baking soda for clean hair?

lwheelr

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There may be something in the water. Chlorine does that to me.

Also, certain nutritional deficiencies (very common if you eat any foods with preservatives in them) can cause Sceborrhetic Dermatitis. Oily skin that flakes and scales like dry skin.

Taking Borage Oil capsules, 1 daily, can really help with that.

The weather here may make my hair harder to manage - it is hot and muggy, so I sweat a lot on the back of my neck, especially while sleeping.
 

dragonlaurel

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I've been using baking soda and vinegar for my hair for a couple weeks now. I love it. Here's my process - since I never really found instructions but it's working.
Just pour a Tbsp or so baking soda in a yogurt cup then add water. I fill it halfway if my hair is dirtier or all the way if it's not very dirty. Pour it on then scrub with fingers and rinse good.
Then use about an ounce of vinegar in the same cup and fill up with water. Pour through hair and leave it a minute to neutralize the soda. Rinse well. Not much vinegar smell and it is gone when the hair dries. I just use a towel on my hair a bit then let it air dry. It's pretty fine but to the bottom of my shoulders, so using a blow drier makes it damaged.
 

Lady Henevere

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I've been using baking soda and ACV for a couple of weeks now and so far it seems perfectly fine. My hair looks and behaves pretty much like it did before, but it is a little less silky so it stays in place better, which I like.

I read that dissolving the baking soda in boiling water can be good for places where the water is very hard. I tried it and the baking soda/water combo distributed through my hair much more easily than with a baking soda paste or baking soda in lukewarm water, and my hair came out much cleaner. I don't know what the boiling water does, but it seems to work.

I also read recently that baking soda is too harsh to use on a regular basis over time because it strips too much of the hair's natural oils. Not sure whether this is true.
 

lwheelr

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I think I found a partial solution to my shampoo needs.

I've been diluting the shampoo by about half, and then adding a little baking soda. That seems to make the Burt's Bees shampoo NOT cause greasy buildup on my hair, and results in my hair being silky soft. Nice.

Plus it extends the shampoo a lot. Adding baking soda makes the shampoo lather better and go further, so the diluted shampoo actually takes LESS in my hand than the full strength stuff. Double nice!
 

abifae

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Lady Henevere said:
I also read recently that baking soda is too harsh to use on a regular basis over time because it strips too much of the hair's natural oils. Not sure whether this is true.
What did it suggest to use, then? I'm not sure either but I've been using soda and vinegar for about 3 months now and my hair is behaving nicely :)

I'll boil my water next time. Our water is very hard.
 

lwheelr

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Baking soda IS too harsh to use on a regular basis, if that is all you are using. The ACV helps to compensate for that. Or in my case, the shampoo does that.
 

saraltx

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I've been using baking soda and vinegar for over a year now. I suppose the baking soda might be too harsh to use on a daily basis, but I have to use my hair only once or twice a week now. I used to have somewhat oily hair, but frizzy at the same time, and it has gotten SO much healthier and more manageable. After about 6 months I did use shampoo from a leftover bottle just once, since my hair started getting a little greasy. I had used some hairspray a few times around that time, so it could have built up and the baking soda and water might not have washed that out good enough. Anyway, so I might have to use shampoo twice a year or so, but I have no intentions of ever going back to using shampoo on a regular basis, now that I've experienced the difference.
 

bornthrifty

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actually I have been using it for a long time (years) and love it (there was a transition period of taking three or four washings for my hair and oils to sort of adjust...then when my hair was clean...it felt soooo clean, and dried very fast

it's diluted with water, haven't noticed any damage, to the contrary my baby fine hair is actually wavy baby fine hair,(to my surprise) but I never knew it for the weight of shampoo and conditioners must have been to heavy for my hair which always looked straight and life less before my baking soda days

so no more curling iron or blow drying (yeah!)
 

bambi

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I thought I would let everyone know how the baking soda wash with vinegar rinse did for my hair and it was not good! I have natural curly hair and I do color it as well.It acually stripped my hair of it's natural oils and effected the color as well. If you color your hair I would be careful won't try this again. I was talking to my sister and she laughed at me told me that is what she uses to clean out her darins with.
 

morgj

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I have quit using the baking soda and now use a little Dr. Bronners Tea Tree/Hemp oil for the wash and ACV for the rinse. I like the results better than the baking soda
 
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