Away from home- what to do?

[coscass]

I'm going up north for a while, and all my grandparents have/use is that Mane & Tail shampoo. I haven't tried just rinsing yet, and am afraid my hair might get a little greasy. I've been doing a good job of keeping it in a braid rather than a huge messy ball on the top of my head, but if it gets greasy, idk what I'll do.

I JUST ran out of vo5, like I literally have nothing here and we're leaving tomorrow- I don't have any time or money to run to the store and pick up a new bottle. I don't have a penny to my name.:(

Also, they have really hard water. Will it be damaging to my hair? We have hard water, too, but we have a water softener that seems to help.

My hair is 3a, porous and coarse, 20 in.

[teela1978]

Could you CO with their mane and tail conditioner? (or do they only have shampoo?) One of my friends with 3c curls swore by it and used it daily as a leave-in (I think she CO'd with it as well).

[amaiaisabella]

Can you ask your grandparents to take you to the drugstore? I'm sure they can get you a few bottles of V05 since you don't have any money and they are extremely reasonably priced :)

[Gypsygirl]

You could give eggs a shot! My grandmother used to wash her hair with eggs.

Mix two whole eggs with four tablespoons of olive oil. Smooth through hair. Wrap head with plastic wrap, and leave in hair for 10 minutes. Rinse well.

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 egg yolk
1 cup water

You might want to follow with an acv or lemon rinse...

Visit this site for instructions on making a pretty professional egg shampoo!
http://www.ehow.com/how_2126304_make-egg… (http://www.ehow.com/how_2126304_make-egg-shampoo.html)

Good luck a hundred times! :)

[coscass]

I think it's only the shampoo, or the shampoo&condish in one, I can't exactly remember.

Also, another question- if I'm cowashing, do I EVER have to use shampoo again? I hear of these girls using shampoo once a month. I get that it clarifies, but is it the same as using baking soda + water once a month? Sorry, off topic.

[coscass]

You could give eggs a shot! My grandmother used to wash her hair with eggs.

Mix two whole eggs with four tablespoons of olive oil. Smooth through hair. Wrap head with plastic wrap, and leave in hair for 10 minutes. Rinse well.

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 egg yolk
1 cup water

You might want to follow with an acv or lemon rinse...

Visit this site for instructions on making a different kind of egg shampoo!
http://www.ehow.com/how_2126304_make-egg… (http://www.ehow.com/how_2126304_make-egg-shampoo.html)

Good luck a hundred times! :)

Thank you! I've tried washing with eggs before and got great results. The olive oil not so much. But if I'm in a jam I'll deff try this out!

[Gypsygirl]

Let us know how you like it if you do! Oh, and don't use very warm water! ;)

[coscass]

Can you ask your grandparents to take you to the drugstore? I'm sure they can get you a few bottles of V05 since you don't have any money and they are extremely reasonably priced :)
I just might have to. The nearest drugstore is a little ways away (they live pretty far up north). I think my mother will throw a fit if I do, though. :rolleyes: She doesn't get the no-poo deal and always complains for me to just stop it and be normal, even though she's seen the change in my hair herself.

[coscass]

Can you ask your grandparents to take you to the drugstore? I'm sure they can get you a few bottles of V05 since you don't have any money and they are extremely reasonably priced :)


Let us know how you like it if you do! Oh, and don't use very warm water! ;)
Oh trust me, haha, I remember this. I accidentally rinsed with hot water once when I had egg in my hair- disaster!

[Gypsygirl]

Been there, done that. ;)

[amaiaisabella]

I just might have to. The nearest drugstore is a little ways away (they live pretty far up north). I think my mother will throw a fit if I do, though. :rolleyes: She doesn't get the no-poo deal and always complains for me to just stop it and be normal, even though she's seen the change in my hair herself.

Well, you could always say you're going for the V05 shampoo, then say "Whoops! Guess I picked up the conditioner bottle instead. Oh well, I'll have to make do, since the store's so far away." ;)

[coscass]

Well, you could always say you're going for the V05 shampoo, then say "Whoops! Guess I picked up the conditioner bottle instead. Oh well, I'll have to make do, since the store's so far away." ;)
I like the way you think. :eyebrows:

[Anje]

I'd suggest just rinsing, or maybe borrow a bit of vinegar from the grandparents. You can mix that up, pour it through your hair, moosh it around a little, and rinse it out. Seems to take out oil better than just water alone.

Otherwise, just get someone to take you to the store while you're there. I'm sure your grandparents will give/loan you a few dollars. If your mom actively throws fits, you could always get a bottle of shampoo and one of conditioner, and use the shampoo for clarifying as needed. Later, hide it somewhere or drain part of it into an empty bottle, so it looks like you're going through it a bit, and just tell her that you go through conditioner faster than shampoo. That's pretty normal. Otherwise, just get conditioner and don't bother explaining yourself. If she bugs you, make a stink about her judging you for experimenting with harmless things like conditioner and why does she hate your inquisitive nature, or something.

