Today I finally took the shampoo-free plunge.
On the heels of reading
Mrs Boo Radley's epic post on the subject, I decided it could work for me after all. I've toyed around with the idea for over a year now, and have been using SLS-free shampoo (trying to... most of the time, at least) for as long. While I feel good about the more natural shampoos and my hair likes them, they are crazy-expensive.
My previous concerns mostly centered around how it would work for my hair. Most of the blogs and discussion success stories I've read were about thick, curly, over-processed hair. Not so much my fine, oily, never colored variety.
So basically, my hair looks pretty much the same as any decent hair day. However, it feels fantastic- light and soft and happy. The gist of this shampoo-free thing is to use a baking soda/water paste as the "shampoo" and a diluted apple cider vinegar rinse as the "conditioner". There's science-y reasoning of course, but I'll leave that to the folks who really know what they're doing. The baking soda paste feels bizarre on my head, but in a good way. The ACV rinse gives a potent burst when poured over the head, also good. My hair does not smell like vinegar! It smells like... clean?
Like I said, so far, so good. I have no idea how my hair will tolerate going from daily washing (since I was probably 11) to this new regime, whether or not I'll have the dreaded transitional period. Clearly, there will be a learning curve. I'm just excited to eliminate freaky chemicals from one area of my life.
The boxes pre-packing, freshly taped, no cat yet frolicking in them.
I have a lot of books.
Dad trying to squash down the mattress pad in the hopes of fitting it into a box.
Charlie and dad taking a break in the empty apartment after all their hard work.
My cat had discovered the hidden location of his much-loved Greenies from the move. These two bags were inside a sealed ziplock, inside a tote bag with the rest of his stuff. He found the ziplock and proceeded to chew a large hole straight across the top. He then pulled the unopened Greenies bag out and chewed two large holes in it. This bag was much emptier than it should have been when I found it.
Oh, he was in big trouble. We had a talk.
