Coming Clean

In past posts, I bragged that I no longer washed my hair with shampoo, but instead used baking soda. I twigged on to this because I’d read about a few people who were trying to reduce their plastic waste to next to nothing. I also didn’t like the idea of putting questionable chemicals on my scalp and in our water supply.

Now I have to come clean with you – my baking soda experiment failed. My hair became so dry that my hairdresser had to cut off an extra two inches of damaged ends. “What have you been using on your hair?!” she asked, nose wrinkled.

I don’t know where these “no-poo” people live, or what kind of hair they have, but for me, living in Calgary, baking soda shampoo was a horrible idea. (That said, I still use it about once a week, just not every day).

I write all this sheepishly, not only because I’m responsible for the damaged locks of a few of my friends and colleagues, but also because I’m taking up valuable space and time talking about washing your hair with baking soda. It’s not exactly an act that’s going to save our little green-and-blue marble now is it?

If you really want to take action why not sign up for Green Calgary’s EcoLeaders 2010 course? It’s a course for people who are working to reduce their eco-footprint, but are interested in learning more and doing more. The deadline to apply is March 4th and more info is available here.

I’m pretty sure they won’t be telling you to wash your hair with baking soda.

 

Posted: Jan 18 2010, 01:00 AM by Shannon C. 2 comment(s) Please leave a comment
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Comments

Tavis Ford said:

I liked the no-poo idea, but probably only because of the silly name.  Certainly, the vinegar rinse in all it's pungency was a bit hard to stomach.  However, there's no sense chastising yourself for not saving all of the green-and-blue marble and only working on a portion of it.  Untended, "eco-guilt" will eat away at our contentment.

Regardless, the Green Calgary Ecoleaders recommendation and the push to do more than simply change lightbulbs or personal care-products is awesome.

# January 18, 2010 4:24 PM

ShinyHappyPerson said:

The devil is in the details...this is why big ideas about the environment are so hard to enact, because what does "save the environment" mean on a daily basis? Thankfully, I waited to see your results before trying, as my own attempts were unsuccessful. One thing for reducing bottle waste is to refill your bottle - Sunnyside Market currently offers refills on a variety of soaps - hand soaps, liquid dish soap, laundry, and yes, shampoo. A limited selection, and the price isn't better, but I feel good about reusing that bottle for 2 years. The other option is their shampoo bar soap, which isn't ideal for most hair types, but you never know. I commend your effort!

# January 19, 2010 11:16 AM