For those who have used soap or baking soda to wash hair...

[Luminaria]

Will using soap or baking soda (followed by an ACV rinse) damage hair over time? What are negative effects of using soap or baking soda on a weekly basis? I just started using soap to wash my recently and it feels strange...

[spirals]

I've been washing with soap and doing a citric acid rinse since June and I love it.

[akilina]

I think if you like it, and your hair seems to like it...why not???

I would not use baking soda at every wash though personally. Once a week would be way way too much for me. I have completely stopped using baking soda with shampoo to clarify. Even once a month was too much for my hair.
I think the acv could be very beneficial though..I love the stuff for many different things :o

[CrowningGlory]

Will using soap or baking soda (followed by an ACV rinse) damage hair over time? What are negative effects of using soap or baking soda on a weekly basis? I just started using soap to wash my recently and it feels strange...

By 'soap' do you mean 'shampoo bar' or actual soap that you would normally use on your body but not your hair?

I've been using shampoo bars for over 18 months, always follow with ACV rinse, and love what they do for my hair. I read a number of negative reports about how they are alkaline and damaging to hair, but I've not noticed any evidence of them harming my hair during that time.

Your hair does feel unusual until it adjusts. For me it was a very long adjustment period (several months) but worth it. I also noticed more residue on my combs and brushes for probably on close to a year but that has also settled. I'm not sure what that was all about.

I found baking soda was brutual on my hair even when I used just the tiniest amount.

[Majala]

It really depends on your hair, water softness... I wanted to go completely no poo, so a few years ago I experimented with all of those. Baking soda would make my hair dry, straw like and hard to detangle, but it did give me a lot of volume. As I have very hard water, soap was almost impossible to rinse out and left my hair limp and heavy. Acv makes my hair oily. I went as far as using only a tea spoon of acv in 2 liters of water and it was still too strong. I gave up on all of those after 3-4 times using them and happily went back to regular shampoo and conditioner. But for some people all of those work like a charm. I guess you will have to try and see how your hair responds. If your hair responds well I don't see how they could hurt your hair.

[turtlelover]

Baking soda TOTALLY destroys my hair and makes it like straw!

[Bedhead]

I did olive oil soap followed by acv for a while - it was my first no-poo regime. After only a few times of extremely diluted acv, I had to stop, because it was turning my hair to straw (the first time was fine though. White vinegar was a bit better, but the measurements had to be so exact that any deviation turned my hair to straw, so I went with soap only.

As far as the soap was concerned, my hair was thick and heavy, but looked lovely after a short transition period. I eventualy got tired of the heaviness, and lack of movement, and began a WO journey. I used the soap for 7 months.

Keep in mind, I had never clarified in my life due to lack of knowledge of its existence, so this may play into my results. I also found out my heavily mineralized water was a big culprit in my hair yellowing and falling out, so it too was probably a factor in my results.

The reason I began using soap in the first place was because I had read how others did so well with it, that their hair felt clean, soft, and had volume; everything we hope for in hair. I also liked the economical side (not as economical as NW/SO! Ha ha!), and liked its portability and simplicity.

[rock007junkie]

Soap I don't think it'll have any negative side effects. Baking soda on the other hand is not bmeant to be done frequently. It's meant to be ue as a clarifier to be used once in a while.

[pogo0685]

I tried to use only baking soda and vinegar on my hair for probably 3 months and it killed my hair. A year later and I still have moisture issues. I would say try it though because some people have luck with it. My husband can use it with no problems, but he has short hair that is the complete opposite of my hair.

[IndigoOptimist]

I only clarify with baking soda. Although I have heard of people using it as a shampoo, I think it would be too harsh on my hair.
I do an ACV rinse after every wash (when I have it, I run out then forget to buy more :s) and my hair seems to like it.
Never used soap on the other hand, I hate how it makes my skin feel so don't really want to try it on my hair, I feel like it would be stupidly drying. I do use a shampoo bar and I love it! I swap between CO and using a shampoo bar, conditioning and then ACV rinse. Once a month I'll clarify with baking soda ;)

[spidermom]

There's no way I could ever use soap on my hair. I can't even stand to touch a bar of soap; they're so slimey! And the crud that collects under soap in the soap dish - bleh! - makes me sick. Thank goodness for shampoo; I used it as shower gel before shower gel became available (I'm that old).

