my hair is messed up from BS/ACV

[happybear]

I just started no 'poo again after several months of co'ing and then using shampoo. I am doing 1tbsp BS to one cup of water, and 1 tbsp ACV to of cup of water. This is the ratio I used to use, and it worked fine before, I also never had any weird transition phase when i did this before.

This time around, after a few days of no 'poo My hair is greasy and feels like straw on the ends, also i have a strong greasy hair smell. It makes no sense to me. If the ratio was too strong (hence the dry ends) then why is my scalp greasy still? i put the BS water on my scalp only.

I don't want greasy hair, but am afraid that if i lower the BS ratio, my hair will be even more greasy.

Anyone have this issue?

[starry]

sounds really drying and maybe too harsh- seems like you need to moisturise more and cleanse with something like a dilute shampoo like once a week.

I havent used baking soda rinses before, but I do lemon juice rinses frequently and my hair dries without some moisture.

[jojo]

^^ the op isn't using shampoo she's using bs ( baking soda)

To the op I'd stop using bs, it dried my hair out too. Do a few weeks of co washing and throw a couple of SMT 's into your routine and your hair will get back to normal. Then I'd look into starting using a sulphate free shampoo rather than the bs, you can always dilute it well.

[Wildcat Diva]

I did a month of no poo with BS/ACV but then I learned about shampoo bars. I now use Chagrin Valley bars and wash about 2-3 times a week. I also have some problems with greasy scalp and dry ends on a regular basis.

[Ruzovy]

No-poo BS/ACV doesn't seem to work for everyone, I had a similar reaction to yours, and no adjusting of the amounts helped at all. My hair was greasy on top, my crown especially had this disgusting white buildup regardless of how low the BS was, it smelled like greasy greasy hair (I'd never smelled it on me before then haha) and the rest of my hair was straw. I'm doing CWC now, seems to work well so far, and I agree with the no sulfates shampoo, makes a big difference.
Good luck and hang in there...

[florenonite]

BS/ACV doesn't work for a lot of people, though it's odd that it used to work for you and now doesn't. Have you moved or has your water changed? Shampoo bars worked excellently for me until I moved somewhere with harder water.

At any rate, I'd recommend switching to something else, like shampoo bars or diluted liquid shampoo.

[Madora]

Try diluting your shampoo.

Also, how do you shampoo? Perhaps your hair might benefit from the GM technique for cleansing hair:

1) Shampoo the length to get out surface dirt, etc. then rinse
2) Shampoo again, and this time, concentrate on the scalp and scalp hair, then rinse again and follow with a cold rinse.

3) Condition

Healthy hair requires a healthy, clean scalp.

[happybear]

Ya this is super weird. I have moved since the time when i used to do this, and my water is hard, but it was hard before...maybe it is just harder now i my new city.

I am so bummed, the bs/acv worked so well before! ugh...this sucks.

[ratgirldjh]

It's probably the difference in your water. Also before you might have been used to the way 'stripped' hair felt and since you have been co-washing your hair for a while it feels icky when you use something harsh.

[Madora]

Ya this is super weird. I have moved since the time when i used to do this, and my water is hard, but it was hard before...maybe it is just harder now i my new city.

I am so bummed, the bs/acv worked so well before! ugh...this sucks.

If you think hard water might be part of the problem, can you get a hard water filter for your shower head? Heidi W. would be able to tell you more about them.

[happybear]

i'm gonna look into a filter

[happybear]

So i just did the boil-water technique for the BS water ad it worked for me, my scalp is not greasy and my hair doesn't feel as waxy.

I doused my ends in CO, it helped the dryness

the technique i found on using BS with hard water is as follows:

Boil one quart of water in a large pot (think stockpot)
after it is at a rolling boil, turn off the element
Add 1/2 cup of BS and step away from the pot, it will bubble up like crazy

Let the mix cool, but don't stir it up
When cooled, pour it in to a bottle. Leave the white residue in the pot, you don't want it in the bottle

all the minerals in hard water apparently create a weird chemical reaction with the BS, and essentially negates the BS's cleansing abilities, and instead creates a weird residue on your hair, hence the waxy build-up.

[Ruzovy]

So i just did the boil-water technique for the BS water ad it worked for me, my scalp is not greasy and my hair doesn't feel as waxy.

I doused my ends in CO, it helped the dryness

the technique i found on using BS with hard water is as follows:

Boil one quart of water in a large pot (think stockpot)
after it is at a rolling boil, turn off the element
Add 1/2 cup of BS and step away from the pot, it will bubble up like crazy

Let the mix cool, but don't stir it up
When cooled, pour it in to a bottle. Leave the white residue in the pot, you don't want it in the bottle

all the minerals in hard water apparently create a weird chemical reaction with the BS, and essentially negates the BS's cleansing abilities, and instead creates a weird residue on your hair, hence the waxy build-up.

Oh wow I had no idea. Thank you for sharing, if I ever decide to give BS another chance I'll try this :)

[heidi w.]

I would never advocate that anyone wash their hair with Baking Soda as their shampoo method. This means, despite what one may think, that they are clarifying their hair every time they wash their hair. Every. single. time. Would you clarify your hair on a daily basis?

Your hair needs moisture, as in conditioning. I hear no mention of conditioner of any sort. My conditioner recommendation is Biolage's Conditioning Balm.

heidi w.

[happybear]

I would never advocate that anyone wash their hair with Baking Soda as their shampoo method. This means, despite what one may think, that they are clarifying their hair every time they wash their hair. Every. single. time. Would you clarify your hair on a daily basis?

Your hair needs moisture, as in conditioning. I hear no mention of conditioner of any sort. My conditioner recommendation is Biolage's Conditioning Balm.

heidi w.

I don't understand, there are many people who do this (BS/ACV) technique with great results. when i used to do this my hair looked and felt amazing. There are many people, probably on this forum who do this....

I have been conditioning with Tresemme CO, I used to do the CO method with this but then it stopped working for me, not sure why, so then i started using shampoo again. But i am trying to go back to BS and ACV because it worked for me before.