Hair Brushes and No-Poo

Before going no-poo, I didn't have a clue about hairbrushes. I'd used the same style of nylon-bristle Denman hairbrush for years and it had been fine. It detangled well, and... well, isn't that all a hairbrush is for?

No, as it turns out. 

The words 'Boar Bristle Brush' (BBB) seem to be synonymous with the no-poo method. But why? What's all the fuss about? And what about nylon bristles, wooden bristles, and mixed medium brushes?

Well, after a lot of research, I found what works for me, and that's what I'm going to share with you. 

So. The thing about going no-poo, no matter which method you choose, is that it eventually regulates our scalp's sebum production. Once we ditch the shampoo, proper brushing will first help us through the initial transition period, and then help to maintain clean hair between washes, as well as condition our hair naturally, once transition is over. 

The best brush for this, I've found, is a boar bristle brush. As the name suggests, the bristles are made from boar hair, a hair that is very similar in substance and structure to our own hair, but coarser. Because of this, BBBs will pick up the sebum from our scalp and move it down the hair shaft, conditioning each hair from root to tip.

Brushing is essential for no-pooers, because without it, it would be very difficult to move the sebum from the scalp down through the hair, and that equates to a greasy, clumpy, icky mess at the roots. Not pretty. Plus it can really mess with your resolve to keep going!

Now, you'll probably know that there are a couple of types of BBBs - pure boar bristle, and a boar and nylon mix. What's the difference, and which should you use?

Some people advocate pure boar bristle, and maintain that nylon bristles aren't good for the hair. But Mason Pearson, the company that makes the 'Rolls Royce' of hairbrushes and who many maintain are the authority on them, make a pure nylon hairbrush for those with very thick hair, suggesting that a quality nylon hairbrush is just fine.

Still, my preference is the boar bristle brush, because it distributes those natural oils. I actually have both types, but up until very recently, I only owned the pure boar bristle brush. It is a Denman D82L, for anyone who's interested, and is an excellent substitute for the more expensive Mason Pearson. The bristles are closely packed, and there are lots of them. I have thick hair, and when I brush it with the pure BBB, I find that it doesn't get all the way through to my scalp without applying not a little pressure. Instead, I have to spend a lot of time brushing the underside of my hair, and then the top layer after that.

I think the pure BBB is great for those with thin to medium hair, or those who don't mind taking a lot of time to brush and distribute those oils. But another option for those with thick hair is the nylon and boar bristle mix.

The nylon bristles stand proud of the shorter boar bristles, and help to penetrate through thick hair, to the scalp. Both sets of bristles work together to pick up the hair, and the boar bristles still coat each hair with natural sebum. Of course, as there are fewer boar bristles, it will take a longer period of time to move the oils down. Also, some find the nylon bristles to be a little scratchy on the scalp. So with these pros and cons, the type of brush you use really is down to your own preference.

All boar bristle brushes can cause static in the hair. I don't really have a problem with this, but it's very easy to tackle this issue; just scrunch your hair lightly after brushing, or pat it lightly to get rid of the static.

Another thing about BBBs is that they are not used to detangle the hair. In fact, if you use a BBB on knotty, tangled hair, chances are that it it will actually cause damage, breaking any dry or brittle hair. Rather, hair needs to be detangled first.

To detangle hair, I use one of two things: a wide-toothed comb, or a wooden bristle paddle brush. 

I was using a wide-toothed plastic comb for the first few weeks and it worked absolutely fine. It need to be wide-toothed to minimise damage. I bunched my hair together and started at the tips, slowly working up to the roots until all tangles were gone. But I wasn't really that keen on using plastic in my hair, and I'd heard that wooden bristles also help distribute oil down the hair shaft. So I bought a wooden paddle brush, and now use that prior to working on it with my BBB.

In addition to conditioning the hair, boar bristle brushes give the scalp a lovely massage in the process. When you can feel your scalp tingling, it means that there is increased blood flow to the hair follicles, which can stimulate hair growth.

So for me, brushing with a BBB is win-win all round; I love them, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them!

How about you? What kind of brush do you find works best for you?

Water Only/ Rinse Only Method (no poo) problems

As I said in my last post, I quit shampoo on 23rd November 2014, and went Water Only.

