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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Has anyone ever tried baking soda to clean their hair?
I don't mean sprinkling it on the roots when you don't have time to shampoo. I mean as a regular means of washing your hair.
My hair gets so oily and falls out so much, and I've read online that going natural and using baking soda/water to clean your hair, and apple cider vinegar/water to condition it helps a lot with controlling oil and hair loss. (They say it can take a couple of weeks of less-than-stellar hair for your pH to balance out so the oils are controlled.)
Anyone tried this? I'm seriously considering at least experimenting with it.
Re: Has anyone ever tried baking soda to clean their hair?
I haven't done baking soda, but I've been experimenting with no-poo and co-washing. Basically I just cut out all the silicone products because those require the harsher detergents to get out - I think you'd have to do that to use baking soda too. And then I wash my hair with conditioner or just massage my scalp with water and then condition. But I have curly hair and only washed my hair every other day with regular shampoo anyway. I was going to try the baking soda and apple cider vinegar, but I read that it was too drying for curly hair, so that's why I started trying different stuff.
Finding products without silicone can be frustrating though. I've been reading on naturallycurly.com and they have a good product review page that can search for products based on no-silicone or whatever you're trying to avoid: http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlproducts/search
I have to say, I've had some great hair days in the week I've been trying this.
Hmm. Seeing as though it's perpetual summer here, perhaps it won't work optimally for me. But I'll give it a try. I'm glad to hear you're having relatively good success with it so far. Luckily, I don't have to leave the apartment most of the time, if I don't want to, so if my hair looks like crap, I can hide.
Jen, I read that if it gets too dry, you just lessen the amount of baking soda you add to the water. I just have such fine hair, and it's thinning out so much as I get older, I want to try to cut out all of the chemicals to see if it helps. (I may have to embrace my gray hairs as well!)
I started doing it about 2 weeks ago because my scalp is always super dry and itchy. Dandruff shampoos and TSal weren't helping, so I decided to go this route. So far it has REALLY helped with the dryness and itching. Even when I sleep on it wet it doesn't bother me at all. My hair has been pretty oily, which I guess is the transition period. On the other hand, it has not been frizzy at all so I've been able to wear it down in it's natural curly state which I haven't done in the summer in a long time.
I'm going to give it a few weeks to see if the oil situation evens out before swearing by it.
Collin Thayne 10.11.2010
I've been doing it for about 6 months now. I read about it on the Fashion & Beauty board and then found info and instructions on the Crunchy Betty blog (http://crunchybetty.com/no-poo-to-you-too)
I started doing it just as a "treatment" to rebalance my scalp and get my hair back to normal because somewhere along the line it had gotten to the point that it just always felt either too dry or too oily. I'm still doing it, though, because I LOVE it. My hair is awesome now! And it's so easy and cheap! (Big box of baking soda at HEB = $1.99 -- thats MONTHS of "shampoo" lol)
My hair was in a short bob when I started and I think that factored in to my not really having a significant "gross hair" period in the beginning. It was frizzier than normal at first, and when I first started washing with baking soda it wouldn't like it was doing anything in the shower - but as soon as I towel dried I could tell a difference.
I don't do the apple cider vinegar conditioner because my hair is very fine and it just hasn't seemed to need it.
My hair is shoulder length now and I use 2 Tbs baking soda : 2 cups water. I keep a plastic sports bottle in the shower and just shake to mix it up and squirt/pour it on it portions, focusing on my roots and hairline all the way around.
I think it's just that the "adjustment process" takes longer in summer-like weather, not that it won't eventually work effectively.
Do you use the entire 2 TB BS and 2 C water each time, or is that what you mix up and use it until it's gone? I'm still trying to find the right balance on the BS. I think that's what my issue the last few days has been - too much BS, so my roots feel dry.
i think i may ask about this on my moms' forum. we have a lot of people who are in to green cleaning and beauty. i'm very interested in this as my hair has been changing and i am not finding a routine that i am enjoying.
as far as the vinegar, does it detangle? how would you say it works as a conditioner?
grrr. nest ate my post
ia m going to post about this on my moms' forum. there are A LOT of folks who use alternative/green cleaning and grooming methods. i'm curious for more feedback.
as far as the vinegar conditioner, how does that work as a conditioner? i mostly use it to detangle.
