Читать книгу The Going Green Handbook - Alice Mary Alvrez - Страница 15

I’ll bet the title of this tip has you thinking, but probably about the wrong thing. This ever-so-clever expression is actually talking about shampoo, or rather the lack of it. Some people have stopped washing their hair with shampoo, and you might want to see the reasons.

The premise is that modern shampoos are really much too harsh on our hair, stripping away natural oils. Your body overcompensates by producing more oil, and so you need to wash more often. Not a sensible approach. Besides that, most commercial shampoos are loaded with chemicals that aren’t great for the environment. Two of the worst are sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate. They have been potentially linked to cancer (particularly the laureth form) and both are actually harmful to your skin. The paraben family of chemicals are also found in shampoos, and they have also been tied to cancers (cite). They’re all bad for your body, and bad for the environment once they go down the drain. So how do you actually do this?

Not everyone handles their hair hygiene the same way, so there isn’t a single “no poo” process. Generally, hair is given a brisk scrub with just water during your regular shower, which is enough to get rid of most dirt or dust. Some people leave it at that, especially if they have short hair. Others have added some natural “products” to their routine.

A little baking soda can help absorb oil and add some abrasive to give your hair a thorough cleaning without the host of chemical products. Just sprinkle a little in your hair, and use it to gently scrub your scalp. Rinse out well. And speaking of rinsing, an excellent conditioner for no-poo hair is apple cider vinegar. A quick splash worked through the hair is all you need, again make sure to rinse well. If you try going without shampoo, be prepared for a few weeks of adjustment. Your scalp is used to producing a lot of oil and it’s not going to just quit that overnight. Eventually, things balance out and you can have naturally soft and non-greasy hair without the shampoo.