Baking soda and vinegar shampoo part two
Of all my posts about everything from unschooling to food allergies this one gets more hits than anything else combined. I find it kind of shocking and unbelieveable but it is true. And more people find my site through that post than through anything else. Go figure.
Since we are still doing it (in fact, my husband has joined the ranks and has found that his dandruff is gone and the trouble he has with acne in his hair is greatly diminished) I thought I would update you on how it is going and what changes we have made.
We now keep the the baking soda more watered down and in a Propel bottle (the kind with the squirty lid.) This way you can shake it up and spray it on your head., which is much easier to deal with than the paste. We have also added some vanilla extract or whatever scent the family wants (using extracts from the health food store, not oils or imitation ones). My kids are more likely to use it if it doesn’t smell like baking soda.
I still keep the vinegar in a squirt bottle as well (I have a small vinegar bottle with a squirt lid that works perfectly. The kids don’t like using the vinegar so seldom do, my husband and I both do however and I find that with my now shorter hair a quick vinegar rinse (making sure to rinse well after) makes it so it doesn’t get oily after a few days. If you have dandruff rubbing a bit of rosemary oil mixed with olive oil or castor oil into the scalp before the vinegar rinse helps as well.
We now keep a jar of coconut oil in the bath instead of mineral oil (thanks Rachel for the idea). I have added some peppermint oil and lavender oil to it and use that both for my skin and rub the little left on my hands through my hair. I use lavender and peppermint because I like the smell and I find the lavender helps both my rheumatoid and with headaches, as does the peppermint. If you prefer something more feminie you can add a few drops of rose oil or for a fresh smell add some citrus oil. Coconut oil is great because it melts at 74 degrees (I believe) but is solid lower than that. This makes it easy to add other scented oils to and makes it easy to use in the shower.
I think I’ve been doing the baking soda / water poo-free thing for about a year now. I don’t see myself going back. Love it! I did discover that if you mix has time to “cure” – maybe 2 -3 weeks it works MUCH better than fresh. I keep it in a sports bottle that I can just squirt on my head.
Good ideas on the coconut oil – where did you tell me your ordered yours from?
My wife has started doing this and loves it, but her hair STINKS afterward from the Vinegar. How do you stand it? Is there some way to make it smell less? We are trying to add some essential oils to the mixture, but no one has very good directions on which ones or how much to add…
I boiled fresh mint leaves with the apple cider vinegar and water, then strained and put in a clean bottle. Now instead of vinegar, my hair smells minty!
I’ve been combining my shampoo with baking soda! It really helps with my build up!
I rinse the vinegar out after about a minute. I have thin shoulder length hair and not much of it so more or longer hair you might leave it in longer. Basically just use the vinegar like you would conditioner. I also use vinegar in place of fabric softener in my laundry and add some essential oil since we I am allergic to scented detergents.
I found your recipe yesterday and used it last night, I love it. (My Mom use to use vinegar as a last rinse and her hair dresser said her hair was very healthy because no soap film on her hair.) I plan on using this because my hair is thin and has no body but after using the soda and vinegar and blow drying I had more body (than with body shampoos) and my hair felt soft and healthier. Thanks so much
Excellent. Actually I just had my hair cut at a salon (I usually cut my own) and she washed it with shampoo etc without asking me. (Grr.) My hair has been awful since– frizzy, breaking, and just a mess. So, I am right back to soda and vinegar and it is slowly getting back to normal.
Ive been using the baking soda/vinegar shampoo and it worked really great at first but my hair has gotten dry and brittle. I use coconut oil only on my ends b/c it makes the rest of my hair greasy. Do you have any suggestions on what to do to make my hair softer like it was when i first started?
I’ve been doing my hair like this for roughly 2 months and I love the results! but what i’ve been having an issue with lately is that the shampoo smell that lingered around for the first two weeks after going ‘no-poo’ is gone and the baking soda smell reminds me too much of the smell of ‘dirty hair’, even though it’s still shiny and not greasy. You said you added pure vanilla extract to ur kids baking soda shampoo. does that mess it up somehow b/c extracts are oils? Would pure almond extract work? and if you use the Baking soda like this and then rinse w/ ACV will it still smell good??
Extracts aren’t oils but glycerin or alcohol based and those should be added to the vinegar rinse instead of the baking soda (which we have learned). If you use essential oils you would add them to the vinegar rinse but it does add a layer of oil and depending on your hair may add greasiness. It works better if you make a tea– say peppermint, lavender, or rosemary and add that to the vinegar rinse. We have found that this works best and since the vinegar smell goes away quickly leaves behind the scent from the tea.
I wanted to know, how to remove hair oil without using shampoo. Hair oil as in Coconut or olive oil. thanks
Thanks for sharing this.. as you said, I found your site looking for a “recipe” for baking soda and vinegar “shampoo”. Your site came up on googled and it’s the one I clicked.. all of this type of “health/hair care” is rather new to me. What got me going was when my Biolage shampoo/conditioner was making my hair fall out quite a bit.
I did just have a baby though, but it’s been 3 months, and he is my 3rd. I didn’t notice anything like this happening with my other too, so I feel it’s no connected.
Thank you for your site. I love your comments on the “unschooling” method.
Do you have a ratio of how much baking soda to water to use? Another site I saw said 1 TBSP to 1 cup water, but I was wondering after reading your post if that was too watered down? She also said the same with the vinegar rinse–1 TBSP vinegar to 1 cup water.
It depends on how greasy your hair is. I use a bottle of water with a few TBS of baking soda for me, my oldest has super greasy hair and needs to use a paste of baking soda with water to clean hers. The more greasy, the more baking soda, the less greasy, the less baking soda. My middle child has very fine hair and uses just a bit of my bottle plus more water.
I’ve been trying to use baking soda to wash my hear but find that I get this film that builds up on my hair from the baking soda. I’m two weeks into my current attempt and usually don’t get much further than than this before the filmyness grosses me out and I go back to using baking soda mixed with a mild citrus-based cleanser. I keep hoping that this film is just part of the “adjustment” period that people keep talking about but can’t seem to persevere through it to know for sure. I just hate the way it feels and the way it collects all gross and grimey on my hair brush… Any thoughts/suggestions?
My oldest had that problem. it came down to just needing way more baking soda in the mix, then making sure to rinse with lots of warter and vinegar. Since she figured it out her hair has been great. (Her’s is naturally really oily.)
My oldest had that problem. it came down to just needing way more baking soda in the mix, then making sure to rinse with lots of water and vinegar. Since she figured it out her hair has been great. (Her’s is naturally really oily.)