I use that entire amount each time. When I started I was using the 1 TB BS + 1 C water recommended on the Crunchy Betty blog. As I was able to go longer without washing my hair and as my hair got longer I increased the amount.
What I've read is that the key is to not do any MORE than 1 TB BS per cup of water - it seems to be alright to alter that ratio to use a little less BS if you need to, but increasing the BS without increasing the water in the ratio seems to give everyone problems!
Apparently, the baking soda opens up the hair cuticle, and the vinegar closes it back up, to keep it softer, and prevents it from getting damaged.
KNJepp, I haven't been using the whole solution. Just enough to soak my entire scalp, and then distribute it through the rest of the hair.
It also has to do with the pH. The baking soda cleanses/clarifies your scalp, and helps with the pH of harder water (which is what a lot of the chemicals in shampoo are supposed to be doing). The vinegar is supposed to be more like the pH of your hair, so it returns it to the proper pH. You're only supposed to use the vinegar on the ends though, not your scalp.
If you color your hair at all, I would advise against it. You should not be clarifying your hair every.single.day. It should be done every week, or two. Doing so, will dry your hair out..but Ive never done it, so I cannot speak from personal experience, professionally I would not recommend it.
ETA: Just re-read your post. What kind of shampoo are you currently using? If it is a clarifying, then your body is over producing oils because you keep stripping it away. Therefor it doesnt think you are making enough. If you are using Tresseme, or Pantene, those have a lot of wax products in them. So its creating a buildup of oils, also making hair appear oily & also throwing off the balance of your scalp.
Your hair falling out could be natural shedding. You should be losing about 100-300 strands a day. If you are pulling out handfuls of hair, and have bald spots forming, then you need to see your doctor. Shedding is perfectly natual, especially if you have had a change in hormones (pregnancy), new bc pills, or even medications. I wouldent worry unless you develop bald spots, or very thin areas.
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It's definitely not natural shedding. I seem to lose hair at a normal rate, but much of it isn't regrowing. I have very fine hair, and the hair on top and sides is markedly thinner than it was 10 years ago, and you can see my scalp. I had the same hair dresser for 5 years, and she could see it happening. I have seen doctors, had hormone and vitamin deficiency testing, etc. etc. etc. I haven't been pregnant for 5 years, no new meds, don't take BC. Believe me, I know all of this. I've been trying to find an answer for years. The only two things I can think of are diet and hair products. I've been working on the diet, so now I'm turning to what I'm using on my hair. I rarely use styling products anymore, and never blow dry. I color my hair, but I'm totally lazy about it. I maybe color 2-3 times per year. And I do plan on stopping the coloring to see if that helps, even though I don't color very often.
(Sorry, didn't mean to ramble--just wanted to give you examples of all of the things I've examined.)
Not at all. The vinegar is heavily diluted, and then you rinse it out. Maybe you might smell slightly pickle-like if you were using regular, white vinegar, but not with the apple cider vinegar.
Apple cider vinegar is also a good deodorant. I wasn't sure what to think about it, and was scared I would smell like vinegar all day, but it really works.
Nanner - has your thyroid been checked? Hair loss is a symptom of thyroid problems.
Click it if you can't say it!
From what you explained, I truly think it is a medical condition. When hair falls out, the hair root dies..then it regenerates. When the hair does not regenerate there is an underlying issue. It could be genetics (male pattern baldness), medical issues (pregnancy, thyroid) or medications. If the issue is products you use, it would be more like an allergic reaction, ie rash.
What has your hair stylist said about it? What products has she recommended? There are some products like Nioxin that is meant to help promote hair growth and slow down the loss.
I wish I was more educated, and could help more.