Warm boot recommendations please

[Lesley]

It looked wonderful today as well Sheila - very well conditioned and it didn't smell at all! (yes, I was close enough to know )

 

Anne (Myles) hair looked wonderful as well.

[Mrs Frugal]

Goodness Sheila and Anne . I'd forgotten you weren't using shampoo! Your hair looked fantastic, both of you! I'm really impressed! Wish I'd had the staying power!

[The Dogmother]

They did, didn't they?

 

Anne, I could see that Rosie was itching to play with your hair she loves dressing and stroking long hair

[Merryn]

Just thought I'd clock in to say I've now done three weeks and it seems to be going fine. Tomorrow I'll do the bicarb treatment as we are going to a party on Sat - but that's two weeks my hair has lasted, with just one vinegar rinse in between. I think I'll try an egg conditioner too to celebrate Penna starting to lay today! (though I won't use hers!)

[Guest]

Well done Merryn. It sounds as if it is all going very well for you.

[Louise]

Keep going Merryn it is well worth it I don't even think about using shampoo any more I am so pleased I don't have an itchy scalp anymore I don't even need the bicarb or vinegar if it is feeling a bit limp a quick rinse and it is done

[Sheilaz]

That's really good going, Merryn.

I'm pleased yours is going so well, Louise, I'm sure your lovely water helps.

I did do a vinegar today as the quick bicarb whilst wearing goggles last week hadn't quite lasted. Do wish I'd taken goggles out of shower afterwards, OH & son didn't say anything though!

How are you doing Ginette?

My aim is to keep going whilst growing/trimming hair, until the day that all my hair (long, but not llllooonnngggg, like Anne's!) is the new unshampooed hair. 3 years I reckon. Then, beyond, no shampoo ever again.

May take Anne 5 years? Then, no more dry ends!

[Guest]

I did another vinegar and egg on Monday (because I had an important meeting on Tuesday and didn't want dull hair) and for the first time I was disappointed. It had a touch of that post-vinegar look, a bit stuck-to-the-head. If I hadn't needed it to be clean, I was going to try to leave it a full week.

 

Now I don't know what to do tomorrow! I am examining some singing awards on Saturday and consequently MUST look half-presentable. As I leave early on Saturday morning, I will have to do the hair tomorrow, if I'm going to! I'll see how it is tomorrow. If I do anything, I will try the vinegar and egg again but possibly with a bit less vinegar.

 

Oh dear, just when I thought I'd got it sussed!

[Louise]

Maybe you should be brave and just try water

 

I find putting it on fairly hot giving the scalp a really good massage and the hair a brisk rub/shake, then leaving it while you wash etc and then reducing the temperature of the water a bit doing the scalp and hair wash again seems to work wonders I also finish with a really cold rinse as this helps my frizz to calm down

 

At the moment I am rinsing at least twice a day at work so I am using chemical water rather than home and it is no worse

[Sheilaz]

Oh dear, just when I thought I'd got it sussed!

I'm the same, Ginette! Mine is going through a set back, I'm having a s"Ooops, word censored!"e it back & pretend it's not there day, having used vinegar yesterday!

As you say, it's getting it right for the days that matter most. I wonder if this has made me use bicarb/vinegar on days when I might have otherwise left it, and perhaps turned the clock back a bit?

Thanks Louise, I do wonder if yours has settled so well because you didn't go down the regular bicarb or vinegar route? I find that I never seem to have time for myself, so never quite reach a day where I could rinse and leave in case it looks yuk & I run out of time. It's the rushing that makes me use something insytead of leaving it. That's even with getting up early!

But, I do think these "products" may be delaying the good outcome (if there is one! )

Shall we both reach for the oatmeal, Ginette?

But, then I'm not confident about just water to get it out again.

Well, I think I might try just water this evening. Honestly, mine looks unwashed today, & I thought I'd got there! I think when I was at a reasonable stage, I should have resisted using B or V until desperate, rather than because I had an important look good date.

PS. Anne's hair looks tremendous.......Timotei would grab her for advertising.....how ironic. I can't imagine that you have any scraggy look days, Anne!

