Cleaning Green Part 2: No Poo!

OK, I've done it! I'm a recent convert to the No Poo Shampoo Movement!  I read Beth Terry's book Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too over the summer.  It was a quick and fun read, but it also made me consider how I could further reduce my plastic and chemical footprint. I'd heard of using baking soda and water as a shampoo, but I color my hair a couple of times a year and I was afraid to try it. Then, in the spirit of "nothing ventured, nothing gained, but more because my shampoo bottle was empty, I decided to give the No Poo method a try.  

My Hair Regimen: Baking Soda and Vinegar

You'll find all sorts of No Poo recipes on the web. I decided to keep it simple. I put a tablespoon of baking soda into an empty shampoo bottle, filled it up with water..and voilà. ! I squirt a 2 or so tablespoons of the mix on my hair and massage it into my scalp. The mixture doesn't foam up..which takes some getting used to..and honestly, as other folks will tell you, there is a transition phase of 2-3 weeks while your hair remembers how to make its own (natural) oils (since its forgotten how to do this since you've been putting chemical shampoos on it for all these years!)  My hair became very dry.  Once I started using a vinegar and water rinse, things improved quickly (I mix a 3 tablespoons of vinegar to 2 cups of water, but you don't have to be exact and the vinegar smell doesn't stay in your hair). If you miss that "after shampoo" smell, add a couple of drops of jasmine or lavender essence to the vinegar rinse. (No Poo leaves your hair clean, but with no smell).

Now, my hair feels great and looks like it did when I used regular shampoo...but I'm not putting  all those chemicals on my scalp or down the drain. I'm also reducing my plastic footprint by not buying more plastic bottles of shampoo and conditioner. I travel for work, so I pack a small amount of baking soda in my my luggage so I can make a No Poo mix at my destination (and have downsized the liquids I travel with in the process). I'm a fan!

Summer Reading for the Recycler: "Plastic Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can, Too"

One of the blogs I followed it Beth Terry's "Plastic Free Life". It's a great blog, that is informative, humorous, and practical.  Beth explains in lay terms (well, as "lay" as you can get when you start talking about plastic chemical compounds) about why and how we should get plastic out of our lives - for health as well as environmental reasons.  She's now written a book - "Plastic Free" which puts all this logic into a pleasantly readable and compelling format that's fun and informative to read.  You can even order it in plastic-free packaging, or download it onto your e-reader.  Beth realizes that while it's impossible to rid your life of plastic, you can makes some changes that will reduce your consumption, and your carbon foot print.  I found I already do many of the things she suggests (clean with baking soda and vinegar and make my own yogurt and hummus), but she's given me some sources for some products that I currently buy in plastic ..and some ideas for some products that I can easily make myself. Rumor has it that she'll be coming to DC for some speaking events this fall.  Stay tuned!