vinegar and oil. and baking soda.

Right now I smell like a giant, coconut macaroon. Not joking.

I've been looking into organic/natural hygiene you see, and my research has yielded some surprising results. One of which is coconut oil, which is good for a lot of things, especially a scalp treatment. Since my scalp is always kinda itchy (TMI, perhaps), and since I can never seem to find a shampoo/conditioner that cleans my hair and leaves my scalp hydrated, I thought why not. If it turns out horribly, it's not like anyone is looking. It's just me and the dust bunnies at home right now.

The other interesting bit of info I've been soaking up is this whole notion of "no-'poo", as in no shampoo. There's this underground movement of people who are attempting to redefine normal on the personal hygiene front, not an easy task, and they clean their hair with baking soda and rinse it with vinegar. It's chemical-free, if you're concerned about cancer, reduces plastic waste, if you're concerned about the environment, and it's pretty darn cheap if you're concerned about saving $$.

So I gave that trend a try as well. Results? So far, surprising. After a long day at work, my hair is pretty icky, and I felt squeaky clean after using the "no-poo" method. I rinsed with diluted apple cider vinegar, which did leave me smelling a bit like homemade pickles, but no one gave me any funny looks at work today so assume only I could notice. And after work I let my hair down to reveal a beautiful, grease-free shine. Even my bangs were still feathery. Nice.

The "recipe" I tried:

1. Make a paste out of baking soda and water. Massage into dry scalp.
2. Let sit for 2-3 minutes. Rinse out.
3. Pour dilute vinegar (1 part vinegar to 4 parts water, approx) through hair. Rinse with cool water.

I'm going to let the coconut oil sit for 1 hour and then do the baking soda/vinegar routine. We'll see what happens!