The Truth About Lessening Shampoo Use

Image from: www.naturallythinking.com

If you've read Make Your Own Gugo Shampoo, you'd know that my mom is successful in transcending from commercial shampoo user to Gugo shampoo user, which is more natural and gentler to hair. I am not quite that successful yet.

For a D-I-Y-er, I am quite lazy. I'd rather use baking soda and water on my hair than make my own Gugo shampoo even though it's not that hard either. But one thing is for sure, I want healthy hair and I am sure that I am not going to get it by increasing shampoo use.

Unfortunately, shampooing is not something you can just stop without adverse effects. And even with baby steps, these adverse effects can be felt.

Shampoo, according to my dermatologist, is really for our scalp. It is used to remove the excess oils in our scalp that cause build-up, which later on become dandruff. But did you know that shampoo causes excessive oil production in our scalp? By using shampoo, you make the scalp dry which signals it to produce more oil to maintain its natural state. So if you've been using shampoo all your lives just like me, you've been sending the wrong message to your scalp. And not just that, you're actually overworking it. Our scalp oil is also the reason why conditioner is only placed from hair under your ears to the tips because when we comb (even finger comb) our hair, natural oil is distributed to the upper hair area.

I certainly cannot live without shampoo yet. I am very much envious of the people who can just live on baking soda and water to wash their scalp. Like coffee, water is the most important ingredient in shampooing or washing your hair and scalp. And baking soda helps make hard water become soft water, which helps hair become manageable).

I'm not quite there yet so instead, I'm giving my scalp enough time to adjust. Now, I dilute a drop shampoo in a dipper in approximately 1 cup of water before applying it on my head. Then, I massage scalp as usual and rinse.

The first week is really difficult. My scalp was way too oily and I had build-up. I read that it takes 6 weeks before your scalp can adjust to lessening shampoo use or non-use but the advantages outweigh all of these.

I am currently in my 4th or 5th week (I've lost count but I'm not turning back!) and I noticed that my hair is softer, shinier and more manageable. It even looks nicer when I style it! I notice also that I am not as prone to dandruff when weather changes. Better hair care, healthier scalp, savings, less consumption of chemical products, now that's what I call a sweet deal.

Baking Soda: Face Mask

I do baking soda on my teeth with my toothpaste once a week, worked it up on my scalp and legs and so this morning I asked myself, why haven't I tried it on my face yet?

Without a moment to lose, I searched the net for the green light to go try it on my face and the green light I found!

Image from: www.newhealthadvisor.com

Apparently, our household baking soda is good for exfoliation plus it's very mild. It is said to even  remove acidic impurities that is usually in our commercial facial scrubs. According to TLC Style, you can add it to your facial wash, thrice a week. Other sites say that it is safe to use as a face mask. So I put them to the test. 

What you will need:

1 tsp. baking soda

Water, enough to make paste

Mix them together and apply to face as you would with a scrub and leave for 10 minutes. 

My verdict:

You know the feeling when you're over-excited and all instructions go down the drain? Well, that happens to me a lot. Thankfully, baking soda is mild. I think I used 1 tbsp. and I placed everything on my face and part of my neck.

I didn't last 10 minutes. I probably made it to 3 minutes tops! I had to wash it off because my face because I felt like my face was getting irritated. I was able to taste a bit of the solution and I tell you, it ain't pretty. I washed off with water and placed toner to close my pores.

Now if it wasn't for my lapse of judgment, I think I might have really enjoyed the process. But who cares when I am really enjoying the results? I am starting to have breakouts because I am days away from my period but after this treat, my breakouts looked smaller and my nose is a lot smoother. There are no medical evidences that baking soda helps alleviate acne but there have been several like me who have seen results. I love that my face is so soft. I should really stop touching it. 

Just remember to follow instructions. You have been warned. 

Baking Soda for your Legs!

So I've been fussing over my legs because I had ingrown from the last time I waxed. Maybe I got the technique wrong or it has been just so hot here or it's because I wear jeans most of the time. (I know what you're thinking, I wax and then I wear jeans. I'm a mystery to myself too.) 


So I've tried a lot of remedies to help improve the situation with my legs. I've tweezed some from my sore pores, applied cold compress, gently scrubbed with loofah twice a day (which is a relief by the way), and even placed aloe vera. It's been working well for me until I discovered a new use for baking soda... AGAIN!

In my previous entry, I've talked about baking soda as a shampoo substitute. But in my search to rid myself of my legs insecurity, I found out from eHow that baking soda helps prevent ingrown and leaves skin smooth and velvety!

What you will need:

4 tbsp. Baking Soda
Enough warm water to make paste

Instructions:

Massage legs with paste. Do this once a week.

My Verdict:


My legs were really smooth after this treat. You can bet I'm doing this next week!

Photo from: http://1greengeneration.elementsintime.com/?p=661

Baking Soda not just for your Teeth and Tiles

Photo from: http://thegloss.com/beauty/baking-soda-natural-acne-treatment-825/

I've known for the longest time that baking soda, apart from being a staple ingredient in cookies and anything baked and has chocolate in it, that it is also a great teeth whitener and even a great tile cleaner with vinegar. So, imagine my surprise when I read in Simple Mom that it is also a great substitute for shampoo too!

 What you will need:

1 cup of water

1 tablespoon of Baking Soda

Instructions:

Wet hair and pour mixture over scalp and massage scalp as you would with your shampoo and rinse. 

Simple Mom said that it can last about a week for her and her hubby but they have short hair while I have thick hair below my shoulders so when I tried this today, I literally poured everything out. Excited much? But I could tell you this much, my hair felt so much different upon dousing the mixture in my hair and as it went down the tips. 

It is highly recommended that you conditioner hair also using Apple Cider (preferably) o really any kind of vinegar as a vinegar hair rinse. Get the recipe here.  

I just air-dried my hair and I can tell you this much... I can stop touching it because it's soft and velvety and that's in hot weather. Goodbye fly-away.