Community Profile

the main differences between no 'poo and the curlygirl philosophy is that with no 'poo, you don't use conditioner (whereas curlygirls use a lot of conditioner), and our main focus isn't getting our curls to look better (although they do for those of us that have them), we're more concerned with reducing our dependence on product and getting back to the earth. to start off, we use a combination of dilute baking soda on our scalp and then apple cider vinegar (and/or lemon juice and essential oils if you desire) on the entire hair shaft. some of us transition away from using baking soda as a wash. once the scalp's oil production has subsided, so make sure to check out the alternative washes tag (and browse the rest of the tags if you wish)

attention new users! read this before proceeding:
there have been many posts on the following subjects. please read before mistakes happen.

first and foremost, the use of too much baking soda. don't use the entire cup of the baking soda mixture. stop when you feel slipperiness. 1/8 to 1/4 cup directly on the scalp should be plenty. [baking soda] - [questions from newbies] - [unwanted lightening] get yourself a squeezy bottle to direct the baking soda down into your roots. using a wide rimmed cup allows the mixture to just slide right off the hair and do nothing for the roots.

second, please don't put a tablespoon of olive oil in your hair if you don't use shampoo. it doesn't come out. yes, it works for people who use shampoo, but that's because they use shampoo, and can get the excess out when they wash. you, however, don't use any type of surfactant, so oils (especially olive) won't come out very readily. [olive oil treatment] - [questions from newbies]
if your hair is dry, use a tiny amount of any other type of oil (just enough to make a light coating on your fingertips. a few drops.) and run that through your dry parts. none of this tablespoon business. [dry hair] - [oils]

check the rest of the tags if you've got a question that you think might have been answered before. if it only has a few posts, feel free to ask it again. if it has 50 posts, please read the tag first. nobody likes to repeat themselves.


other communities of interest:

curly_girls, curlygirls, naturalliving, naturalskin, hennaforhair, longhair, hair_help

[this community is an offshoot of this post by babyslime it used to be our "basics" link, but there have been too many people who have followed the directions there without reading the entire post and then come running to us when problems arose. listen to your hair. if it seems like it doesn't like baking soda, look in the alternative washes tag for other options. don't stick with something that doesn't work for you. look for your personal best method.)


also, please note: this is a vegan-friendly group. A good deal of the community members are vegan, as well as your friendly mod supercarrot. while we have no plans to ban discussion of non-vegan no-poo methods, please be compassionate in your wording and discussion of animal-related products (eggs, honey, dairy products, etc.). we would also love to have you consider plant-based alternatives if you can.

here are some links if you are interested in more information, but you are not required to be vegan to join this group. We'd love to have one big umbrella of no-poo!"
the explosive egg post where some members left, but the post itself has some good links.

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