Hair-washing, with 2 edible ingredients.

I have eliminated two more plastic bottles from my bathroom: my shampoo and conditioner. In their place is baking soda and apple cider vinegar.

I became aware of this alternative way to clean your hair when I first started exploring the environmental blog-o-sphere. In all honesty, I thought the people doing this were freaking crazy. Baking soda and vinegar? Really?

As a person who's cried and agonized over the state of her curls her whole life, I was sure this was one experiment I'd never try. I want to help the environment, but not at the expense of turning my hair into a frizzy mass of yuck.

But then I started reading a little more and found out this: sulfates in shampoo make curly hair frizzy. Immediately I went to my bathroom and read the ingredients on my Frizz-Ease Curl Around Daily Shampoo. And there is was. Sodium Laureth Sulfate and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. I couldn't believe it. My $5/bottle shampoo wasn't easing my frizz, but perpetuating it!

So, more in the name of vanity than the environment, I pulled out two old plastic water bottles and concocted the following:

2 tablespoons baking soda & 2 cups water.
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar & 2 cups water.

Method: Shake up the water bottle with baking soda before use. Coat entire scalp and then scrub vigorously with fingers. Rinse out. Squirt ACV rinse and run your fingers through hair. Let sit for at least a minute before rinsing (I normally put it up in a bun for the rest of the shower and then rinse it out right before turning off the water.)

Yeah, this was a little weird at first. There are no bubbles or dense goo. Applying baking soda to my entire scalp is a little more tricky, as it takes some coordination. The first week I still used my Frizz-Ease conditioner. The Naturally Curly web site told me that conditioner usually has enough mild surfactants to clean hair, so for good measure I still used it after the ACV rinse.

Eventually, I got braver. Every other wash I forewent the conventional conditioner, and when my Frizz-Ease bottle eventually ran out, I didn't buy another one.

After 30 days, my hair looks and feels pretty much as it did when I was using the conventional stuff. It's not greasy. After it dries, it doesn't smell like vinegar. In fact, it really doesn't smell like anything, especially since I've switched to a hair gel that has only a mild fragrance. As far as frizz goes, it's calmed down considerably, even in the oven-like conditions outside.

Now. My hair wasn't magically perfect after giving up the 'poo and conditioner. It felt a little greasier than normal for about a week, but this also has to do with the fact that my experiment with coconut oil as a hair gel went wrong (more on this later). I also had dandruff for a little while, but it wasn't an all-out snowstorm either. Plus, I reasoned that I occasionally had dandruff with regular shampoo too, so this might not have been due to my new hair routine.

Finally, WHY THE HECK AM I DOING THIS?

If you recall in my Why You Should Care About Plastic post, I made a pledge to reduce the new amount of disposable plastic I buy. My empty shampoo and conditioner bottles cannot become part of the garbage patch in the North Pacific Gyre if I do not buy them in the first place.

Second, I've also become extremely concerned about the synthetic chemicals I use daily. According to the Environmental Working Group, "nearly 90% of ingredients used in personal care products have not been evaluated for safety by any publicly accountable institution."

My Frizz-Ease shampoo listed 25 chemicals alone. My conditioner listed 17. That's 42 chemicals. I don't know about you, but I'd rather limit my exposure to synthetic chemicals, especially when I can effectively clean my hair with two chemicals safe enough to eat.

If you want to try it (and I really hope that you do), I'd recommend changing gradually. Start with the one that freaks you out the least. Don't like the idea of baking soda? Try the ACV rinse first. Maybe alternate between the ACV rinse and conditioner for a little bit. Once that isn't a big deal, maybe eliminate the conditioner completely. Etc.

If you do give it a try, I'd be really interested in hearing how it goes. Especially if you're not white, since your hair texture may be different from mine.

Here are other testimonials about the baking soda & ACV rinse.