The "no poo" movement: it's not what you think

As the mother of a toddler, I think diapers and toilet training when I see the letter "p" followed by a couple of "o"s. But the "poo" in "no poo" isn't Number Two; it's shampoo!

As I recently learned, there's a movement afoot to forgo lathering up your locks with store-bought stuff in favor of using various combinations of things like baking soda, vinegar, and lemon juice. The advantages? You keep the nasty chemicals found in numerous shampoos away from your body and the environment, you use less plastic, and you save money.

I know what some of you are thinking: "Gross!" But here are a couple women who swear by it: link, link (though this woman had less success). And here's an Instructables how-to.

I'm already a member of the Church of Not Shampooing Every Day, and I'm considering going "no poo," but I think I'll use up my current bottle first. I'll let you know what happens!

But in the meantime, if you do decide to say adios to your shampoo, don't use Arm & Hammer baking soda—apparently the company conducts some rather regrettable animal testing related to this product. (I have an email in to the company to get confirmation of this, but it seems fairly well established, as far as I can tell.) Bob's Red Mill makes a cruelty-free alternative, though for some reason it doesn't trumpet this fact.

Comments

[molitov]

Hey B. I've been trying out no poo for the past few months (as a curly girl). Using the baking soda from TJ's. Still revolving conditioners to find the ones that work best & are free from silicones. so far, so good.

[Bronwyn]

Hey, Molitov -- That's awesome that you've been 'poo-free! And I think your locks look lovely. One more thing re baking soda, though. That Tangergreen story I link to points out that supermarket brands are often repackaged Arm & Hammer: "Though you may find generic, supermarket brand baking soda sitting next to the familiar Arm & Hammer product, chances are this is simply the brand name product repackaged under a supermarket label and selling for a few pennies less. This re-boxing technique is practiced by every supermarket from Safeway to Whole Foods."

[Dan]

I only shampoo maybe once a week if that. Mostly I use conditioner only... Shampoo seems to strip my hair of all its oil and makes it frizz even though its very straight. Not sure what to use if anything is needed at all. The sodium laureth sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate I hear are bad as well. I hear its a floor stripper. to quote an article about it "Sodium Lauryl Sulphate started its career as an industrial degreasant and garage floor cleaner. When applied to human skin it has the effect of stripping off the oil layer and then irritating and eroding the skin, leaving it rough and pitted." from (http://www.health-report.co.uk/sodium_lauryl_sulphate.html)

[Jeremiah]

Ugh. Thank you for the heads up on A&H. Had no idea.