For some, their body is a temple. For me, it’s a walking experiment. Last year I gave up sugar for 77 days, to see what would happen. Good things did. This had an influence when, nine months later, shampoo became the next big question.

It started with a conversation about my two year old’s head. Why was it always so clean looking? I had to wash mine at least once every 36 hours while his, shampooed far less often, shone and gleamed and curled endlessly in enviable condition.

What factors determined mine to be an itchy, oily mess while his held radiant? What caused mine to “need” shampoo while his did well without? We’re both exposed to city air and pollution daily. We both play in the sandbox. Our sheets and pillow cases are cleaned together. Indeed, the only thing I was doing differently was…shampooing frequently.

What would happen if I stopped shampooing frequently and did what my two year old does?

On the internet, I was surprised to find eight people actively blogging about their decision to “quit washing my hair”. The bloggers had sworn off all products, applying only water to their scalps. Across the board, they declared the results to be shiny, clean hair. There was a caveat: It took six to twelve weeks to get it like that. In every case, their hair went through an oily stage before balancing out and becoming a mane to be proud of. This is where most of us stopped. We decided we would need those six to twelve weeks off work, then. And no romantic partner. And daily access to a washing machine for our pillow cases. And…

I was disappointed to feel it was not feasible before summer. Shortly after, though, I happened across an online discussion about shampoo. One woman described her ‘do as fine, long, and oily –moreso in the transition of the seasons. She found success with plain baking soda. This was the first blogger I found with hair characteristics so similar to mine. Inspired by her results, I went for it. The results? Soft, shiny, thick hair that lasts about 50% longer between washings. The minimal dandruff I had been ousting with special shampoos, tea tree oil, etc, was gone after the second wash. Today is day twelve. My next step? To bottle and sell it to you, dear reader, at the $5/pop you crave to pay.

Action: Forgo the plastic bottle, the chemicals, the animal-testing. Folks with dry hair, skip the cleaning products. Use a conditioner once a week. Folks with oily hair, stir some baking soda into water and dump it on your head.

Article by Save Money Kamloops
March 2007, SOUND (Kamloops)