As for BS, I tried it for clarifying, and what a nightmare! My hair matted together so bad that I couldn't get a comb through it except when my hair was full of conditioner. Thank goodness it recovered!

Diluted shampoo; that's the ticket (for me).

[Sillage]

The pH of both soap, non syndet "shampoo bars", and baking soda are high so I don't use either on my hair or on my body. I don't know what repeated exposure to such high pH levels does to hair.


The one time I tried soap on my hair (Dr. Bonner's-- "dilute dilute dilute!") it made my hair a tangle-y, coarse, matted mess. I couldn't even get a comb thru it!

[spidermom]

The pH of both soap, non syndet "shampoo bars", and baking soda are high so I don't use either on my hair or on my body. I don't know what repeated exposure to such high pH levels does to hair.


The one time I tried soap on my hair (Dr. Bonner's-- "dilute dilute dilute!") it made my hair a tangle-y, coarse, matted mess. I couldn't even get a comb thru it!

Me too on the Dr. Bronner's (during a camping trip). And I agree about the pH. Most shampoos are compatible with the acid mantle of scalp and skin.

[starlamelissa]

i tried the baking soda thing, it makes my hair mat into felt. I tried co washing and soap cleansing and the results were similar for me, heavy and waxy. Liquid shampoo is my hair cleanser of choice. In a pinch I'd use hand soap or dishsoap diluted before I reached for a box of baking soda or a bar of ivory to wash my hair.

However, I think skin and hair needs to be cleaned, so if I was in really dire straits I would soap up with a bar if I had to.

I think modern shampoos with silicone conditioning ingredients that prevent tangling while washing are the least damaging.

[OrchidRain]

I used baking soda as a wash followed by ACV rinse for a while. It was when I first discovered the concept of NOT washing hair every day. I eventually stretched my washes to use BS/ACV every 10-12 days. It was great for my hair: Got rid of dandruff, made my hair shiny and bouncy, etc. But I really missed the lather and pretty smells of shampoo. Now I only use baking soda once in a while to clarify, but I still love ACV rinses. One thing I discovered, the baking soda had to be really watered down for the best results. When I first started using it, I read that a lot of people add just enough water to make a paste, but that really irritated my scalp. I put about a teaspoon in a full 12 oz water bottle and shook it to dissolve. Then I applied that all over the scalp and scritched it before rinsing with water and then with diluted ACV. That 12 oz would last me a few washes.

[Sillage]

Me too on the Dr. Bronner's (during a camping trip). And I agree about the pH. Most shampoos are compatible with the acid mantle of scalp and skin.

LOL so you got bit Dr. Bronner's too? Man that stuff was so nasty in my hair I couldn't believe it.



i tried the baking soda thing, it makes my hair mat into felt. I tried co washing and soap cleansing and the results were similar for me, heavy and waxy. Liquid shampoo is my hair cleanser of choice. In a pinch I'd use hand soap or dishsoap diluted before I reached for a box of baking soda or a bar of ivory to wash my hair.

However, I think skin and hair needs to be cleaned, so if I was in really dire straits I would soap up with a bar if I had to.

I think modern shampoos with silicone conditioning ingredients that prevent tangling while washing are the least damaging.

"Mat into felt" --- that's the perfect description! I agree about cleaning skin and hair and about shampoos with silicone. My hair really loves them :)

[PossibleMermaid]

I'm CO every other day and I use baking soda if I see my hair getting particularly greasy, which ends up being once every two weeks or so. I use baking soda for everything though. It's great for acne if you have an oily face like I do. The only negative about it that I've found is that it usually makes my hair pretty dry, which is the point, but sometimes I'll need a little extra conditioning over the next few days. It does make my hair nice and clean though!

[starlamelissa]

I didn't come up with "mat into felt" lol I totally got the phrase from spidermom, who is brilliant!

[Kat]

OMG, yes, felt. I've never had soap do it to my hair, but it's happened to my hair before, and OMG. I would be a natural for dreadlocks, I'm sure, judging by how my hair tends to try to form them on its own if left to its own devices for a few days sometimes (seriously, every once in a while I get a tangle that feels like it's on the verge of being a dreadlock). It's good to know my hair is not the only hair that's done this!!

