'No poo' experts / Curly girls - advice for a new curly please

[moogdroog]

Ok, I'm on day 4 (wash 2) of the no-poo method. Most of my hair looks the best it has in years, but jesus, the roots are greasy! I'm a bit embarrassed.

So, am I doing things wrong? Or is this a stage I have to go through, and how long will it last? And, I suppose using dry shampoo will undo all my good work won't it?

The results on the whole are tantalising, but not sure I can live with the oil slick. Any other tips?

Some excellent advice and ideas on here. Thanks (I think!) SoyYo for the British Curlies link - I could do some serious shopping on there.

Right, confession time. I could not hack the grease, so yesterday relented and washed just my roots with some SLS free baby shampoo, co washed the rest. Hair looks good today, and much less greasy. Think no poo might be too hardcore for me, so I'm going to experiment and try to find a middle way. Bought some of that Tresemme Naturals as well and might try the Bodyshop stuff after that.

I've got a feeling that the plopping might be making the biggest difference to my hair, so that's certainly going to stay. I used the Flirty Curls and Curl Creme combo yesterday and that's worked wonders too.

I think I may be plopping wrong! Isn't it just a case of wrapping a towel around your hair to let it dry a bit? That's what I did this morning for the first time in years but it went wrong. It made lots of my curls go a bit straight and made it a bit frizzy. I'd left the towel on for about 25 minutes. Is that too long?

I can't believe I managed to get the easiest bit wrong!

SoyYo, that's marvellous, thanks a lot!

I can't do a total CG routine. I have to wash with non-SLS shampoo (I like the Body Shop one) once or twice a week. I have to wash every day (co-wash with OS Mint and Tea Tree conditioner, then conditon with Tresemme Naturals) as my hair looks crap after I've slept on it, and the only way to sort it out is to wash it again.

I also can't plop! Like Saoirse86, it just makes the longer sections go straight and the shorter bits frizzy. I have a chin length bob so maybe it's better for longer hair?

I think the best thing to do is to play around with techniques and products until you find what works for you. For me, the key was cutting out silicones and SLS. I was using tons before, spending a fortune and my hair was in rubbish condition. Now I spend about a third of what I did before (I love that a lot of CG friendly products are so cheap!) and my hair is much healthier.

I was in sainsbury's today and they have tresemme on offer, they're 3 for £10. The conditioner says it's silicone free and the shampoo is lower sulphates, whatever that means!

saoirse86, it means it makes your curls VERY happy, if they're anything like mine Thanks for the tip about discount!

Boots have buy one get one free on the Tresemme (2 for £4-odd). Got some yesterday and waiting to try it out.

Anyone who is buying a low suplhate rather than a sulphate free (which is what you should be using for CG) look out for SODIUM DODECYL SULPHATE (which is another way to label SLS), myreth sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate and TEA-lauryl sulfate.

All of which are just as bad or almost as.

Manufactures have got very wise to consumers wanting SLS free poo and so have just re-labeled.

Really I would try and stick to sulphate free even for low-poo days.

Well, they aren't allowed to just relabel, there are standard names they have to use or include in brackets by EU law, so those are all slightly different chemicals, but Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate are the same thing and probably the most harsh. Sodium Laureth sulfate is slightly gentler. But they are all pretty harsh.

Cocamidopropyl betaine is a much milder detergent, tends to be used in baby shampoos, so that is one to look out for.

Saoirse.... dont use a towel. The CG methong that I use insists on no towels or terry cloth products. Use and old T-shirt... I find one with arms better as I use them to knot it securly around my head... you tube it and you will find lots of examples.

Okay, maybe 're-label' was a bit flip - knowing consumers are looking for things without Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, other chemicals are being added most of which are just as harsh.

Your post really just reiterates mine.

JustLikeHeaven, microfibre towels are fine and will dry your hair quicker than a tee.

Yes, I do agree WTWTW, I was just trying to clarify a bit.

Sorry, feeling touchy, have a shitty day.

Fuck, oooops, that sounds awful, I meant, have had a shitty day.

THat's OK, I may have sounded a bit pompous in that post. I don't work for the shampoo industry BTW. Sorry you've had a crap day.

at WildThings' typo (but not at your shit day)

[off to scrutinise shampoo ingredients]