A long time ago, on my old blog, I posted a 3-part series about “My Crunchy Granola Girl Experiment,” (see the links to the old posts below) in which I stopped washing my hair with commercial shampoo, made my own shampoo, and only washed my hair twice a week. It’s been over two years since I posted that so I figured I’d better come clean (ha ha) about how my experiment has gone in the years since.
Here’s my confession: I don’t make my own shampoo any more.
Here’s why:
That’s Ellie, at 2 days old.
Once I got pregnant, the raging hormones in my body also made drastic changes to my hair and my hair got amazingly greasy. I’ve heard from many other women that this happened to them too when they were pregnant. I stuck it out with my homemade shampoo until I was about 7 months pregnant (while slowly going crazy about how bad my hair looked) and then just had to do something.
So I looked around. Most acceptable shampoo options for me were incredibly expensive (like $40 for a bottle) but then I found this shampoo at Trader Joe’s:
Tea Tree Tingle
It’s the most expensive shampoo they sell but it’s still under $5 a bottle and it’s remarkably free of any offensive ingredients. In particular, it doesn’t have any of the big five problems that I list in Part 2a of my original shampoo issues.
So since before Ellie was born, I’ve been washing my hair with that shampoo, feeling quite happy with it, and also feeling guilty that I’ve never fessed up publicly to not being so crunchy that I make my own shampoo!
Now, I only wash my hair once a week and I love how easy it is to face the day, not having to wash and blow dry my hair. It’s also convenient to not have to shower every single day when you have a baby. (I’ll sing the praises of less-than-daily showering some other time.)
I do however shower daily during the summer (in case you’re worried about ever visiting me ever again).
Please don’t think less of me now that you know I don’t make my own shampoo anymore! We all have to make exceptions somewhere! 🙂
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My original series:
Part 1: Why I stopped using commercial shampoo
Part 2a: Why You Should Stop Using Commercial Shampoo Too
Part 2b: My homemade shampoo recipe (and some FAQs)
I didn’t know about your other blog! I’m going to need to read more on that site! I actually went “no ‘poo” about a month ago. I do the baking soda wash/ apple cider vinegar rinse. I “wash” twice a week but I think I’ll be able to get to once soon. The only issue I have is that my hair is a bit dry on the ends. I’ve read that using some coconut oil on the ends helps. I did also just invest in a boar bristle brush to help disperse the natural oils. I hope that helps too!
wow – I’m impressed! It took me a couple years to work my way down to only once a week. And I actually never tried the “no poo” method. Some day maybe I will!
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