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"  Photo: V. Hoff I haven&amp;#039;t washed my hair since June. Okay, let me rephrase that. I haven&amp;#039;t washed my hair with shampoo since June. Call me a victim of the beauty bandwagon, but when I first learned about the &amp;quot;no poo&amp;quot; method late last spring, I knew it was totally up my natural-loving, hippie-tending, DIY-obsessed alley. The standard &amp;quot;no shampoo&amp;quot; method calls for &amp;quot;washing&amp;quot; your hair with baking soda and &amp;quot;conditioning&amp;quot; with an apple cider vinegar rinse. The baking soda acts to remove odor, lift oil from roots, and exfoliate the scalp, while the ACV clarifies, softens, and gives strands a lustrous shine. The idea is that because these ingredients are simple, natural, and very gentle on hair, the scalp can begin to regenerate its natural oils and heal itself from years of shampoo-related abuse. Related: Letting My Eyebrows Grow on Me  Photo: Courtesy of Amazon My hair is thick with a natural wave, which has\u2014for some reason that probably makes perfect sense scientifically but is completely lost on me\u2014become only kinkier as I age. I can&amp;#039;t brush it for fear of poofiness; blow drying elicits the same effect (and I don&amp;#039;t have the patience or will to learn how to do it properly, anyway). Prior to a few months ago, my morning routine would depend on two things: how my hair air-dried the night before, and whether there was anything over 0% humidity in the weather forecast. So, yes\u2014on most days, I could choose to spend 20 minutes scalding my hair with whatever styling weapon I was in the mood for, or I could get going early with my hair half-assed into a top-knot. And either/or, I could expect a nice little frizz halo by noon. I was already almost sold by the mere principle of going shampoo-free\u2014all-natural, cruelty-free beauty is my jam\u2014but the promise of frizz-free, flawless texture with half the effort and at a fraction of the price? Where do I sign up? It sounded too good to be true, and in a way, it is. I asked around and did my research, and sure enough, I was warned over and over of a universally frustrating caveat: Though my hair was destined for Gisele-level greatness, I would have to undergo a &amp;quot;transition period&amp;quot; in which I would be a grease-bomb for a month or two. The prospect of starting a new job with oily roots\u2014with the hottest months of the year ahead of me\u2014was just a little more than I could handle.  But my heat-traumatized hair was crying &amp;quot;Uncle!&amp;quot; louder every day, so I stubbornly resolved to find a way around this issue. I hypothesized that quitting shampoo cold turkey was probably a pretty drastic change for my hair and scalp, so maybe the solution would be to transition into the no poo method, rather than adopt it immediately. My weapon of choice to test this theory was Dr. Bronner&amp;#039;s Castile Soap, which has a very short and natural ingredient list. I mixed it with a tablespoon of coconut oil to counteract any harshness of using straight-up soap, even one as natural and as gentle as Dr. Bronner&amp;#039;s, and added some jasmine essential oil, one of my favorite fragrances. I replaced my empty conditioner with a spray bottle of apple cider vinegar. And with some trepidation, I took my first shampoo-free shower.  Photo: Courtesy of Amazon A month later, I was still grease-free, and had managed to negotiate some other caveats\u2014like stinky vinegar hair (avoid spraying your roots and rinse thoroughly)\u2014with success. I had even begun switching out the Dr. Bronner&amp;#039;s concoction for baking soda, the traditional no poo solution, and decided that it was time to go all out. Fast forward six months: My hair has never been softer, and my straightener and curling iron are both in a box in the back of my closet, collecting dust. I don&amp;#039;t use hair products. And there&amp;#039;s only baking soda and apple cider vinegar in my shower. I&amp;#039;m not totally immune to frizz, but on rainy or humid days, I scrunch a teeny bit of coconut oil on my ends, and that usually does the trick. So consider this my PSA to the world: If that oily-root thing was what was deterring you from eschewing shampoo, I totally get it. No one has time to look like Danny Zuko, even with the promise of hair nirvana at the finish line. But I managed to sidestep it, and have never looked back. My eco-conscience is clear, my routine is ridiculously low maintenance, and my hair is happy. Plus, it&amp;#039;s nice that I can scrounge up a few quarters and buy my &amp;quot;shampoo&amp;quot; at the deli around the corner. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/beauty/hair/news/a14981/shampoo-free-no-poo-method/>