Great hair and saving money: poo to shampoo

So many times I've heard hairdressers say how a good quality shampoo really makes a difference to your hair. Maybe a salon-type one (which I've used for a long time now) is better than a supermarket one. It certainly earns the salon a lot more money.

But now I've found out that no shampoo is even better! Ditto conditioner!

I know it sounds radical. It is this:
~ hair cleanser: baking soda and water (about 2-3 Tblsp to a litre of tap water)
~ conditioner: apple cider vinegar and tap water (about 4 Tbsp per litre of water, or experiment with using even more vinegar)

Using a funnel, pour them into squeezy bottles (e.g. old shampoo bottles). Even milk bottles can get you through until you manage to find some empty squeezy ones. Maybe you could do an early morning reconnaissance of your neighbours' recycling bins on rubbish day? Whatever you do, don't pay for one!

Stash them in the shower.

Before I go into instructions on how to use, allow me to be more persuasive.

I swear my hair is BETTER than before. Here is a photo to show those of you who know me that no disaster has occurred with the change of routine:

I took this today, and started with the 'foliage' setting on the camera, thinking that might suit my hair. Ian wondered if the 'underwater' setting might suit better, given there's no specific 'seaweed' setting.

I can now go 5-6 days without washing my hair, whereas it used to be 4-5 days before it got a bit oily looking.

And how earth-friendly is it? Virtually no packaging (if you get your baking soda and vinegar from the Bin Inn or other bulk source), and no synthetic chemicals into the wastewater system. Awesome!

The savings, of course, are significant. This will save me at least $100 a year (I used to buy the really good stuff).

OK, how to use it:
1. Cleanser: flip your head forward and squirt or pour a cup or so of the baking soda water onto your scalp. Massage the scalp thoroughly for a couple of minutes. Don't worry too much about the hair itself. Then rinse out thoroughly. No need to repeat.
2. Pile your hair on top of your head if it's long enough, and just squirt the conditioner over. Tilt your head back as you do it because if you get it in your eyes it hurts quite badly. Then comb your fingers through your hair to distribute the vinegar. It doesn't seem to need to be left long - a minute, perhaps. Then rinse thoroughly.

Are you worried about the smell? It disappears in a few minutes from your hair and the shower.

I got the idea for this hair washing method from this great blog.

Stand poised for more baking soda posts in future. Perhaps I should have called this www.bakingsoda.com. I just checked and it's not taken! I have other green-living recipe experiments to report on also.