Newbie - struggling with thick hair!

#1

I have been wanting to try the “No Poo” method for years now but I’ve never been brave enough! However, now seems like the perfect time. I’m only about 2 and a half weeks into it and I’ve washed my hair twice: the first time with water only, and today I washed with water followed by an ACV rinse that I left in.

My hair has been extremely greasy and waxy feeling as I had expected, but I suppose I just wanted to know if i’m on the right lines. My hair is extremely dense/thick so massaging my scalp has been a challenge. I am concerned that after my second wash today with ACV my hair feels practically no different to how it felt prior to the wash in terms of oiliness. I was surprised after my initial water only wash that it did appear to be a bit cleaner? Maybe I should stick with water only? I’m not sure! Also I was suffering with some flakiness before trying “no poo” and i’m definitely noticing a build up (white residue on brush?). Should I purchase a wooden brush? Are there any particular treatments that might help me deal with this!

I am fully prepared for a challenging first few months but nonetheless any advice and tips would be much appreciated!

#2

It all sounds like the joys of nopoo. I’ll say right off the bat, that the only way I’ve stuck with it is cause there’s been no other option. My hair was so bad with shampoo(check some of my other posts for the colorful account) and bad without it (it has gotten loads better).

Yes, at the beginning… well, now too… sometimes it won’t get any cleaner after the wash. You’re still going through the transition, it’s probably still going to get worse. Don’t get too much into the fantasy that it’ll turn into shampooed feeling hair in 2 months. It can/will get better, but you will have to get used to a new normal. Your whole way of handling it and doing it has to change. It’s daunting but like someone for me, I have to stick with it. I’ve learned a cycle that keeps me from looking like a slob. Even now, over a year in, there’s still a lot of grease but you learn/start to appreciate the health it brings. I have super thin long hair, but my sisters have really thick hair, so I’m familiar with it all. I will say that you do need to brush a lot more than you think. I brush to the point where it’s greasy but not gluey, and then I wash my hair. During my 4 month transition (mine was really bad, thin hair is notorious) I couldn’t get rid of the glue, but with a lot go brushing, it does get better. I usually get the tangles out, part my hair down the center and use a bristle brush on it for 5 min then I wash the brush and do it again (I have a post on this somewhere). I personally think the whole ‘real boar bristle brush’ is… a joke… anyways for me. I got a $9 plastic bristle brush from Walmart and that’s the best. It just manages to get to my scalp and I have thin hair. So you’d need a really stiff one. I had a metal dog brush that was super. Brushing will get rid of all the junk… glue dandruff, and it’ll get the blood flowing.

Feel free to ask anything more. I hope that was coherent as I’m super tired (It’s been a loooong day on the farm… springtime work madness.)
Hope K

1 Like
#3

Hi hol,

Check out www.thenopoomethod.com and the ebook you can find there for specific no poo methods for your hair type and water type. It makes a big difference! For example, I’m seeing a lot of people doing water but if your water is hard and not soft doing the water only method will not be beneficial. Hope this site helps you like it has me!

Good luck!
Ashley

#4

Hi! I’m so sorry for the late reply but thank you so much for your advice! I suppose I’m almost coming up to the two month mark now and I don’t think much has changed but i’m going to persevere! Potentially I haven’t been brushing it enough so I think I’ll give that a go as you mentioned! I’ve been finding it easier just to put it in braids and keep it out the way but I suppose I should pay it a bit more attention!! Thank you again!!