(I realized my hair had gotten too long to wear snoods when I wore one for a day several years ago... just shoved all my hair in it like you're supposed to. O.M.G. I came home that night, took off the snood, and my hair fell out of it all just in one big clump. ALL of my hair was like a single huge chunk of tangle/dreadlock/felt/whatever; it was practically snood-shaped. I spent hours detangling and almost crying and *this close* to just grabbing scissors and chopping it all off haphazardly at the nape of my neck.)

[spidermom]

I didn't come up with "mat into felt" lol I totally got the phrase from spidermom, who is brilliant!

Haha - I was about to comment that was my experience, too. I literally could not get a comb or fingers through my hair after mixing baking soda with my shampoo solution.

I did much better with a very weak baking soda solution, but the results were meh. I like the results of using diluted shampoo; will continue with that.

[ludwig20]

I recently clarified my hair with 1 tbsp of baking soda in 2 cups of water. I followed with a heavy conditioner so it worked well, but I don't think I could use that frequently. My hair is dry enough already...

Shampoo bars are nice in the sense that my hair felt shiny, soft, and voluminous. I couldn't continue using CV bars though since my water is extremely hard. I really don't like using ACV rinses all that much either. My hair has developed unwanted reddish tints.

A very diluted shampoo works well for me at the moment.

[MusingFrog]

I used baking soda, and only baking soda, to wash my hair for well over a year. The trick is that your hair has to be oily and dirty for the baking soda to not damage your hair. During college, I got really sick of washing my hair all the time and eventually was only washing it once every 4-5 days. By the time I'd be ready to wash, my hair would be very oily and the baking soda would leave my hair soft, fluffy and very clean. I did use conditioner.

I wouldn't use it as an every day, or every other day type of cleanser though. After college when I began working, I couldn't go basically a week without washing my hair anymore, so I switched to Head and Shoulders which I use every other day. Baking soda works amazing as a clarifying wash. That being said, some people have had terrible results with it drying out their hair.

[gossamer]

I need to speak up in defense of baking soda, it does work for some people.

I used ~1tsp baking soda dissolved in about 6oz of water to wash my hair for about a year, usually with a drop or two of castile soap added to give it a little scent and foam. I'd wash my scalp with it every 5-7 days. I'd follow with a rinse of white vinegar - about 1 tbsp diluted into 8oz of water.

The only reason I stopped was because I began traveling and then moving and needed to wash my hair more often and sometimes away from my baking soda/vinegar supply. I've started using it again and it's not causing me any problems with dryness. In fact, I notice that when I wash with baking soda and vinegar I shed less in the shower than when I wash with shampoo.

[Luminaria]

It really depends on your hair, water softness... I wanted to go completely no poo, so a few years ago I experimented with all of those. Baking soda would make my hair dry, straw like and hard to detangle, but it did give me a lot of volume. As I have very hard water, soap was almost impossible to rinse out and left my hair limp and heavy. Acv makes my hair oily. I went as far as using only a tea spoon of acv in 2 liters of water and it was still too strong. I gave up on all of those after 3-4 times using them and happily went back to regular shampoo and conditioner. But for some people all of those work like a charm. I guess you will have to try and see how your hair responds. If your hair responds well I don't see how they could hurt your hair. Me too! I tried so many no poo ways to wash my hair. Baking soda is drying for me (maybe it can be mixed with something to combat dryness???). I've recently tried soap and now I have more tangles than usual...and grimy. Strong ACV rinses work well for me though...I never thought my hair could be that soft.

[MORE]

I was hoping that it would work for me when I was about to remove build-up a while ago. Was thinking that I'd rather use that than commercial shampoo. But oooooh myyy... My hair just turned in to a giant wet, tangled and porous mess!shudder: It took me ages and a ton of CO to even be able to start combing it out. But even though I spent a good couple of hours trying to fix it, I got quite some breakage. It took like a week for it to get back to normal, so I will not use it again.

Though, my hair is extra sensitive due to old damage - so that might be it. Maybe I will try one more time when it's all virgin. If I dare.