Picture this: you wake up at 5 am to a screaming kid who won’t go back to sleep. It’s still super annoying, but slightly less so because your hair is already styled and it looks awesome. So while I can’t make early wake ups any less annoying to us moms, I do think this baking soda hair wash can help you feel good about your hair without lots of chemicals or work.
I posted an Instagram story the other week about using baking soda hair wash, along with apple cider vinegar, and many folks said they wanted to hear more. Here you have it. A full post AND video of me in my shower showing you how to clean your hair naturally with baking soda hair wash.
Clean Hair Naturally with Baking Soda Hair Wash
I share more of this in the video below if you prefer to watch:
Here are the details:
Why use baking soda?
It’s not just my obsession with food that made me turn to baking soda as a cleanser. In reality, I was searching for a more natural cleansing solution that actually worked. Enter: the no-poo method.
Despite what its name may imply, it’s not actually about NOT washing your hair. Rather, it’s about washing without shampoo. There are many ways to do this including:
- Co-washing: just using conditioner
- Just using water
- Using shampoo alternatives like baking soda
So back to the question, why baking soda? As I learned from this article on Naturall Club
Baking soda has a high pH of 9, making it an effective acid-neutralizer and cleanser. Baking soda’s alkali pH makes it an excellent cleanser for your scalp and hair. It removes dirt and buildup from the scalp, leaving it clean.
Of course, cleanliness is #1 when it comes to washing hair. But, it also has the added benefit of steering clear of the chemicals that are found in many commercial shampoos including:
- Sodium Lauryl
- Laureth sulfate
- Fragrances
You can read more about that here.
Personally, I’ve also found that using baking soda hair wash has made my hair less greasy and more manageable than ever before. For someone, like me, with thick, wavy hair, who lives in a damp environment (Seattle) this is especially noteworthy.
It’s worth noting that what works for one person’s hair may not work for another. I’ve found that the combination of baking soda and vinegar that I share here is magical for my hair, but if it doesn’t work for yours then there are many other options. This article has a good breakdown of other no-poo methods.
You may have noticed that I mentioned vinegar above. Yes, I also use a small amount of apple cider vinegar as part of my baking soda wash. Again, Naturall Club is back to explain why:
Once your hair is clean, you need to return your scalp pH to its normal pH of 4-5. Otherwise, your hair will dry out and be frizzy. Read this article on how to do an apple cider vinegar rinse to restore pH balance. This treatment is simple, quick, and smooths and softens your hair!
But more on that in a minute…
The process for washing your hair less often
Before we get too deep into the HOW of using baking soda hair wash, I want to share an important note. If you are still washing your hair every day, you may want to take a look at reducing that before focusing on changing up your cleansing routine.
Washing your hair less has many benefits including:
- Giving you more time to do other things
- Allowing hair to restore to its natural state
- You natural oils contain nutrients for your hair
- It trains your hair to produce less oil and thus be less greasy
It sounds gross if you haven’t tried it before, right? And I’ve heard all the excuses:
- But I work out every day
- My hair gets so greasy
- It will smell bad
While it’s true that everyone can go different amounts of time without washing their hair, it’s also true that most people DON’T need to wash their every day. I have found the sweet spot for me is every 4 days. Yours may be different, but here’s how I make that happen:
Day 1: Using baking soda hair wash technique and blow dry hair
Days 2 and 3: After workout, blow dry hair a bit and use dry shampoo as needed
I will often run a straightening iron through my hair on these days too if I want to wear it down as my hair really holds creases from hair bands.
Here’s what it looks like after a workout and sauna (i.e. very sweaty):
And here’s what it looks like after I blow dry and dry shampoo:
But you can see in the back why my hair sometimes needs another flat iron here:
Day 4: Put a little curl in my hair if I’m fancy or just wear it up
Day 4 or 5: WASH and start all over again
Bonus of this method is that even if I don’t style my hair, it still curls really well. It just doesn’t last as many days without re-wetting.
How to use baking soda as a hair wash
The process of washing hair with baking soda is actually quite easy once you understand it.
- I like to use a solution, which I make by mixing 1 Tbsp baking soda with at least 1 cup warm water in a jar. While other people recommend pastes, I like the solution to ensure I don’t overdo it and also because it’s easy to distribute throughout my scalp.
- Once in the shower, pour the solution directly on the greasiest parts of youry scalp. The key is to move your hair around a bit and to massage the scalp to really get everything in. You can see exactly how I do this in the video.
- Rinse your scalp well and squirt a little bit of Apple Cider Vinegar onto it. This is supposed to help with any scalp flakiness and also restores the scalp pH to its normal level. I use about 1 Tbsp of this as well, working to squirt it all around.
- When that’s done, put a little conditioner on the ends of your hair and comb it through. I find that without conditioner my hair is too dry, but your’s may vary! Here’s the conditioner I’m currently using.
And that’s it! Like I said, pretty easy and straightforward once you understand the process!
Conclusion:
Baking soda hair wash is an easy and natural way to clean your hair. Once you understand the proportions and process, it’s fast and efficient and can save you time so that you can do other things!
Want more ideas for natural health hacks? Here are some of my favorites:
Have you tried baking soda hair wash? Will you consider trying it?
