"No-poo" movement. Seriously, wash my hair with vinegar?

[Taverner]

Why don't I add tuna fish for extra sheen?

[LiberalEsto]

1. Both apple cider vinegar and lemon juice

have been mixed into water and used as a final rinse by women for decades (or longer).
I wouldn't use straight vinegar - maybe a couple of tablespoons in a pint of water.

One word of caution - if you do use tuna, be prepared to be followed by many, many cats.

[longship]

2. Remember rinsing with beer?

Or eggs? Or mayonnaise, which has both vinegar and eggs.

Myself, I'm going to try bacon. Could start a new fad.

[Taverner]

12. Theoretically, bacon should work

Bacon and water, emulsified with vigorous shaking

[Eleanors38]

26. One furmula for Cats, the other Dogs.

[RebelOne]

20. I used to use beer as a setting lotion

as it gave my fine hair body. I don't drink the stuff, but it is great for hair.

[Hekate]

22. Seriously, what about that brewery smell? nt

[shraby]

3. It's used as a rinse after shampooing. It removes any soap residue and leaves the hair nice

and shiny and squeaky clean.

[winter is coming]

6. +1. I rinsed my hair with a vinegar/water solution when I had the teenage greasies.

It really helped, and no, my hair didn't smell of vinegar afterwards.

[Whisp]

4. well, I know vinegar does a great job on windows instead of Windex.

just thinking of all the money wasted on stupid windex when white vinegar is almost free. sucker

[enough]

11. Absolutely. Works better than any commercial glass cleaner I've ever used. (nt)

[Taverner]

13. But then your windows smell like vinegar!

Vinegar is not a pleasant smell, I might add

[madokie]

19. Too you maybe

I kind of like the smell of vinegar.
I use vinegar to clean the car window,s house window and especially the pellet stove window and I've not noticed a vinegar smell lingering at all.

[Liberal_in_LA]

36. vinegsr smell doesnt linger

[Taverner]

40. Alls I knows is that I was told to drink a pint of vinegar to beat a drug test

And I did, and I didn't

And I puked holy hash browns

[FrodosPet]

46. What's the best way to beat a drug test?

Don't use drugs!

Refraining opens doors and saves a LOT of money.

[Scootaloo]

61. Do you go around sniffing windows?

[laundry_queen]

34. Water and a microfibre glass cloth work even better.

And no smell.

I'm one of those who occasionally uses vinegar to clean, but cannot STAND the smell (yet I do enjoy it on my fries, go figure). So I found some microfiber glass polishing cloths, and a regular dollar store microfiber cleaning cloth. I wipe with the dollar store one, and shine with the glass polishing one. Water only. I find it works even better than vinegar or Windex. I have had zero streaks, even on the mirrors my youngest daughter has put her dirty, greasy handprints all over. I have this huge Costco jug of Windex that was given to me a few years ago by someone who switched to vinegar (before I did) and I have NO idea what to do with it.

[notadmblnd]

55. I've used vinegar for windows and mirrors. I don't like it because

it leaves your house smelling like a bunch of old ladies at a douche convention.

[Whisp]

63. lol! when were you at that convention?

and why?

I don't like the smell too much either but it doesn't last long.

I might try water and microfibre cloth like laundry_queen recommends.

[notadmblnd]

64. I worked for Massengel for a while so..... No, I kid.

If you are gong to use water for windows, glass or mirrors, try it like this..use a wet sponge with a scrubbie side to loosen dirt like toothpaste spit, smashed bug guts, globs of soap and fingerprints, then rinse.

Then take a squeegee and remove the water while wiping the blade of the squeegee after each swipe. Stand back at look at the glass for streaks (if any), then remove the streaks with a clean, dry micro fiber. Note: The dirtier the micro fiber and squeegee becomes, the more time you will spend wiping streaks so it is important to loosen and rinse the dirt initially. Also the microfiber cloth shouldn't be too old because after several washes the fibers wear down and aren't effective. It should be a nice soft cloth.

I clean for a living and the less time I spend cleaning something, the more money I make so I do invest time in finding easier ways to remove dirt.

In theory, one should be able to clean an entire house with just plain water. I don't like to because it does take more time and there is no clean scent.

