewer chemicals and better hair. I can pull any kind of rubberband out of my hair without it getting tangled. Less hair in the brush. I won't go back. In fact, I later quit soap on my body, I use cleansing oils. as of this next week, I'm going to soap free face!

I'll give this a try, but I don't think I can make myself call it "the No Poo Method".

I'll wait until a morning when I'm not headed into work...

At any rate, I've used the vinegar/rinse/baking soda trick for the armpits when I ran out of deodorant. Works for me... (well, no one's complained...)

PS, rob333, what's a "chemical-free" shampoo? I hate to say, water is a chemical.

I have very dry skin and quit soap on my body about five years ago. It made no sense to wash off my skin oils and then apply lotion. I do soap armpits and other select body parts daily. If I'm dirty from gardening or have been swimming, I soap. I loofah off dead skin cells a few times a week. I still wash my face but I have skipped it a few times. I wish I could say my skin was less dry, but I've noticed no difference. I haven't gone shampoo free but I'd like to try the vinegar rinse.

I'm not trying to be chemical free. If said that, I'm wrong. Reduced. And certainly not full of silicone, lye, and the like.