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Sossity
March 10th, 2008, 02:32 AM
I have been experimenting with the baking soda & apple cider vinegar rinse recipe. After doing this I apply a hair oil to the lower half of my hair. However, I find after my hair is dry & I pass my clean hair brush through it, there is a heavy white film on the bristles, as though I have not washed my hair or the brush in a long time. What is causing this? is it a big deal? I find the film difficult to clean from my hair brush; it is a cushion paddle brush with nylon spikes, a Denman paddle brush specifically. I posted on the long hair care forum, It is where I learned about the baking soda ACV rinse routine. I currently have no hot water, my water heater broke, & the long hair care forum advised to leave the baking soda on my scalp a little longer, to compensate for lack of hot water, my tap water is also hard/alkaline. I make up bigger mixes of ACV & baking soda in reused plastic Arrowhead water bottles, using distilled water for these mixes. I rinse & wet my hair with the tap water out of my shower.

Do hair oils build up in ones hair? I switched to them as a replacement for the silicone hair serums, of which I used after using commercial shampoos & conditioners. how often should I wash my hair, I usually wash between 1 or 2 times a week. what type of hair oil is best? so far i have tried something called Nubian heritage, with frankincense & myrrh. The other I tried is esscential essances tribal coconut oil with Tahitian vanilla. My hair is long past my waist, fairly thick, medium to course. About 2a, not straight, but not curly, but wavy.

I notice while in the shower I can see little oil beads in my hair, like it is left over, does this mean I am not getting it clean enough? have even added some brown sugar to my baking soda mix to reduce flakes/build up, this was advised in the long hair care forum, but this has not helped much.

I did more research after Googling no poo; & it seems that the baking soda does not work well with hard water, it combines with scalp oils & forms soap scum residue in the hair, how do I avoid this? will a no poo routine work for me or should I just switch back to sulphate & silicone shampoos & conditioners? I wanted to avoid chemicals & at the same time use something that is a cheap & easy to find alternative.

Sossity

Nat242
March 10th, 2008, 03:26 AM
Hmm, I don't really know why your hair is doing that, however, if BS/ACV doesn't work, you don't necessarily have to go back to sulphate shampoos. It might just be that your hair needs lather, which you can achieve through non-sulphate shampoos, or you could dilute your shampoo, and still get a good cleansing.

-- Natalie

tiny_teesha
March 10th, 2008, 06:06 AM
You should definately at least give herbs a try. Now you won't get much of a lather, but lather does not mean clean, it just means bubbles(purely aesthetic)!
search for the indian herb thread started by mira-chan
With herbs there are methods. Make a strong "tea" from it.
or a paste that you massage into your hair.
then you can use some diluted honey as conditioner or whatever.
I am useing herbs for the moment, not sure if it is quite for me, but it is CHEAP!
Absolute best oils that penetrate the hair are
coconut, avocado and olive.
jojoba and castor oil are also praised but they do not penetrate.

Deborah
March 10th, 2008, 09:44 AM
My water is really hard too. When I use baking soda, I put around a tablespoon or two of the BS in a 40 ounce bottle, diulted with hot water. I wash the scalp and the hair that basicallly covers my head reallly well, rinse really well, then use a final rinse of either white vinegar or citric acid. I use a good bit of either, and don't usually rinse them out. For the vinegar I probably use 1/3-1/2 cup diluted in a 40 ounce bottle of really cold water. For the citric acid I use around 1/2-1 teaspoon of the powder diluted in a 40 ounce bottle of really cold water. These work well, leaving the hair shiny and soft. If I skip the acidic rinse, my hair is downright gummy. Apparently that's the hard water doing its thing.

BS washing takes some getting used to, and your hair will need at least a week or so to adjust, but it can give really great results. And think about it, the only chemicals hitting your hair and scalp are plain old baking soda and either vinegar or citric acid. We eat all of these regularly, and they are harmless. You cannot say that about any shampoo or conditioner.

If you just cannot adjust to the BS, there is no reason to jump right back to sulfates, or to shampoo at all. I have not used ANY shampoo or such in at least several years. You can easily get your hair and scalp perfectly clean with conditioner-only washing (CO) or sorbolene washing, if you do these procedures carefully and correctly. While there are some chemicals in these, they are WAY less harsh than the soap or detergent found in all shampoos.

I hope you find something that works perfectly for you, and that employs substances you can feel good about from a health point of view. :)

Sossity
March 14th, 2008, 03:53 PM
I tried just using a lemon juice mix with bottled water followed by a white vinegar rinse & this helped a little with the grey film, but there was still alot present. My recent shower I tried just the lemon juice mix, half with water, waited until my hair was dry, & brushed it, & there was alot less of the grey film, so I will try using this mix about 1 or 2 times a week in my hair. I notice my hair takes a long time to dry naturally, about 2 -5 hours, does this mean I have thicker hair? I read somewhere that thicker hair takes longer to dry.

Sossity

lynnala
March 16th, 2008, 08:32 PM
This new signature pic was taken just after a BS/ACV wash and rinse. I really like the results on my hair. I know there used to be an article about the whats and whys of this technique, does anyone remember what the basic reasoning is behind it, why it is works and is good for some hair?

Elfling
March 16th, 2008, 09:26 PM
Lynnala- your color is just lovely :)

Lexie
March 16th, 2008, 09:39 PM
You can try using more baking soda to the same amount of water. That's either residue from the oils you apply, from your own oils, or from both. If you don't get it all off, that's what you end up with. When you get used to the feel of your wet hair with absolutely nothing left on it, you'll know the difference. This happens to me when I don't wash my hair for a long time or apply too much oil to it. It just needs extra cleaning. You can even try a second washing with the same amount of baking soda you normally use, but I find it's best to wash my hair just once when I do because it gets even more dry that it naturally is otherwise.

ETA: You can also try not dissolving all the baking soda and using the grittiness as a scrub. I do that too if the oils are heavy.

lynnala
March 16th, 2008, 09:42 PM
Lynnala- your color is just lovely :)Gee, thanks elfling! It's kind of two toned, the bottom has the remnants of "natural" blonde dye and the top is natural, mostly white....