I was surprised when I found out how many of the people I clean for, decide how clean their house feels to them by how it smells. So yes, they can smell vinegar when they walk in their house as the scent does not quickly abate even though you may not smell it because your nose became accustomed to it after about 15 minutes.

The following are the current products I use to clean

Lysol Toilet Bowl cleaner with peroxide
Lysol Multi purpose with peroxide (good for pet stains and tile floors)
Ajax for scrubbing tubs, sinks and tile grout
Window cleaner with ammonia because it does cut grease.
Bleach for mildew- for those that don't leave their shower doors open to dry out.

Tools I use are vacuum, broom, flat mop, Ostrich feather duster (no, not one of those swifter things, they have a stick running up through the middle of them and too many things get knocked over and broke) Ostrich feathers have a natural oil that grabs the dust and cleaning blinds with it is a quick easy task. They are also good at getting paper towel dust off mirrors and glass after they have been cleaned.

When I go into a room, the first thing I do is dust up high, cobwebs in corners and on ceilings, while that settles, I do blinds and window sills. After that, a damp microfiber for surfaces like coffee tables and knick knacks, etc. Then it's time to do the glass. After that, vacuum furniture if necessary and finish up with floors vacuum and mopping.

For hard wood floors, I use plain hot water- as hot as I can stand it along with a flat mop wrung out as tightly as possible so the wood dries quickly and without water marks. Again getting it streak free depends on how well you remove the dirt initially.

With these products, tools and methods, I and my partner can clean a two bedroom, 2 bath 900 sq ft apt in less than an hour and a five bedroom 5 full bath 4500 sq ft home from top to bottom in about 3 hours.

[Whisp]

67. wow, thank you, notadumind. I am saving your post.

I get what you mean about the 'smell' thing if you are cleaning for someone else. People expect roses or some sort of scent that is pleasant.

I have cut down considerably on cleaning products. I don't use any of the things on your list - except bleach. For the toilet I have a scrub brush and I buy cheap laundry detergent when on sale and soap it up that way. Seems to work okay.

In the tub, after my bath I let the water drain a bit then put a bit of cheap shampoo on one of those nylon puff things (I forget what they are called) and everything comes off really nice.

Once in a while I need a bottle of Fantastic tho for grimey pile ups in the kitchen, etc.,

[notadmblnd]

69. Those nylon things are horrible for showers if you don't hang them up to dry

they proliferate mold and mildew like nothing else I've ever seen. The best thing I've found for mildew free showers and tubs is keeping it dry. Don't fill corners and ledges with products that air can't circulate around if you do, your shower grout and caulk will be filled with mold and that pink bacteria that gets slimey after so much of it builds up.

One more thing to think about. If those nylon thingies people use in their showers to wash with are generating so much bacteria, what are they washing themselves with when they use them?

[hedgehog]

5. I think success with this method depends on your hair's texture and length.

I am very hesitant to try it on my long hair that's going white. I do use an organic brand with no sodium lauryl sulfate.

[JustAnotherGen]

7. +1

For black women who wear their hair naturally - it makes sense.

My hair has never been better since I started co-pooing. Perfect ringlets and I'm not putting poison on my scalp every 6 to 8 weeks.

[shanti]

15. Black women

are the only women I've heard of that used the conditioner only, no-poo technique. I'm sure it has something to do with dryness, right?

[Butterbean]

30. Women with curly hair, which tends to be more coarse and dry, use it.

I'm white, but have very coarse hair that's got gentle curls to it and is super dry and super thirsty. It thrives on the no-poo method and is much healthier and more moisturized. But yeah, lots of African American women use it because the method does good things for their hair texture. There's a whole world on the internet about it, blogs and everything. My favorite curly hair blog is this one:

http://www.curlynikki.com/

Yes, I'm a little bit of a hair freak. LOL.

[Liberal_in_LA]

35. +1000

[JustAnotherGen]

48. Me too!

Argan Morroccan oil conditioner is my friend!

[BainsBane]

57. I have that kind of hair

EXTREMELY thick, wavy, coarse, porous, and dry. It's curly when it's short to medium but it's so heavy the curls are weighed down when long. I suppose I could try the no shampoo method, but I'm reluctant.