This was my routine:

1. Before my shower I would 'scritch' and 'preen' (okay, I haven't quite kept on top of the preening).
2. Then I'd jump in the shower, part my hair into 3 or 4 sections, and wash each section with water as hot as I could stand. I would scritch again, and then run my fingers through my hair under the water, to help the dirt out, and distribute excess sebum through it at the same time.
3. I'd finish my shower, dry my hair with a t-shirt, and 'plop' (um... contrary to how this sounds, it's actually a method used by curly girls to avoid frizz and bring out the best in their curls. You lay a t-shirt down - I do this on the bed - and then 'plop' your head upside down in the middle, with your hair piled underneath. Then fold in the bottom of the t-shirt, fold the top over the back of your head, and then roll the sleeves inwards into sausages at both sides, securing them at the back of your head with a hair tie. There are lots of tutorials online if you Google 'plopping'. It's not the most attractive look; even my 2-year-old nephew's only comment was 'yuck' when he saw the photo of me in my makeshift headgear! But it gets the job done.)
4. I bought a satin pillow case to sleep on, to lengthen the life of my curls. And then about three days after washing my hair, I'd brush it through with a boar bristle brush. I take about 30 minutes doing this sometimes, in the evenings while we watch TV. I find it so relaxing, and it's probably why my ends feel so soft so quickly, but you really don't have to take that long!!!

The first several washes were fine, and I went a month with no problems at all. That was my routine. And it worked. Until one day, about four weeks in, when I was brushing my hair, I looked down at my lap and saw... flakes. Loads and loads of them, all over my lap.
Suffice to say, I wanted to cry. I haven't had an issue with a dry flaky scalp since I was a teenager of about 14. I was devastated. And over the next week, my head was just so itchy, with flakes showing up in my hair.

Miserable, I went online and looked up no poo problems, and dandruff solutions. I ascertained that I wasn't suffering with actual dandruff, which is fungal, but rather a dry and flaky scalp, which was probably caused by the hard water here in London, messing with the pH balance of my sensitive scalp.

There was a lot to choose from, but I settled on this moisturizing honey and aloe recipe from Alex Raye. I lovingly massaged it into my scalp, sat with my hair wrapped in a towel while we settled down to brunch, and then washed it out with water after about an hour or so.
The result was shiny hair, and a scalp that felt happy and refreshed. I was so pleased.

But on day 4 after that treatment, I brushed with my BBB, and the flaking was WORSE! I ran into the bathroom to check the damage in the mirror, and I think this time a tear may have come to my eye.

I was desperate. I badly wanted no-poo to work, after I'd invested so much time in it, and seen such good results, but my resolve was failing me. Back online I went.
And then I realised, even though I'd read this on Alex's and others' blogs so many times... the hard water just wasn't doing my scalp any favours. I knew that many can WO wash in hard water with no problems, but I have sensitive skin already, which may be part of the problem.
I also read that the honey and aloe mix can help to lift buildup from your hair, so for some that could mean buildup from hair products, and for me I think it was from the hard water. The buildup can show up as flakes. So the recipe worked, to a point.
I also found out that your scalp is actually slightly acidic, and shampoos are marketed as 'pH balanced' as they, too, are slightly acidic. The no-poo answer to this?
Apple cider vinegar (ACV). ACV is lightly acidic, so it balances the pH of your scalp (without pickling it!), and as your hair is slightly acidic, it acts as a conditioner, as well as closing the hair shaft to give you smooth, shiny hair.

So I gave it a whirl, pouring a diluted mixture (one part ACV to 3 parts water) onto my scalp, scritching, and rinsing as normal. And...?

And it worked!!! After a few days when I brushed my hair, there were just a few flakes, probably leftovers from last time.

The next week, I just used the aloe vera gel, and ACV rinse, and invested in a shower filter that attaches to my shower head, and filters out the chlorine and other chemicals that can damage hair.  And the week after that, I skipped the aloe, diluted the ACV mix a little more and added a few drops of both rosemary and lavender essential oils to the mix (here's the recipe). After washing, my hair smelled wonderful, and a week later, still no flakes! *Big grin*

So. I'm going to use the mix on my hair again today, to make sure my scalp is back to normal, and see how I go from there. 

I'm using water only, with an ACV rinse on my scalp, and my hair is so shiny and soft, it's so worth it.

I Quit Shampoo (... me!)

On 20th November 2014, I lathered up my hair with my usual shampoo, with no idea that that wash would be my last. Then, on 23rd November, I decided to quit shampoo. And thus began my no-poo journey.

I've always loved my hair. It's been one of those things that people complimented me on over the years, and it just made me feel good. 'Your hair is so shiny'; 'I love how healthy your hair looks'; and, my personal favorite, 'It grows so fast!' I mean, who doesn't want to hear good things about their hair?!

I thought my hair and me had a pretty good thing going, and I tried to show it some appreciation. When I heard that a cold rinse at the end of your shower helps to close the hair shaft, I did it. When I realised that sulfates were awful for your hair, I treated myself to a very well-known, very expensive brand of hair products, eliminating the sulfates. I only used heat on my hair twice a week, and I only washed my hair the same amount of time. I thought I was doing everything right... So why were my ends dry and splitting, even after using expensive Moroccanoil serum on them regularly? And my hair just didn't look shiny and full-bodied like it used to.

