Tapioca Starch - Great for Oily Hair!

#1

Hello all -
I haven’t been using 'poo for about 4 months now. The first month or so I weened myself off of using shampoos and then went cold turkey at the beginning of June when I went backpacking. I have VERY fine, oily, somewhat wavy brown hair. It seems I’ve always hated my hair and have been jealous of you thick headed beauties! In struggling to feel confident I’ve experimented with a number of different cuts and styles but have now decided to grow it out again.

When I first started to go No Poo, it was a mess. My hair already got oily and flat without shampooing for one day, so with a few days it was a stringy gross mess. I was afraid of using baking soda for fear of dandruff so I scoured my pantry for a similar powdery, oil soaking material. Enter TAPIOCA STARCH!!

~Start reading here to skip the backstory~

~I apply tapioca starch to dry hair using a blush-brush every couple of days to soak up the excess oil
~I apply to the roots of my hair in sections, do some messaging motions and brush out to distribute
~On my fairly dark brown hair, this stuff definitely leaves a powdery finish that fades after a little while. Probably would be great for blondes.
~Leaves my hair soft, and A LOT less oily for at least of couple of days

Has anyone else tried this method?

#2

My hair sounds like yours but I’m dark blonde. I’ve been no poo for nearly 4 months abs still have yukky greasy hair. So I’d like to try your suggestion. But what is tapioca starch and where do I get it?? Thanks

#3

It is one type of cassava flour, commonly used to make food (the most popular food is some type of ‘pancake’) here in Brazil. It’s getting popular around the world, so maybe it’s not so difficult to find there :stuck_out_tongue: I was acctualy going to ask about this instead of rye flour, since here is really difficult and expensive to find.
@cranberrygills, have you tried washing with it? And there’s another type of cassava flour that is yellow and a lot more thinner, maybe for your dark dry hair it would be better.

#4

I follow a YouTuber who talks about historical hair care. One way to adjust natural hair powders for darker hair is to add a little bit of cocoa powder. Just mix it in before applying. When you brush it out with the rest, the scent only lingers a little while and it doesn’t look as chalky.