[Butterbean]

62. Read "Curly Girl" by Lorraine Massey, then go to Curly Nikki's site and to

Naturallycurly.com and read around the curltalk forums there. They have one specifically dedicated to people going with the no poo method. It takes about 2 weeks to get used to it, I will tell you honestly. However, there is a before and after thread over there that shows before starting the "cg" routine and after, and the curl transformations are amazing. You should look.

[Liberal_in_LA]

88. i love this thread. going to check out the link

[curlyred]

72. Extremely pale person here and I use this method :)

My hair is fine, thick, and very curly. I don't think I've used shampoo in six or seven years. I on dr brush it, either, else it turns into a giant puffball.

[Butterbean]

80. Yep, not to mention brushes break my hair. Sometimes I do miss

the way every thing would glide through my hair with silicones, but then my hair was just style-less back then because it was so confused. LOL. It didn't know whether it was curly or straight, and neither did I. Going poo-free and silicone free and all that brought out my true curly texture.

[HipChick]

65. Not true...I am on several hair forums...

and women of all races are using no-poo method because of harshness of shampoo and cancer causing chemicals in shampoo

[etherealtruth]

66. I am a 51 year old white woman with waves to soft curls

I color my hair ... I use the conditioner only technique. With all the publicity surrounding the Wen products (several years back) I did a little research ... found that many drug store brand and salon brand conditioners were similar to Wen except the did not have silicone (something I wasn't happy about anyway). I began using the technique a couple of years ago and am very happy.

My almost 20 year old (curly haired daughter) does this as well.

[notadmblnd]

71. Have you noticed that the older you get the curlier your hair gets?

[etherealtruth]

75. No actually in my case it has been the opposite

Actually, with each child I had my hair straightened significantly. At 18 I had long chestnut hair with ringlets ... ?

Go figure

[CTyankee]

10. The lady who cuts my hair swears by club soda, applied to dry hair.

She noticed my hair felt "coated" and recommended it. She also had a theory (!) that amocycillin caused a film on hair and asked if I had been taking antibiotics...turns out I had but I'm not sure it was that...

[riqster]

8. No poo movement

Or, as some call it, "constipation".

[Union Scribe]

14. Lol, definitely one of the worst-named movements

it's like that old joke about the worst website domains. "whorepresents.com" etc.

[riqster]

31. Or the one for Pen Island.

Yep. Penisland.com

http://www.ecommercediva.com/articles/worstdomains.html

[jberryhill]

52. Therapist Finder

That one finally shut down.

[hughee99]

59. If there's "no poo" then there's no "movement", though. n/t

[riqster]

78. True. That sounds less uncomfortable.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

9. "If you wash your hair every day you'll RUIN it!"

Without saying what "ruin" meant. Heard from my bossy battleax grandmother in the 1960s.

She went to the beauty shop every Saturday and didn't do anything other than comb it during the week.

Whereas we six granddaughters had long hippy dippy greasy hair and HAD to wash it every day.

I use shampoo and conditioner for curly hair (every night in the shower) and that works.

[hedgehog]

17. FWIW - I did come across web sites that claimed the pH of baking soda is too high

and pH of vinegar is too low compared to normal scalp conditions - suggesting that using one after the other will damage hair. I have no idea if this is true, but I don't want to experiment on my hair!

[Hekate]

23. Whatever, it will sure be fizzy if you use vinegar and baking soda!

fwoosh

[RebelOne]

21. I only wash ny hair once a week.

I have very fine flyaway hair and it takes at least three days to get some body into it.

[VanillaRhapsody]

29. try rubbing your hair with dryer sheets for flyaways...

just rub one all over your head...

[RebelOne]

86. Dryer sheets may control the flyaways,

but that will not put body into my hair. I still need the body-building shampoo and conditioner.

[enlightenment]

79. The more you wash your hair,

the more oil your scalp produces, so it's a nasty cycle.

When I was younger I washed every day - had to because my long, straight hair was so "greasy".
Finally stopped doing it. It was slightly traumatic for a few weeks, because it took time for my scalp to realize it didn't need to go into sebum overload. Now I still have long, straight hair, but only need to wash it every third day (except the fringe, which gets a quick rinse daily).