I was upset, and also out of pocket. Those hair products were costing me a small fortune each year, and now with not much to show for it.

Then one day, I was trawling the 'net for some advice on DIY natural deodorant (more on that another day), when I came across an article on 'No Poo', and how one lady was considering giving up shampoo. I raised my eyebrows, may have done a little eye- roll (I'm not proud of it), and moved on.

Still, that caption stuck in my head for the rest of the day, and by the end of it, I just had to know what on earth no-poo washing was, and how it was done. So I went back online, and found out that people were washing their hair with, not shampoo, but diluted baking soda and apple cider vinegar...!

Apparently, the way shampoo works is that it removes the dirt and grime from your hair, but along with that, the emulsifiers in it strip your hair of all its natural oils. I just think of the way I clean my mayonnaise jars; squirt some washing up liquid in there, add some warm water, lid on, and shake. The washing up liquid dilutes the oils, leaving the mayonnaise jar clean, sparkly, and grease-free. And that's what we want for our hair, right?
Wrong. Our hair needs oil. We were made with a body that produces sebum, a natural (and free) oil and hair conditioner. Again, it's natural, and the best oil for our hair. Shampoo strips all of the sebum from our hair, leaving it dry and frazzled. So then, in steps conditioner, to help soothe and condition the damage that shampoo has done. Conditioner adds oils back into your hair, but these oils are partly, if not wholly, synthetic... What was wrong with the sebum being in there in the first place? It just needs to be handled properly.

It was interesting reading, but I wasn't convinced. Baking soda on my hair... I was worried that it would just make it even more dry, and brittle to boot. And that's when I stumbled across Alex Raye, and this blog post. Here was a comprehensive, well-documented no-poo journey, photos and all. And the best bit? She used the Water Only method to wash her hair! Yup. Water Only; the clue's in the name.

I was fascinated by this set of articles; the thought of washing my hair with water was exciting, liberating and scary, all at the same time. But I could see that it could be done, and with great results.

Then the next day was wash day, and I decided, just like that, to stop using my shampoo. Cold turkey. Goodbye expensive, delicious-smelling Moroccanoil; hello, erm, water.
I found this brilliant article, which has a step-by step, water only hair washing routine that talked me through what I had to do, and (after deciding that the number 1 thing on my shopping list was a boar-bristle brush - more on this later) I jumped in with both feet (skipping the brushing until I had one).

So how was it? It wasn't bad at all. I 'scritched' and 'preened' before my shower, hopped in, separated my hair into sections, and scrubbed away at my scalp to get it clean, focusing the jet on the section I was scrubbing, and then did a quick rinse with cold water. It worked a treat! After my shower, I dried my hair with a t-shirt, and 'plopped' (this isn't what it sounds like - Google it!), using a tutorial I'd seen online. And what happened? 

HERE'S what happened:

My hair curled!!!  It was the most wonderful sight!!!
Despite what my hair straighteners have led others to believe, I've never had straight hair; it's always had a bit of a wave, and when I was a teenager it went through a stage of going curly, but the results were always hit-and-miss. And as my hair got longer? Forget it. My little sister's always curled beautifully and naturally, and she knew how to get it there, but mine would go sort of wavy, and look a frizzy mess by the end of the day.
But not that day! My hair just got curlier as it dried, and they were still there the next day:

So what swayed me? I have to admit that, while the thought of a chemical-free scalp was music to my ears as I try to be kinder to my body, the main reason I started on this journey was the promise of strong, thick, full, shiny, nourished hair. I just couldn't pass on that, and that's why I embraced the no-poo, Water Only (or Rinse Only Method - ROM) method for my hair.

As everybody who has tried no-poo has said, at first it's not easy. There is a transition period. During the transition period, your hair can be greasy and sticky as your scalp adjusts its levels of sebum production.

Thankfully, for me the transition wasn't too bad. I have thick (and curly, now, I realise) hair, only washed my hair a couple of times a week pre no-poo, and I'd already ditched the sulfates, so my scalp didn't have as much to go through. I probably transitioned in about 2-3 weeks, and that was with being really hard on myself and only washing up to once a week during transition. The fish-tail braid was my friend.

Now, just over two months later, how's it going? I can honestly say that my hair is full again, shiny, and my ends are soft and nourished feeling; no more dryness!

I have made some adjustments to my routine due to some troubleshooting (the hard water problem in London played havoc with my scalp), but that's for another post. But for now, my opinion on No Poo, Water Only washing?

I love it.