Now I know what you might be thinking, but don’t go there. Read this post instead to find out one of the latest trends to saving money and the environment.
Lately, the “no pooing” method has been hitting me left and right. I’ve been getting e-mails and phone calls about this phenomena, and a few of my friends are going to try it. I have to admit that when I first saw the name of the method, “no pooing,” I thought to myself that this must be going somewhere in the frugal hall of fame for extreme frugality. How does someone not “poo?” But the more I learned about it, the more it didn’t seem so crazy. I’m not ready to try this today, but perhaps I will give it a shot in the winter, when I can hide away from the public if necessary.
So what is the “no pooing” method? Basically you forego washing your hair. Some advocates refuse any form of hair cleaning other than rinsing, while others use natural or chemical-free products. Believers say that this method saves money, keeps plastic out of the landfill, keeps toxins away from your body and improves your hair.
There are a couple of approaches to going “no poo.” The first is to rinse your hair every day with the hottest water you can stand, but use nothing else to clean it.
Another method is to use baking soda as a scrub through your hair and then rinse it with diluted vinegar. Make sure to dilute it well, or you may smell like fish and chips. Most people using this method only “wash” with it once or twice a week.
Supposedly, since shampoo strips the oils from your hair, your scalp responds by stepping up oil production. When you stop shampooing, your body adjusts, leaving you with bouncy, non-oily hair. Many people in favor of the “no pooing” method says that it works especially well with curly hair that tends to be dry and frizzy.
There is no doubt that you will save some money. Anytime you use less of a product or use none at all, you save. Baking soda and vinegar, if you chose to use them, are relatively inexpensive. The important thing is to rinse in very hot water. If you tend to take cooler showers to save money, you might increase your cost a bit there.
I would be interested in chatting with anyone who has either tried “no pooing” or is interested in doing so. What do you think?
Click here for more articles by Mary Ann Romans.
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