Bicarb and water makes a great alternative to everyday shampoo - it cleans and also removes the residue from the shampoo. Follow with a cider vinegar rinse. If you're committed to washing everyday, this will help even the score for your scalp.

[Owl]

89. I need to shampoo every day, else my hair/scalp feels horrible and drives me nuts!

[Butterbean]

16. I follow a modified version of the curly girl method

Which means I wash my hair primarily with conditioner, but when I do use shampoo it's sulfate and silicone free.

[Taverner]

18. I use Dr Bronners for about everything now

That stuff is a miracle cure for acne

I've reccd it to several teens with really bad zits, and within a week, they were way better

[Butterbean]

25. I've never researched that. Most of the hair products I use

are found in the ethnic hair care aisle of the store. I use this wonderful stuff called As I Am coconut cowash that is this rich, thick, creamy stuff to wash my hair with that doesn't dry it out. I only shampoo my hair probably once a month. Maybe twice a month. All of my styling products are silicone free too.

Lots of skin care gurus really rave about Dr. Bronner's, though, so apparently it's decent stuff.

[Taverner]

28. It's decent, and it's dirt cheap

Don't pay more than $10 per liter!

Supposedly, the good Doctor said his soap was good for washing clothes and dishes as well.

It's basically liquid Castille soap, with a few essential oils

[Warren DeMontague]

49. Yeah, one of the 5000 uses of Dr. Bronner's.

It also does a number on ants, if they're in your kitchen.

I don't wash my hair with it very often, but a few times a summer, like after a long afternoon of outdoor work in high heat, it makes for a damn refreshing shampoo.

To say it doesn't exactly condition would be an understatement, though.

[pipi_k]

38. That stuff

Is the best!

I've washed my hair with it, showered, used it clean my dentures, on my face, as hand soap, etc.

Even to clean various surfaces

[Taverner]

39. Cleans mirrors well too - and they don't fog up after!

[pipi_k]

76. Huh!

I didn't know that!

Do you dilute it or use straight and rinse?

[Warpy]

54. It's the only stuff that's never broken me out

I buy the peppermint soap by the half gallon. When I break out, it's use Dr. B's for everything including dishes and laundry until I track down what did the damage. Besides, the labels are GREAT.

Dilute! Dilute!

[Cleita]

24. Actually works.

When I lived in a place out in the middle of a huge desert wilderness and commercial cosmetic and grooming products were rarely available right after WWII, the women mixed a concoction of veg oil, preferably olive or nut oil or a mashed avocado, vinegar or citrus juice and an egg yolk and they washed their hair with it. It got the dirt out and after they rinsed it off, then they finished it off with a chamomile tea rinse.

Now that I think about it, I remember my mom's and my hair never looked better or was more manageable.

[PDJane]

27. My mother used to wash my long hair with bar soap; had to rinse with something after that.

Usually chamomile or apple cider vinegar.

I now use Live Clean shampoos; biodegradable, veggie based stuff. Keeps my graying hair from looking like an explosion in a mattress factory.

[silverweb]

32. Actually, you rinse with vinegar.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]I wash my hair with a combination of baking soda and Dr. Bronner's liquid soap, then rinse with diluted apple cider vinegar. The acid of the vinegar (or lemon juice, if you prefer) closes the hair shaft and makes it dry smooth and silky.

Don't knock it 'til you've tried it. Works great, eliminates a lot of unnecessary chemicals, and saves a ton of money.

[Taverner]

44. I use Bronner

But only Bronner

Not vinegar or some other foul smelling acid

[silverweb]

45. Then you're doing just fine.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Dr. Bronner's now also makes a conditioning rinse. I'm dying to try it but can't find it locally so far, so it looks like I'll have to order on line. You might want to check it out _here_.

Seriously, though ... why would anyone waste money on hair products full of chemicals and carcinogens, when nontoxic, inexpensive, natural ingredients will do the job just as well or better?

PS - The vinegar or lemon juice smell fades away as hair dries -- but it's also perfectly okay to douse with water after doing the acidic rinse, the point of which is to close the hair shaft and balance the pH.

[sammytko]

47. You don't use a whole bunch of vinegar.

Just an eighth of a cup or so mixed with about two cups of warm water. It's used as a rinse.

