Sounds delectable, no? Simply dissolve 1 tablespoon of baking soda in 1 cup of warm water, and – voila! – you have shampoo.
Except, what you have isn’t really shampoo.
What you have is actually a salty mixture of water.
I stumbled upon the idea for this economical, healthy alternative to shampoo during my early-morning blog surfing. The argument set forth by the blogger was an informative, thorough one. In short, baking soda shampoo allows you to: a. avoid chemicals, b. save money, and c. have nice hair. I was sold for two reasons:
1. I’m game for avoiding chemicals, saving money, and having nice hair.
2. I found this blog early in the morning – when my ambition for creative activity is fueled by the fact that “my job is like a dung beetle trying to mate with an epileptic cow.” (Thanks for that Dilbert link, Dania. This comparison will come in handy in so many ways…)
I have a lot of these ambitious “ah-ha’s” between 7-9 a.m., Monday thru Friday. I stop intermittently in my work to make lists, collect links, save pictures, email myself reminders –so that I will be ready to hit the ground running on those two delectable days that are my own, in which I can create and play and experiment ‘till my heart’s content.
Two Saturdays ago, I embarked on my shampoo-free journey. In a Glad Tupperware container, I made my baking soda mixture. In the shower, I poured the mixture over my head from the square plastic container.
And in my eyes, a horrible burning began. (I don’t know why I thought baking soda in my eyes wouldn’t hurt, but for some reason, I kept my eyes wide-open, like two funnels, ready to catch every drop of the salty mixture.)
After the burning subsided, I tried to work the saltwater mixture into a lather – which was like trying to turn water into wine. Nuthin’.
As far as function goes, I think the baking soda mixture worked. My hair was clean. But on the aesthetic level? My showers were now so incredibly un-fun. (And it didn’t help that it took a week for my eyes to recover and produce natural tears again.) As the days ticked by and my excitement for this grand experiment waned, the lack of lather really began to bore me. I never realized just how much fun it was to get all sudsy until I spent a week massaging unscented salt water into my tangled mess of semi-wavy hair.
Yesterday, I surrendered. Before I had to endure another round of massaging my hair into a salty, tangled mess. Before I had to goop up my hair with homemade conditioner (a jar of mayonnaise mixed with an avocado). Before I blinded myself in another shower accident.
Shampoo is for hair. Baking soda is for whitening my porcelain sink & freshening my fridge.
Baking Soda also makes a great toothpaste. You can apply it straight, or add a few drops of mint oil for flavor… but don’t get that in your eyes.
If you want a shampoo that lathers (foams) mix the baking soda with white vinegar, and perhaps a little beer. Just be sure to do the mixing in the shower…not at the table. Try it…you’ll see why. It really will clean and soften your tresses.
And leave me appropriately buzzed…I’m supposed to drink the beer – right?
Yep…it’ll relax those curls for sure.
I can only imagine the mess that was made
Have you tried the lush solid shampoos? http://usa.lush.com/cgi-bin/lushdb/catzoom.html?mv_arg=Solid%20Shampoos&expand=Haircare&sexpand=SolidShampoos
they last forever! and you can carry them on while traveling.
Oh, darn. The combination of avoiding chemicals, saving money, and having nice hair sounds wonderful. Too bad the baking soda didn’t work. At least you got a good story out of it! I enjoyed reading about your experiment!
I heard making a paste with the baking soda works as well. I just tried the baking soda, like the author above, and it was so watery! I followed with a vinegar rinse and my hair is soft and feels so clean! So, it does work, well, for me it does! Heard baking soda is great as a deodorant too!
my only use for baking soda other than laundry is to brush my teeth! i have a cup in the bathroom and i mix baking soda & perxiode to make a paste then brush! I’ve been doing it all my life ( my mom was a hippie) but i have very fresh breath a (peroxiode cleans) and white teeth ( baking soda). It may taste weird to some , but i love the taste better than toothpaste!