I haven’t shampooed my hair since last June.
Yup, you read that correctly. I stopped using shampoo on my hair at the beginning of the summer and my hair has never been happier. Instead I use a baking soda and water rinse followed by an apple cider vinegar and water rinse and my hair comes out looking and feeling softer and cleaner that it has since I hit puberty. Once my hair has dried, this method leaves no sent on my hair even with the vinegar. I used to have a lot of trouble styling or even brushing through my hair when it was wet- ending up ripping out a lot of hair if I didn’t do it very, very carefully. Now, the brush goes through my wet hair easily and my hair has more volume because more strands stay attached to my head instead of in my hairbrush. Even more importantly, my scalp, which used to get dry, scaly and itchy once a month, is healthier than ever, too. Last but not least, this method is super cheap- baking soda and vinegar enough for about 3 months cost about $5-7, making it as cheap or cheaper than bargain shampoos and conditioners (which I don’t even need with this method).
This way of cleaning hair is comically named the “No-Poo Method”.
As a child of the 70’s I was surprised to learn that use of shampoo more often than a couple of times a year was really a very recent invention of the soap industry- big business trying to sell more product by convincing us that we were “doing it wrong” if we didn’t do it the way big business said way the right way. (Sounds so familiar.)
The thing that lead me to No-Poo was one of the things we have been trying to do as a family for 20 years- reduce the number of chemicals we expose ourselves to on a daily basis. I began reading and hearing about health concerns linked to the chemical sodium laurel sulfate and, wondered about alternatives. We as a family began using products that were sls free a few years ago because, despite the fact that the jury is still out about how dangerous sls is, if it is at all, we felt it was better safe than sorry. But, even if sls was proved to be completely harmless tomorrow, I still wouldn’t go back to shampoo. My hair and scalp feel way too good using the No-Poo Method.
So, my point is- if you have any concerns about sodium laurel sulfate or find that shampoos dry out your hair and scalp even when you use a conditioner, consider dumping the shampoo and using this more gentle and natural way of getting your hair clean.
virginiadiaz.wordpress.com 
Now, I have to ask, what sort of hair type do you have? I love the idea of your trial (or perhaps accepted practise) but have a few concerns given I have very curly, often frizzy hair. Generally I’ve been forced to rely on chemical-full frizz controlling products so would be interested in anything that works for my sort of hair.
Sorry if I am trying to turn you into a hair expert – perhaps a little unfair!
Great blog by the way.
I applaud your no-poo method of washing my hair. My wife and daughters have found all sorts of wonderful ways to combine natural products in cleaning supplies for their bodies and for the house. Me, I just bathe less regularly, let my apartment go to pot, and avoid people at all costs.
I meant to write (above) “washing your hair” not “my hair”. Oh my, what would Freud say about that? Much less your husband?