I Don't Use Shampoo...

     There. I said it. My husband thought I had finally gone off the deep end when I suggested this. He totally thinks I'm a "hippie" anyways.  I'm pretty sure that he has been won over at this point. It's a good thing too, since I haven't bought shampoo in a couple of months. He was already won over to using oil to clean his face. By the way, I like what the oil face wash did for my face...I just didn't like that the hair right around my face always looked oily! That is why I use something else these days. Jonathon still uses the oil on his super oily face and he likes it.
     I'm sure you've heard of "no-poo" people. There are all kinds of posts about it if you search the internet. There are a lot of shampoo alternatives out there. I'm going to tell you about what I have been doing.
     I wasn't really looking to stop using shampoo. Really, I had just started to use Dr. Bronner's soap for my body because of some skin sensitivities that developed when I was pregnant. As I was reading more about the soap, I realized how many things you could use it for...18 in 1 all purpose soap! I can't say that I've tried all 18 uses...in fact, I'm sure there are more than 18 uses for this soap since you can use it to make a whole lot of cleaning products. Check out Clean House, Clean Planet (see link at the end of this post) for tons of homemade cleaning solutions that really work. Maybe another post will include some of my favorite cleaning methods.
     So, on to this "no poo" idea. I use Dr. Bronner's instead of shampoo. I either squirt a little directly from the bottle and use the shower water to lather or I use a diluted foam that I have made. I also use the foam to wash my face and body. To make the foam...

• Go to the Dollar Tree and buy a foam hand soap
• When you get home, throw out the cheap soap in the hand pump and rinse the container out. It's much cheaper to buy the $1 hand soap and throw it out, than to buy a hand soap pump at the store. Though, you can if you want to.
• Fill the container about 3/4 full with water, then fill the rest of the way with Dr. Bronner's soap of your choice. Do the water first, then soap so you don't create a ton of bubbles!

Now, if you use Dr. Bronner's for your shampoo, you will want to use some sort of conditioner. The soap will make your hair stick out funky and not feel very soft. Dr. Bronner makes a conditioner that is Ph balanced to equalize the effects of the soap. I haven't tried it yet, because apparently Apple Cider Vinegar has the same Ph...and it's cheaper. I just pour the vinegar/water mixture over my hair, leave it for a couple of minutes, then rinse. You smell the vinegar, but once you rinse it out, you only smell the Bronner's soap you chose to use for "shampoo." I promise. When you are in the shower, the rinsed hair doesn't feel slimy and smooth like with traditional conditioners, but it's super easy to brush out and it's really soft. I don't know how it works, but it does! To make the vinegar rinse...

• Pour water and apple cider vinegar into a squirt bottle. I played around with the ratios and usually prefer about 2/3 water to 1/3 vinegar.

There is a bit of an adjustment period when you switch to no shampoo. It took about a week of ponytails for me, but I don't think I will ever go back. I have always had super fine, flat hair and now my hair is shiny, easy to style, and full of volume. Using Bronner's for face wash is the first thing I've used that didn't result in a breakout on my face. 

What's in my shower?

And, here is a more recent picture of me...and my hair and face...