ETA: You are aided nicely by the fact that VO5 shampoos and conditioners often look alike.

Don't worry about the hard water. It won't do any permanent damage, though it might make things a little piecey. Conditioner and shampoo seem to rinse out better in it, and if you're really concerned, you can do a vinegar rinse afterward.

[coscass]

I'd suggest just rinsing, or maybe borrow a bit of vinegar from the grandparents. You can mix that up, pour it through your hair, moosh it around a little, and rinse it out. Seems to take out oil better than just water alone.

Otherwise, just get someone to take you to the store while you're there. I'm sure your grandparents will give/loan you a few dollars. If your mom actively throws fits, you could always get a bottle of shampoo and one of conditioner, and use the shampoo for clarifying as needed. Later, hide it somewhere or drain part of it into an empty bottle, so it looks like you're going through it a bit, and just tell her that you go through conditioner faster than shampoo. That's pretty normal. Otherwise, just get conditioner and don't bother explaining yourself. If she bugs you, make a stink about her judging you for experimenting with harmless things like conditioner and why does she hate your inquisitive nature, or something.

ETA: You are aided nicely by the fact that VO5 shampoos and conditioners often look alike.

Don't worry about the hard water. It won't do any permanent damage, though it might make things a little piecey. Conditioner and shampoo seem to rinse out better in it, and if you're really concerned, you can do a vinegar rinse afterward.


Thanks for the wonderful advice. I have a question, though: is vinegar okay to use on coloured hair? I colour my hair red every few months (I try to wait it out 3-4 and wear upstyles during that time to hide my roots).

Also, do I need a clarifying shampoo? This has confused me a lot. I see people talking about how they wash with shampoo once a month, then cowash the rest of the time. What's the difference in washing with baking soda + water, and do you really NEED to do it? Sorry, I'm a CG newbie:(

[heidi w.]

I know a truly incredible long hair that uses Mane 'n' Tail. She does lemon rinses instead of vinegar rinses, too.

With hard water you'll probably like using a lemon rinse or white vinegar rinse if blonde, or an ACV rinse if brunette.

You can apply shampoo only to the top and run it through length, then condition the length, if they have both.

Then lemon or white vinegar or ACV rinse.

I totally relate to not having money to buy preferred brand of shampoo.

Hard water won't hurt your hair, but you will likely notice it. You may need to clarify when you come home, just depends on the effect.

heidi w.

[Thinthondiel]

I'm not sure I'd advise just rinsing with water, especially if the water is harder than you're used to. Most likely, your hair will look greasy if you do. When I first started doing WO, my hair looked noticeably greasier for quite a while (although not as greasy as I had thought it would look), until my scalp started producing less sebum. This is the case for most, if not all, WO-ers. Harder water also makes my hair look dirtier, because it causes mineral build-up or something. I didn't notice this at all when I still used SLS shampoos, but it's pretty noticeable when I only rinse with water. So I'm sure your mum will be even more displeased if you only rinse with water, because your hair will probably look dirtier.

I've used diluted vinegar rinses on coloured hair, and it didn't affect the colour at all. ACV might give hair a reddish cast, but white vinegar can't affect any colour (natural or dyed) as far as I know.

[Madame J]

What if you asked your grandparents to buy you a bottle of VO5 conditioner because it helps your hair not tangle, and they don't seem like they have any conditioner? It's perfectly normal to use conditioner with shampoo, so that shouldn't upset your mom (by the way, gets on my nerves so badly when parents attack kids for not being "normal"). Then, just CO wash once you're in the shower (no one's watching, right?). If you go through it really fast, well, everyone already assumes people with long hair use a lot of hair product...

When I was a little girl, I only used shampoo most of the time, too, but when my hair got really long, my grandmother was the one who noticed how badly it tangled and told my mom to buy me some creme rinse for it. She always kept a little bottle around for me for when I stayed there. It's not unreasonable to ask for a $1 bottle of conditioner to make it easier to comb your hair.

As far as clarifying goes, pretty much any shampoo with sulfates in it, but without 'cones, will work pretty well for clarifying. If you're having trouble with your hair, it could be due to the water, and you could try giving it a wash with the Mane 'n Tail -- I think it's got sulfates in it.

[embee]

If you end up against the wall with this, just use what they have, *very* diluted. Like, take a big old plastic cup in the shower with you, put warm water in it, squirt a bit M&T in there, and use it on the scalp part and just let it run down the length.

You're not living there forever, it's just one of those things. If you were camping in the woods for a week or two you'd be in a similar situation, as would most of us. Or going to the beach.

Make do. :) It'll be ok.