baking soda shampoo & vinegar conditioner

I’ve been washing my hair with baking soda shampoo & a vinegar rinse for conditioner.  This is my first natural shampoo & conditioner experiment that makes my hair feel & look really nice.  Supposedly the baking soda is good for cleansing, and the vinegar is a similar pH to regular conditioner.  It is a little quirky though.  I have to be sure to remove all the baking soda otherwise it makes my hair feel like it has too much hair product in it when it’s dry.

I got the instructions from the book No More Dirty Looks.  They say to dissolve 1 tbsp baking soda in water, put this on your head & scrub, then rinse.  Then dissolve 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar in water, pour over hair & rinse.  (I use red wine vinegar instead because that’s what’s in the fridge.)   The vinegar smell goes away, don’t worry!

my hair, just washed & conditioned, without any hair products added

In my quest to learn more about chemicals in our body care products, I really liked the scope of this book.  The authors have done lots of research which is easy to read.  They give suggestions for products you can buy or ones you can make.  It’s not an alarmist book, but they help those who have never considered toxic & unregulated ingredients in body care and walk them through how the FDA & cosmetic industries work.  Plus, they used to be the women who loved their fancy beauty products and told the story of how a nasty hair experience with formaldehyde led to their quest to find safer alternatives that work.

So, while I wouldn’t recommend the baking soda & vinegar hair concoction to everyone, it is amazing how it works so well.  I like how I know exactly what ingredients I’m using.  But it does take a little time to mix before each wash & can easily look bad  (or at least good for ponytails only) if you don’t get all the baking soda out.  Regardless, I think it’s important for us to find body products we feel safe about.  Do you have any name brand shampoos or conditioners with healthy ingredients you’d recommend?  I’ve tried a couple & haven’t found anything amazing yet.