Baking soda & vinegar - I finally did it!

[MIch elle]

I washed my hair today with baking soda & water and rinsed with white vinegar. My hair came out fine!

 

I read about all the chemicals in cosmetics, etc. in Time magazine and decided to finally try soda/vinegar.

[jenniferlee]

I've been doing this now for a few months and I love it!

[Melissa in FL]

I'm glad it worked for you! I tried it but it dried my curly hair out really bad. I would love to have something like that to use.

Melissa

[bookfiend]

I have never heard of this, a few questions if you don't mind.

 

1) Do you wash your hair everyday?

2) Did it smell like vinegar after drying?

3) How much baking soda did you use? Do you make a paste?

 

I would be willing to give this a try. It sounds intriguing

[MIch elle]

I washed my hair everyday for my whole life until about 2 yrs ago. Now I wash it every other day.

 

I put baking soda in the palm of my hand while I was in the shower and rubbed it into my wet hair. I did this twice and let it sit while I washed my body. I rinsed throughly then poured vinegar into my palm and poured it over my hair 2x and rinsed with water.

 

The ladies on this board have been talking about this method for several years but I never tried it. They say that it usually takes time for your hair/body to adjust but usually your hair will be nicer with this method than w/ traditional shampoo/conditioner.

 

It's cheaper, less toxic, and better for the environment too!

 

Search these boards and Google for "No Poo" and you'll find lots of info.

Edited July 14, 2010 by MIch elle

[cjzimmer1]

Good job, I started it about 2 years ago. I'm totally hooked on it now. It did take about 2 months for my hair to stabilize so don't give up right away. A couple of other pointers: White vinegar dried my hair out pretty fast, apple cider vinegar (with the the mother like Braggs brand for instance worked better) also diluting it in water helped keep the vinegar smell from getting to strong and still left my hair nice and shiny. I've added coconut oil as my leave in conditioner and my hair has never been softer. Most of my split ends are completely gone.

 

I switched to save money but I found out my hair is much heathier than using the chemical soups the stores sell.

[jazzyfizzle]

:lurk5:

 

Interesting! I feel funny asking, but how do you keep the box from getting wet? Or did you transfer it to another container, but if that got wet, would it clump up?

What does the hair do while it is 'stabilizing'?

[In The Great White North]

Has anyone with swimmers tried this?

[Food4Thought]

I hope it works better for you than it did for me! I tried it a few months back, and even went for a full month - doing a tea rinse since the vinegar made me break out in hives.

 

Unfortunately, it totally didn't work for my hair type - I ended up really greasy and gross, even after that initial adjustment period. I had to go back to regular shampoo and conditioner, but I only wash twice a week.

[skywards]

I have never heard of this, a few questions if you don't mind.

 

1) Do you wash your hair everyday?

2) Did it smell like vinegar after drying?

3) How much baking soda did you use? Do you make a paste?

 

I would be willing to give this a try. It sounds intriguing

 

What I did was I measured I think a table spoon of each and put them in little like 7 ounce sippy cup type cups. Then I took those in the shower with me and put some water in with them, so it would be easier to apply to my head :tongue_smilie:. I just filled the cup half way to three quarters full, and dumped it all over my head basically.

 

No, it doesn't smell like vinegar, and it works best if you use it every 2 or 3 days. After awhile, you'll really see the benefits and will have clean, shiny, non smelly hair. I've done it for quite some time now and frequently get compliments. :)

 

Oh, and I use apple cider vinegar, not regular white vinegar.

[harris]

What does the hair do while it is 'stabilizing'?

Mine feels sticky for a few days, especially when wet. It's the old shampoo breaking down. Yuck!

[Lawana]

:lurk5:

 

Interesting! I feel funny asking, but how do you keep the box from getting wet? Or did you transfer it to another container, but if that got wet, would it clump up?

What does the hair do while it is 'stabilizing'?

I keep a huge bag of baking soda and a gallon jug of apple cider vinegar under the bathroom sink, then transfer small amounts to plastic snack cups to take into the shower. I add water to both cups: makes the baking soda into a thin paste, and dilutes the vinegar. Don't get vinegar into your eyes.!!!

My hair just felt a little oily until it "stabilized."

[gaillardia]

Huh? You do what?

I want to. What's the formula?

This is awesome. I have never colored my hair and used to get perms a very long time ago.

Apple cider vinegar, baking soda.

I'll search it out on 'net.

Thanks!

[sheryl]

I washed my hair today with baking soda & water and rinsed with white vinegar. My hair came out fine!

 

I read about all the chemicals in cosmetics, etc. in Time magazine and decided to finally try soda/vinegar.

 

Yes, Michelle, that's right. There are nasty chemicals in ALL soaps: hand bar, hand liquid, clothes detergent, dishwasher, hand dish, shampoo, etc. I switched to natural bar/bath soap a year ago and just switched my shampoo and conditioner 2 months ago.

 

To everyone, my RN friend said, sls is NOT good....stay away from it.

 

Now, I researched making my own bar soap, but it seems sooooooooo time consuming. I would like to make my own though along with my own clothes washing detergent.

[eaglei]

Can this be used with permed hair or will it ruin the perm?

[Laura in CA]

Cool! I tried it today and am very excited about it. My hair feels great. Thanks for posting! I would *never* have thought of doing this ;-)

 

 

~Laura

[FaithManor]

I have my hair highlighted...will it do something awful, turn my hair green??????

 

I'd love to do this. I'm sick of how my scalp is affected by regular shampoos and conditioners and the organic stuff I buy is horridly expensive.

