I’ve been doing these for about a year and really like them. My hair feels so much better from not being stripped by normal shampoo, that I don’t actually use the conditioner any more. Stays cleaner longer, cheap as hell, and good for the environment. I keep a gallon or two made at a time and keep a sport bottle in the shower as a dispenser.

Shampoo

• 1 T soda
• 1 cup water

1. Mix
2. Pour on hair, rub in like shampoo and rinse.
3. Follow up with vinegar rinse (recipe below)

Conditioner

• 1 T apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup of water

1. Mix
2. Pour over your hair after you are done washing it.
3. Rinse

• No. You won’t smell like a salad

Break-in Period and Why there is one

Here is the slight bad news. There is a break-in period. If you have been using regular shampoo for any period of time, there can be a break in period. Normal shampoo is a detergent (not soap). It strips your hair of oils. Now you have to use conditioner to make it feel nice. You scalp has to work extra hard to put the oil back, over does it and now your hair gets dirty faster. It’s a never ending cycle that leaves a really nice coating of gunk on your hair. So, when you first start washing with baking soda all that crap starts coming back off. But, it is a build-up and won’t come out after a single washing. You’ll think that the baking soda doesn’t wash your hair well – but not true. It’s all the old crap coming loose. So, you get done and your hair can feel matted and greasy for a while. For me, I think it lasted 5-7 washings. I felt like an oil slick. Just stick it out and eventually you’ll wash all that shit out and the angels will start to sing sonnets about your hair. If it gets bad you can do multiple washings or make a paste of baking soda and water and really scrub it in to hurry up the process.

Notes

• You can use it right away, but if mix up a gallon of it and let it sit for 3 weeks it seems to work extra well. Pour on hair, rub in like shampoo and rinse. Put enough on there until you can feel the mix getting kinda slick on your hair. Basically saturate your hair, rub it around and rinse it out.
• No. This will not foam. For me that was the hardest part of getting used to it. I am conditioned to thinking “foamy” means “clean. But, it doesn’t.
• Even after the break-in period your hair might not feel clean to you – since it’s not going to be “squeaky clean”. This is because you didn’t strip out all the natural oil that should be there. It’s just different and is your perception since you are probably used to foam and smelling like a fruit salad.
• Because this will not strip your hair of all it’s natural oils your hair will feel softer and stay cleaner longer. Seriously, I could go a week without washing it and it would never get oily or matted. Used to my hair would look dirty and limp at the end of a long day.
• Adding a few drops of essential oil to make it smell nice gave me headaches. If you scent it, use something that is made for scenting it. I don’t bother scenting it anymore. Instead, I just use Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint soap for body wash and get my “good smell” fix in that way.
• This is great for the environment. No creepy stuff down the drain
• Cheap. Really, really cheap!