You first clean the hair with few tablespoons of baking soda diluted in warm water.

Wet your hair thoroughly, pour the baking soda and water over scalp and hair. Massage the scalp, then follow with the diluted vinegar. The fizz is great.

Rinse with water.

I have long thick coarse hair and it leaves it nice and clean. Used to use it when I colored my hair too. No harm to color.

I do use dr bronner bar soap.

[Nay]

60. I have baby fine hair and use baking soda/water followed by a diluted vinegar rinse

as well. No more itchy scalp, and it cleans just great!

[CTyankee]

68. why apple cider vinegar? Isn't white vinegar just as good?

[silverweb]

81. I did a quick search.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Any kind of vinegar will work, but apple cider vinegar has been favored for hair care for generations. I'm sure there's a good reason and some wonderful folklore about that, but I just haven't found it yet.

Some interesting information _here_.

[CTyankee]

82. thanks for the link. It's interesting...

[silverweb]

84. My pleasure.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]I found it interesting, too. Maybe at some point we'll learn the reason why ACV, in particular, has traditionally been favored for hair care.

[Jesus Malverde]

33. bump..nt

[a la izquierda]

37. I wash my very short hair once a week...

With a homemade shampoo. My hair is fine and dry, and shampoo makes it worse.

[Silent3]

41. Vinegar IS A CHEMICAL!!!

It's acetic ACID!!!11!!! Chemical! Run away! Hide teh children!!!1!!!!

[hunter]

42. Sigh. I remember I had hair on my head.

But my pony tail got shorter and shorter and shorter and then I just gave up.

Buzz cut it all. Head, face, everything,

Now it doesn't matter what sort of soap I use. My only goal is not to stink so bad anyone complains.

[SoCalDem]

43. Doctors used to advise new Moms to massage olive oil into the scalps

of their newborns

Warm olive oil for earaches was also a treatment..

[Warren DeMontague]

50. First thing they're going to need is a better PR person.

Seriously, it sounds like a constipation support group.

[ellie]

51. Yes

Shampoo is really bad for your hair and scalp.

[Warpy]

53. Actually, you wash your hair with conditioner.

I have an oily scalp, so I use shampoo followed by a vinegar rinse to get rid of all the minerals and soap scum. I rinse most of it out so I don't smell like a salad.

For people with dry hair, no-poo has been a great way to go. For people like me, not so much.

[Phentex]

73. I can't NOT wash my hair...

I've heard many people say they can go three or four days. I have an oily scalp plus oily skin so the times I've skipped washing my hair are just nasty. My skin will be greasy all day and I'll feel gross. Plus, I exercise every day and I want to be clean when I'm done.

[jmowreader]

56. No, thank you...

I don't want to pull the highlighting out of it - and vinegar would almost certainly strip that shit out in a heartbeat.

I condition mine every day, and shampoo it with just a little bit (a glob the size of a nickel is more than sufficient) of salon-grade shampoo twice a week. It is soft and manageable.

[2naSalit]

58. Today someone told me that she uses

a tablespoon of borax in one or two quarts of water for shampoo and then some kind of rinse, vinegar water or an herb tea works well for shedding hair, hers is longer than her spine. I thought that was interesting but vinegar water has been around as long as I can remember. My mother and her sisters used it.

[ram2008]

70. I Just use water...

and it works.

Seriously, humans have been doing it for millions of years without chemicals in shampoo. I used to have dandruff, and itchy scalp, and dead hair.

Switched to using just water in the shower and now my hair is full, dandruff free and yes, clean. (I'm a guy in case that matters)

[WinkyDink]

77. I highly doubt your hair is clean. Same for the rest of yoU.

[ram2008]

85. It is...

I think my significant other would've told me if it wasn't. As long as you brush it in the shower its fine.

[Butterbean]

87. Conditioner contains sufficient surfactants to remove dirt and buildup from the hair root

and shaft. If you don't use products laden with non-water soluble silicones, polyquats, mineral oil, and proteins, your hair can get clean with cowashing. It's all in what you put on your hair. Different strokes for different folks, and different methods for different hair. What works for you might not work for me, vice versa.

[Jesus Malverde]

83. We're gonna try this, thanks to your thread.

Without the tuna....