How long did you try baking soda/acv rinse?

[Pebbles]

I've been using baking soda to wash and acv to rinse for about 2 weeks now. For the most part I really like the results, but my bangs/fringe get pretty greasy looking. I also miss the nice smell of shampoo/conditioner.

Sooo, I have some questions for those who've tried this method:

1. How long did you stick with it?
2. For what reason did you stop?
3. If you are currently using this method, what benefits to your hair have you noticed?

[mrs_coffee]

I tried it last year for a while...I'd wager 6 months. I stopped because it made my hair feel sticky and odd textured. I was disappointed it didn't agree with my hair because I have a number of friends who have had great results with that method.

[Belisarius]

Twice I think. I didn't like the smell and didn't notice any effects.

[Roseate]

1. How long did you stick with it?
6 months.

2. For what reason did you stop?
My ends were getting too dry.

3. If you are currently using this method, what benefits to your hair have you noticed?
While I was using BS/ACV, my scalp was very happy. I have a variety of scalp issues and they were all gone while on this method.

The only drawback for me was the dry ends, and I think that could be solved by doing a prewash oiling or using a little commercial conditioner on the ends.

[Superfine]

Has anyone tried just putting baking soda in with shampoo? I saw that idea in an Arm & Hammer baking soda ad in a magazine.

[Roseate]

Has anyone tried just putting baking soda in with shampoo? I saw that idea in an Arm & Hammer baking soda ad in a magazine.

I guess you could, if you needed to do some heavy-duty clarifying! Baking soda's very cleansing, and so is shampoo, so if you combined the two it could be overkill IMO.

When I used BS to wash I was only using 1/4 tsp in 2c of water; it doesn't take much.

[pepperminttea]

I tried going no 'poo for five and a half months, but I only tried baking soda twice to horrendous results (hard water + baking soda = soap scum).

[Pebbles]

Superfine, I haven't heard of adding baking soda to shampoo, but some members of LHC have added it to conditioner. I'm thinking of trying this if baking soda/acv alone doesn't work for me.

Thanks for the replies. I'm wondering if there are any bs/acv 'believers' out there. :)

[RecklessCharlie]

Ever since I've been WO I've used baking soda probably once every two weeks. I think the key is not using too much baking soda I put 1 tbsp to 2 1/2 cups of water.
It really helped me get through the 'transition' phase of WO and I never felt I had any build up or extra dry ends because of it. My hair was always full and very clean after I used it. I use it now only if I get something in my hair that pure water wouldn't wash out.
I've tried ACV rinses but they always leave my hair limp and greasy looking so I avoid them now.

[indigonight]

every time I need to clarify I mix a handful of baking soda into my poo and wash with that. It works great!

[little_cherry]

I did this for 6 months, but found it very harsh and moved onto CO, and finally herb washing. My hair is at its happiest with herb washing.

I wouldn't mix BS into shampoo--it's very abrasive!!! Think what this is doing to your hair??!!

[Bene]

I never did it exclusively. Just once a month, I'll wash with baking soda instead of my normal shampoo bar. I do an ACV rinse with every wash, for about 2 years now.

[SarahBeth]

I've used BS/ACV for 4 months and am starting to have dryness issues. I've tried using less and less BS. Started with 1 tablespoon per cup of water and went down to 1/2 T. in 4 cups water. I went from daily washing to everyother day. My hair was getting clean, just too dry, especially at the ends. The last few washes, I've used homemade egg shampoo: 1 egg, 1/4 t. evoo, 1 cup brewed black tea,1 T. molasses. What a difference. My hair is soft and shiny. We'll see if it lasts. I hope so because I never want to use commercial products on my hair again.

[remidosi]

I've been using baking soda and vinegar since... oh, I think about February. It's made me pretty happy overall, but there are still a few things I'm tweaking. As for benefits to my hair, I could almost immediately go four or five days between washes, when with shampoo and conditioner I'd have itchy scalp by day 2 and by day 3 my roots would be a grease slick. With BS and vinegar, my scalp doesn't ever itch and I can comfortably wear my hair down on day 4... and with thin, fine ash-blonde hair, that's saying something. If I go back to shampoo and conditioner, it'll be because my ends get dry. After hanging out here for a while, I decided to try coconut oil and I'm hoping that's a step towards the solution for the dryness problem; I don't want to go back to commercial products :)

I have been trying to wean myself off of the baking soda altogether after reading how drying and damaging that can be. I'd love to be WO with the occasional moisture treatment or vinegar rinse!