 

Faith

[Punchie]

I regularly highlight my hair (blond and red), and I've never had any problems w/the bs/acv wash. As w/a pp, I keep a large box of bs, and jug of acv under my bathroom sink. I eyeball the amounts, so it can vary. When I first started, I tried to make a paste w/the bs, but it didn't work. Now I make it very runny, flip my hair upside down, pour it through sections of my scalp, and rub. Rinse out, then pour diluted acv over it and rinse out again. To help w/shine, do a cold rinse. I wash my hair 2x a week. There are times, I'll use an sls-free shampoo when a quick shower is necessary.

 

As for the adjustment time when I started (over a yr ago), it was about a month. My scalp overproduced and there was a bunch of gunk initially.

[MIch elle]

Good job, I started it about 2 years ago. I'm totally hooked on it now. It did take about 2 months for my hair to stabilize so don't give up right away. A couple of other pointers: White vinegar dried my hair out pretty fast, apple cider vinegar (with the the mother like Braggs brand for instance worked better) also diluting it in water helped keep the vinegar smell from getting to strong and still left my hair nice and shiny. I've added coconut oil as my leave in conditioner and my hair has never been softer. Most of my split ends are completely gone.

 

 

My hair is not greasy this morning. But it's also use to not being washed everyday. My hair feels NO different than if I had washed & conditioned it with my shampoo for color-treated hair. Yes, I did blow dry my hair after the baking soda/vinegar wash. (I usually blow dry my hair or it comes out dry & wavy/frizzy looking.)

 

I'll try apple cider vinegar tomorrow. I have plenty of that in the house. My ds was using it on his face for pimples but it didn't work for him so I'll use that bottle on my hair.

 

Yes, I used the cardboard baking soda box in the shower. I leave the box on the edge of the tub outside the shower curtain. But I only did this once so it may get wet and I'll have to switch to a plastic bag.

[MIch elle]

I have my hair highlighted...will it do something awful, turn my hair green??????

 

I'd love to do this. I'm sick of how my scalp is affected by regular shampoos and conditioners and the organic stuff I buy is horridly expensive.

 

Faith

 

My hair is color-treated. I did have foils for highlighting but stopped that a a while back because my hair was getting to light so now every 3rd month my hair dresser uses low-lights on my hair.

 

My hair looks the same but I only did this soda/vinegar thing once so far.

[MIch elle]

Cool! I tried it today and am very excited about it. My hair feels great. Thanks for posting! I would *never* have thought of doing this ;-)

 

 

~Laura

 

We'd like to know how it goes over several weeks.

 

I may have to switch back to shampoo IF my hair starts to look bad because I have my niece's wedding next week.

[MIch elle]

Yes, Michelle, that's right. There are nasty chemicals in ALL soaps: hand bar, hand liquid, clothes detergent, dishwasher, hand dish, shampoo, etc. I switched to natural bar/bath soap a year ago and just switched my shampoo and conditioner 2 months ago.

 

To everyone, my RN friend said, sls is NOT good....stay away from it.

 

Now, I researched making my own bar soap, but it seems sooooooooo time consuming. I would like to make my own though along with my own clothes washing detergent.

 

I knew about the chemicals for years but chose not to do much about it but that Time magazine article plus all the previous posts over the years about the "no-poo" method helped me to try soda/vinegar.

 

My sister makes & sells her own natual soap line. It's called Apricot Hills.

[LuvToRead]

I use baking soda on my colored hair. Baking soda is especially good at getting waxy styling products out. I have found that vinegar dries out my hair. I have very fine, over processed hair. I don't think it would dry out everyone's one, but it does mine.

[eaglei]

Does anyone know whether you can use the baking soda/vinegar on permed hair - will it destroy the perm or will it be okay?

[jazzyfizzle]

OK, after searching around the net last night after reading about this, I gave it a try today. I read in several places that the baking soda dissolved in water beforehand worked best for many people, so I did that. I used the vinegar on the ends only. Wow. My hair feels wonderful and light. We have hard water and do have a softener, but it makes the water just adequate at best. I always feel like my hair is heavy and weighed down. After the baking soda it felt great! I think I will keep trying it, hope it stays this way. Thanks!

[Slartibartfast]

Does this work with curly hair?

 

I have coconut oil, should I just use a bit of coconut oil afterwards?

 

I have been doing the curly girl method for a bit.

[proverbs356lady]

What is sls? I'm not familiar with the negative effects of shampoos and conditioners. Guess I should do some research. May try the baking soda/apple cider vinegar myself. Very interesting thread.

[Lawana]

What is sls?

sodium laureth sulfate

[Giraffe]

A little confused - I have long, straight, oily hair. I have to work shampoo into my scalp to get the oil out. All y'all are making it sound like you just pour the baking soda solution over your heads. That would do just about nothing on my oily scalp. Do you work it in at all? Or does this not work for oily scalps?

[cjzimmer1]

Does this work with curly hair?

 

I have coconut oil, should I just use a bit of coconut oil afterwards?

 

I have been doing the curly girl method for a bit.

 

I just melt a bit in my fingers and rub it through the lower third of my hair (I have hair well past my waist) to get extra moisture to the areas that have been long since dried out and full of split ends. After 2 years i have very few split ends anymore (I don't cut or trim my hair so they used to be a problem)

 

A little confused - I have long, straight, oily hair. I have to work shampoo into my scalp to get the oil out. All y'all are making it sound like you just pour the baking soda solution over your heads. That would do just about nothing on my oily scalp. Do you work it in at all? Or does this not work for oily scalps?

 

 

My hair gets oily at the scalp and I have horrible dryness at the ends. I make a paste of the baking soda and pour it on the hair closest to the scalp. I do scrub it into the scalp a bit before rinsing.