No Poo Recipes!

Sugar Shampoo:

1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp witch hazel
2 tbsp raw sugar (the really grainy kind)
1tsp cinnamon
3 drops tea tree oil

Mix ingredients. Scrub into roots. Use fingers to comb through to ends. Rinse.

Applesauce Shampoo:

3tbsp applesauce
1tbsp witch hazel
1 tsp cinnamon
3 drops tea tree oil

Mix ingredients. Wash hair from roots to tips. Rinse.

You can add a teaspoon of baking soda occasionally, if you use a lot of product or you feel like you need the extra clean.  I do that about once a week. Or if I've overkilled on the coconut oil.

Rinses:

Tea Rinse:
2 teabags (black, green, herbal, anything goes) or a handful of fresh or dried herbs
1 cup rice water
2 tbsp vinegar (white or apple cider)
1tsp honey
Pea sized amount of coconut oil.

Brew teabags in 1 cup boiling water for at least half an hour. Melt honey and coconut oil into tea. Mix with rice water and vinegar. Pour over hair, sit for two minutes, then rinse.

I am making my rosemary vinegar - steeping as much rosemary I can shove into a jar in apple cider vinegar for two weeks. Can't wait to try that! You can also, apparently, use beer as a hair conditioner. No joke. Just pour a beer over your hair, let it sit, and rinse. The yeast and sugar is meant to be really good for your hair. I...might wait until I've actually had a beer before putting one in my hair.

The recipes above are a result of my own experimentation, based on what I have around the house/what I've convinced my mother to purchase for me. There's definitely a lot of trial and error involved, but the cool thing is that no-poo can always be tailored to your own hair needs and what you have available. You can be as frugal or as extravagant as you want.

Another thing that has been going around is the condish no-poo - replacing shampoos, masques, conditioners and treatments with just a really good, silicone free organic conditioner of choice. I haven't tried that, mostly because I naturally have glossy, silky hair (go Asian genes!) that tends to get incredibly greasy if I just think about conditioner too much (boo hormones). Also, I think it's kind of cheating - being the hippy I am, surely 'no-poo' would imply 'no store bought hair care products of any kind'?

At the moment I wash my hair every day, because my hair is still adjusting to not being subjected to harsh detergents (the baking soda I used to use was pretty potent), and most people who know me no that I am completely anal about my hair looking oily - although I may lay off a bit before I overwash it. There is actually lots of information on the net and whilst some things are pretty exotic, or too expensive to tip onto your hair and down the drain, some things are pretty basic.Yes, most people think I'm mad. Yes, my hair is clean, and shiny, and not greasy.  No, there's nothing growing in it. Yes, I'm crazy for making my own shampoo. And yes, I never intend to touch commercial shampoo again.