Whether to save money, avoid chemicals, live a more natural lifestyle or simply to help ‘difficult’ hair, a number of people are investigating natural methods of haircare. Some choose water-only hair washing, while others opt for herbal haircare or conditioner-only washing. One option which uses common household ingredients is those staples of natural living, baking soda and vinegar, to clean and condition the hair.
History
Sodium bicarbonate is the formal name for what is commonly known as baking soda, bread soda, cooking soda or bicarbonate of soda. According to the Royal Ontario Museum, its use goes all the way back to the ancient Egyptians, who used a mixture consisting mostly of sodium carbonate decahydrate and sodium bicarbonate as a powerful cleansing agent.
Benefits
Baking soda can be used to clarify the hair when mixed with water, shampoo or conditioner. A baking soda hair wash cleans out excess product, removes impurities and cleans your hair better than many expensive products on the market. It is also used for absorbing oils and is therefore ideal when used as a dry shampoo to remove sebum, the oily substance the skin secretes to keep skin and hair moisturized.
The Baking Soda Hair Formula
Other users of the baking soda hair shampoo recipe I’ve heard make their baking soda to water mixture a lot stronger then mine, some baking soda shampoo recipes are almost a thick paste. That’s way to much work for me to have to wash out. I found that the amount of baking soda that I dilute into the water makes the liquid thin enough that I can completely cover my hair with it but it has enough baking soda to get the job done and really clean my hair completely.
The Baking Soda Hair Cleaner Recipe
- 1/2 cup of baking soda
- 3 cups of very warm water
Mix the two together just before getting into the shower. I keep a plastic spoon or fork so that I can even mix it while in the shower to get more baking soda in the water and less at the bottom of the container. I mix it in a old cleaned out plastic food container, but a plastic water bottle will work great too. Just be sure to make a new mixture of the baking soda hair cleaner each time you use it.
How To Use Baking Soda Hair Wash
On the days that I do the baking soda hair wash, which is about 4 times a month, I have my container ready to go just before I jump into the shower. Then once my hair is wet in the shower I get in and pour the baking soda hair wash over my head and start massaging it into my hair and scalp.
It’s a weird feeling to get used to at first when you are used to the sudsy feel of shampoo’s. There are no bubbles here and it will actually feel a little grity. Kind of like your pouring baking soda water on your head
I don’t leave it in for long, Once I’m convinced I have cleaned all of my hair and scalp I start washing it out. I take much more time to make sure I have the baking soda hair wash completely out of my hair then with regular shampoo just because I want to make sure there is no powdery residue left. I finish washing the rest of me in the shower and I don’t use a conditioner. I want my hair to dry without any product except my BioSilk Silk Therapy I use while blow drying.
When you rinse out the baking soda hair wash your hair is going to feel squeeky clean. Unlike with shampoos’ that leave product in and your hands glide through your hair. When wet, your hair is going to feel very different. It will feel almost like your fingers don’t want to slide against the hair. It’s a very clean feeling because you will feel that there is no product left on your hair.