Battleangel | Personal

I have never been able to find a good shampoo or balsam to go with my hair. And I have tried quite a few combinations. The problem is twofold. Firstly, shampoo isn’t free and the sort of strategy of high grade shampoo / balsam / conditioner / moisture spray that have indicated to improve results can be unbelievably pricey. And second, whatever method (within reason) that I deploy, my hair seems to end up dry, as in fly-away and frizzy.

So for the last couple of years I have only sporadically been using shampoo. The rest of the time I have simply been using water. Sometimes for months at a time. The result is far from perfect but it is quicker, cheaper and a good deal better than most of the shampoos I’ve tried. Of course, it would help if I washed my hair a little more often too. When I don’t have any social commitments, like most of the time, I average once a week or so. And no type of hair care is that good obviously. But if anything, a natural shampoo-less hair seems to be far better at tackling such lapses in hygiene.

The hip kids apparently have a name for not using shampoo and other chemical additives these days. Anti-shampoo or "no ‘poo".

So, anyway, I was thinking about how to improve the method using cheap, friendly and easily accessible components. Some suggest baking soda dissolved in water for washing and diluted apple cider vinegar spiced with lemon (or whatever) for conditioner. Vinegar could also potentially deal with oily hair. Some have suggested not rinsing the hair and keeping the vinegar as a sort of leave-in-conditioner. Or to replace the vinegar with lemon or lime juice. There is also the potential use of saltwater, either for washing or as a sort of styling spray.

I’ll be looking into these techniques and see how it goes.