Baking Soda Buildup

[joyfulheart18]

I have been doing the No-Poo/Shampoo Free Method for a couple of months (Baking Soda for shampoo, ACV for conditioner) However, when I comb my hair I am finding there is baking soda buildup in my hair. I have tried to really rinse it, but it's still there...I'm not sure what to do about it.

[spidermom]

Try a gentle diluted shampoo wash.

[missfaroe]

BS and AVC have never worked for me. I am a no pooer myself and I have found out that washing my hair with eggs or with rhassoul clay works much better and makes my hair soft and clean, which BS and AVC never did. it only dried out my hair, and my roots was still over oiled because my scalp was overproducing sebum.
maybe you could try the egg wash? :)

[joyfulheart18]

How would I do the egg wash? Can I get the recipe somehow?

I would like to stay away from shampoo, because my hair has been much less oily and looks much better in every way since I have stopped washing with shampoo.

[joyfulheart18]

I was also thinking of maybe doing a sulfate free shampoo once every couple of weeks. I don't want to use conditioner...the ACV rinse works wonders for detangling and making my hair so soft.

[spidermom]

I agree with baking soda drying things out. It made my hair matt up like felt!

[Sillage]

I agree with baking soda drying things out. It made my hair matt up like felt!


Seconding this! Baking soda roughed up my hair and made it mat up too. It's got a really high pH which is why I recommend that people don't use it. YMMV of course.

[joyfulheart18]

It doesn't really dry out my hair. It helps with the oiliness. I'm finding since the buildup, my hair has been getting increasingly oily. It isn't coming out clean anymore. It's strange, because when I first did the baking soda it cleaned my hair better than the shampoo.

[joyfulheart18]

What is YMMV? What do you suggest for use instead of baking soda? Do you think it might be damaging to hair?

[Sillage]

What is YMMV? What do you suggest for use instead of baking soda? Do you think it might be damaging to hair?


Your Millage May Very :) In other words what works for me may not work for you.

I do think that high pH solutions like baking soda can be damaging to hair. I would recommend trying a sulphate free shampoo. That might give you the results you're looking for.

[joyfulheart18]

That is what I used to use...a sulfate free shampoo. Do you think that my using baking soda for the last 6 weeks to 2 months could have damaged my hair? I certainly don't want that.

[ratgirldjh]

I find that baking soda/ACV, and even clay or any non lathering herb like even soapnuts or shikakai eventually build up on my hair.

It seems that anything eventually builds up with our water here. What I've been doing is alternating using different stuff. I am co-washing right now and I do find the baking soda good for occasional clarifying though.

[dollyfish]

Your hair isn't damaged, don't worry. It's just what you said in the title: buildup.

I used to use baking soda with every wash (like I used to use shampoo) but I got the same problem. Oily scalp and weird buildup. Now I only use it for more intense washes. What I've found works for *me* is a light olive oil shampoo close to the scalp ~1x a week (followed by a vinegar or citric acid rinse), and only vinegar or citric acid in the mean time. When my hair is really dirty (like, I have mud in it, or it's been 2 weeks since I've washed it) I used baking soda followed by an acid rinse.

[Hwyfar]

This might sound strange, but have you tried oiling your head the night before your wash? I remember when I last used baking soda for hairwash a couple years ago and for nearly a year at least. I remember getting oily build up in the beginning, but it got better after some time. Anyway, I gave up on that (solely because I wanted to smell like flowery shampoo for my then new boyfriend) and only recently decided to go back. This time I was actually trying to go water-only, but then I found coconut oil and fell in love. I couldn't help it, I wanted to do heavy oilings and massage my scalp with it. Water alone didn't wash it out, so I decided to try baking soda again. And lo and behold: my hair had never ever been so silky and smooth, as after the first wash. Not with any shampoo or conditioner. After that, I have been trying to find the perfect balance. If I don't use enough baking soda or if I use too much oil, it leaves the hair a bit oily. (Here, "too much oil" is indeed quite much, I could never be satisfied with a tea spoon of coconut oil as I have read some other people are, I always use at least 2 tea spoons, mostly more.) I have once washed without oiling first - the baking soda made my hair into a felt, as described above by other people, but the (white) vinegar smoothed it out. However it left my hair a bit oily from sebum (and possibly the vinegar). The best results I get are from heavy oiling the previous night, and then washing with a good amount of baking soda water.

I have also tried the egg wash - I put 2 eggs and 2 table spoons of water in a cup, and mixed it so long that it formed a little foam on top. I then added it to my head (head upside down) and wrapped a plastic wrap (is it called glad wrap in English?) around my hair and let it sit for about half an hour. That was also a very good hair wash and left my hair beautiful. It is however a quite protein-rich wash, so I think you shouldn't do it too often so you don't get protein build up.

[spidermom]

If you haven't already, you could try diluting a gentle shampoo in water. I use probably 1 teaspoon of shampoo in 1/4 cup of water, shake well, squirt all over my scalp, and massage it through with sort of a finger-combing motion over my scalp. It doesn't dry out my scalp or my hair.

[Sillage]

Do you think that my using baking soda for the last 6 weeks to 2 months could have damaged my hair? I certainly don't want that.


I don't know. I can't imagine that opening the cuticle with baking soda and then closing it again with ACV could be good for your hair but doubt that you've done serious damage. You're probably fine :)

[missfaroe]

i use the egg wash the same way as hwyfar does, but i only use pasteurized egg yolk in wet hair an work it into my roots and down. and i only use it once in a while and i think it would work well on your build up. :)

[spidermom]

Of course if your hair doesn't respond well to protein, eggs won't help.

[dollyfish]

I want to add that what Hwyfar is talking about works for me too. If I want to do an overnight oiling, baking soda the next morning clears the oil out of my scalp without drying my hair (because the oil is soaked in). I'm not sure if that should be an everyday routine, but it certainly leaves my hair very soft :)

[joyfulheart18]

Hi everyone,

I had to resort to a sulfate free shampoo, and now my hair feels very, very clean. It is lasting a second day still looking quite clean, even cleaner than with baking soda. I hope that keeps up! Thank you for all the suggestions. I would rather stear clear of baking soda, because of the risk of damage, and it seems it doesn't work well for my hair anyway. I never had a problem with it drying out my hair, but of course the buildup and oiliness.

Thanks again.

[Sillage]

Glad to hear the sulfate free shampoo is working out for you :)

[spidermom]

Hooray for a solution!