I managed to go vegan relatively overnight, overhauling everything that I knew, all of my habits, what I bought, and the way that I ate, but still, here I was almost two years later still talking about how much I want to do the No ‘Poo method unable to take the plunge. It never felt like the right time to go through the potentially awkward transition while my follicles regained control of themselves. It should have been a no brainer, I work from home, I could sit in my own filth for days and nobody would be the wiser. I have plenty of beanies to throw on for trips to the grocery store and school pick ups. “But my hair, it’s so long and thick, think of the tangles”, I would say to myself to make it okay that I was reaching for the conditioner reneging on my promise to start this week, once again.

I was already down to washing my hair once a week, mostly due to laziness and more interesting things to do in my spare time like mindlessly scrolling my Facebook timeline only to look up, eyes glazed, over realizing I just missed my shower window. I take frequent baths for relaxation purposes in the evening and I’ve convinced myself showers would just be redundant even though my baths were more about candles and books than soap and shampoo. I noticed my hair had adjusted well to that washing schedule and I’ve found myself inching closer to being completely ‘poo-free. 

Then one day when cleaning the bathroom, which is in itself a memorable occasion, I noticed that my son’s shampoo still hadn’t run out. In fact, it was still just as full as it was when I bought months, maybe even years, earlier. Thinking he was using mine instead, I decided to ask and that’s when I found out my son had been doing the No ‘Poo method for a couple years now. He’s currently 10 years old so he was unaware that what he was doing actually has a name and a following. To him he was simply exercising his right to childhood rebellion, socking it to the man, or mom, by cutting corners in the grooming department. His hair is shiny, it’s healthy, not stinky, and he brushes through it with relative ease after getting out of the shower. If his hair can stand up against the hormone-fluctuating, rough-housing, gym class-daily recess-parkour practicing sweaty days of rambunctious youth, than surely mine stood a chance. I encouraged him to keep with the water rinses and as for myself, here I am on day 1 of No ‘Poo.

It is my weekly shampoo day and it was definitely showing. My hair was limp and oily so I wanted to give it more than a water rinse. After reading this detailed guide to the No ‘Poo method, I filled up an old mustard bottle with baking soda and water ratio and a spray bottle with the apple cider vinegar mix and hit the shower. I felt confident with my timing, assuming the mustard that had just ended leaving the most perfect baking soda wash applicator was a subtle nod from the universe that all my waiting was not in vain and this was the moment to begin such a journey. Not yesterday, but now. I know it’s only day one but I am thoroughly impressed with how clean and shiny my hair is right now from where I was this morning. What was most impressive was how easy it was to comb my hair. It’s long and thick with just the right amount of curl to make styling a pain and brushing when wet a nightmare. But here I was with the same wide-toothed comb I always use and finding much less hair was getting snagged. I’m sure I still have an adjustment period in my future but I’m motivated to tough it out. I plan to stick to the baking soda and vinegar rinse to a once a week schedule until I’m able to reduce it down to a strictly as-needed basis. My maintenance free existence may just be obtainable.