Some people find that the ACV actually makes their hair greasy. You could try experimenting with the ratios of the dilution.

Here's the article that provided the basis for my routine (and offers plenty of detailed info and suggestions for alterations and troubleshooting:

http://babyslime.livejournal.com/174054.html

Hope that helps! :D

[RadiantNeedle]

I'm adding about a teaspoon of Baking Soda to my conditioner when I CO, every second wash or so. I protect the lengths with plain conditioner, and use the soda-mousse that I make when I stir it all really well on my roots and some of the length if it needs it. I'm finding this better than just a pure baking soda wash, because the conditioner will get rid of dandruff while the BS will not.
I've been doing this for a few months.

The ACV rinse I do every time I wash my hair, and its helped my scalp immeasurably. It's no longer burning and I rarely have any sores! Woo!

[spidermom]

Has anyone tried just putting baking soda in with shampoo? I saw that idea in an Arm & Hammer baking soda ad in a magazine.

It was a disaster! My hair matted together like felt. For two weeks, unless it was wet and full of conditioner, I couldn't get a comb through my hair. My hair was somewhere between APL and BSL at the time, and I thought I'd have to cut very short to get rid of the horror on my head. But my hair recovered after daily conditioner soaks for two weeks.

I tried pouring a BS solution (1 tsp baking soda dissolved in one pint of warm water) over my scalp and through my hair on 2 occasions, but it seemed to really dry my hair out.

So I'm a CWCer; consistent good results.

ETA: I can't use vinegar, either. It makes my hair crazy fly-away.

[jaine]

I tried BS and ACV for 2 washes and it felt like the worst and most damaging thing that I've ever done to my hair. The baking soda left my hair so tangly and rough and dry it was unlike anything I had ever experienced. The ACV left a smell in my hair that made me want to vomit and avoid the human race all day long. (even though I rinsed it out thoroughly with plain water.)

[phistash]

I think I used it for about 9 months. I stopped mainly because it was too much effort for me. I am very lazy when it comes to washing my hair, it seems, and I hate having to always mix batches up. The BS mixture isn't so difficult, obviously, but I always used honey in my ACV rinse (makes my hair very soft), and the extra step of boiling water to dissolve the honey, and having to let it cool down, got to be too much for me.

I still use them both once in a while, for clarifying.

[Eire]

I wash with dilute baking soda, then apply conditioner from the ears down for a few minutes. After I wash the conditioner out, I do ACV rinse from the scalp down. So far this method has worked fantastically for me, but I haven't been doing it long enough to tell if there will be build-up.

[embee]

Baking soda was the worst thing I tried with my hair since joining LHC. Can we all say "straw"? It took multiple washes and conditionings to get back to soft(ish). No point in continuing with that.

If I'd tried to stay with it two weeks my hair would have broken off above BSL I think. The tangles simply did *not* come out. Within minutes my comb was full of broken hair, it was just sad. Thank heaven I started from the ends!

[Lori1965]

I've been using baking soda and acv for probably 6 months now. I loved it at first because I wanted to stop using store bought shampoo and conditioner. But now my hair is also like straw! I can hold it 5 inches from the bottom and it will stand strand out. I can hear it crunching. Unfortunately I'm going to stop using it and try to find an alternative.

[jeanniet]

I use it intermittently--I tend to switch around between washing methods. I like it, and have never had a dryness issue with my ends once I found the right ratio of BS to water.

I think the secret to washing with BS is to find the right ratio for your hair. Everywhere you look says to use 1 tablespoon in a cup of water, but for many people that's way too much. If I used that much, my hair would be a complete mess. So start with a small amount (no more than a teaspoon) and adjust from there depending on how it turns out. I use 1/8-1/4 teaspoon in a pint of warm water, shaken well. Make sure the water is warm so the BS dissolves. Always follow with an acidic rinse, too. It still might not work for you, but at least you'll know you didn't overdo the BS!

[christine1989]

I tried it for about a week but stopped because my hair got too greasy near the top and I didn't like the smell of the ACV.

[lascuba]

I've been using it for about 4 months now, but I only really use it as a clarifier. I do BS/ACV every two weeks, ACV on alternate weeks, and the rest of the time I just wash with water before conditioning. That's enough to keep my scalp clean (it tends to be oily) while not drying out my hair, which will happen if I sue BS more often.