[Louise]

I don't care how I look either if it is a birds nest the world can close its eyes so maybe that is another reason it is okay for me - I don't care What a scruff eh

 

I felt the whole point to this was to get away from using anything other than water so maybe cold turkey is the right way the other stuff just delays the finishing line

 

Go on be brave

[The Dogmother]

Rosie hasn't needed to use anything other than water so far, but then she's a little girl and doesn't have those nasty adult oils. I've been rinsing only with a shampoo about once a month; I must say that the shampoo doesn't seem so drying like that and it reverts to its pre-shampoo (i.e. just water) condition more quickly.

[Guest]

Sheila, I'm the same! It is hard enough making time to wash my hair as it is. I certainly can't risk having to do it twice - so I use something to 'make sure'. I want to reduce to once a week but it is difficult to find the right time to do that.

 

I'm feeling very lazy today and I know in my heart that I'm just not going to make enough time for hair-washing. I may use oatmeal to keep me going tomorrow, or I might just s"Ooops, word censored!"e the hair back and hope I don't look too austere and frightening!

 

On Sunday I'm going to Birmingham on my own, so I don't really care what it looks like then! By Monday I will be able to rinse in whatever I think best after a whole week!

[Louise]

Maybe being forced to do it at work is part of the key here

 

I don't have to make time as it is part and parcel of the task

[Sheilaz]

Louise, you were just the inspiration that I needed!

Ginette & I found, in the early days, that our hair looked worse after a water rinse than before! So, I was out of the habit, leaving it for longer & longer but then using bicarb or vinegar.

I think you're right, it may be time to just finish with the extras, although it's tempting whebn there is an important event or something.

So, yesterday, I did water only, & for the 1st time, was really happy with it!

I'll see how long I can keep this up. What do you reckon on this, Ginette, Anne & others?

I have to accept that my hair is different this way.

[Louise]

Way to go Sheila

[Guest]

I woke up on Saturday feeling decidedly dirty so washed my hair anyway in vinegar and egg. It came up well and looked nice. I'm going to try not to do anything until Friday, but might try just water if I'm brave enough!

[Louise]

Honestly Ginette be brave I have had fewer problems than most and I have only used Bicarb once I was tempted a couple of other times but to be honest I was too darn lazy to go and mix it and you can't tell the difference now my hair feels no different than when I used to use shampoo

 

 

I may have had a couple of fairly greasy weeks but it has been worth it in the end

[Guest]

Well done Louise! I'm sure you're right, I've just got to be brave. I had to be very brave at the beginning and I've come this far, so I must push myself further.

[Louise]

I honestly wouldn't have beleived it at the beginning it has been the last four weeks that have been fine it is feeling a little dry at the mo due to over rinsing 3 times today so far and one to go so i will use a little conditioner

 

But normally at this stage it is so dry and brittle with all the washing so it is helping a bit

[Guest]

Today, although my hair looked OK, I rinsed it in the shower. Now it is greasy on top, dull and dry at the ends. Why does it do that?

My plan is to leave it and see what happens. If it's really bad I'm going to try oatmeal and see what happens. That's the theory! . . .

[Merryn]

Four weeks on - I did a vinegar rinse yesterday which left my hair really soft (usually it's rather stiff) so I feel maybe I'm getting there - or am I just optimistic?!

Can anyone tell me when I can just use water or do I just go for it and see? Or is that in the distant future?

[Guest]

Well Merryn, after 13 weeks, that's exactly what I'm trying to do! I've settled into washing my hair with vinegar and egg twice a week and it works fine. Now I want to go beyond that until it's just water when I feel like it.

 

Watch out for next week!

Sheila and I really suffered in weeks 5-7 with stuck-to-the-head hair. But Louise has sailed through wonderfully. We all have long hair though so your experience may be different.

 

Good luck!

[Chicken on a mission]

Not using shampoo was one of the topics on Jeremy Vine Radio 2 today.

[Guest]

Did you hear it Thalia? What did they say?