I'm not washing my hair anymore

All together now: EEEEEWWWWW!!!

I've had a love/hate relationship with my hair for as long as I can remember. I had thin, poker straight hair that wouldn't hold a curl if you paid it until I was about 10 years old. At that point, a combination of an aw.ful. hair cut from a cheap-ass chain and impending puberty netted me an afro-mullet: all of a sudden my hair was thick and wavy -- adding layers of less than 2" all over my head did NOT bode well for my grade six year.

Oh, by the way? Also the year I ended up with glasses. *sigh*

In grade seven, out of sheer desperation, I chopped all my hair off. It was cute, but super short. It took three years to grow it back out. During grades eleven and twelve, I thought I just had frizzy, crappy hair. I would fight with my hair daily, torturing the hell out of it with one of those Conair wide-barreled curling brushes that blew hot air, desperately trying to tame the frizz. It wasn't until after I graduated I started experimenting with styling products and discovered that mousse would give me curls ringlets.

Of course, the intervening years have seen me spend enough money on styling products and tools that I probably could have bought a car.

I found a combination of products (drugstore ones at that -- lucky me!) that gave my curls great definition. Coupled with a good cut, I got tons of compliments on my hair. Until about a month ago.

I started noticing little, white flakes right after I would wash my hair. For the first time in my life, I had "dandruff." Well, dry scalp, really. As well, my head was itchy. I wasn't sure if it was the winter weather conditions, or a product build-up, but I suspected the latter. I started using Head & Shoulders and foregoing my usual moussing gel, opting for just a spritz of hairspray to keep the frizzies at bay on the top of my head (I've rocked FAR too many pony tails in the past month). After a week of that, I ended up switching to Neutrogena Anti-Residue Shampoo and have been using that (along with no mousse) for the past three weeks.
And hating every second of it.

A woman on a message board I frequent posted a comment stating that she uses the "Curly Girl" method. Being the Google-Fu champion that I am, I started poking around teh intarwebz. My first stop was the wikiHow article "How to Follow the Curly Girl Method." From there, I clicked all the accompanying links on how to wash curly hair and how to wash your hair without shampoo. When I saw that there was a book devoted to the Curly Girl method, I requested it from the library. I also found tons of excellent information on the Naturally Curly website, particularly the forum.

I requested the book last Saturday and it was in the library, albeit in another town. Because I would have to wait a few days for it to be transferred, I decided I'd just wait for it to come in to start. On Monday morning, I got an email letting me know the book was in. However, when I went to pick it up after work, it was no longer on the shelf: it seems there was some "confusion" [insert disbelieving eye roll here] about how long the book had been on hold, and had been pulled in order to send it to the next person on the holds list. So, now I wait. Again. *fumes*

I decided that I will try "co-washing": washing my hair with conditioner instead of shampoo (apparently my mom has been doing this -- with great success -- for AGES).

Tonight I figured I'd bite the bullet and just give it a shot. I know I overdid the process, but I wanted to be *sure* my hair was starting out "fresh" (and that I didn't stink tomorrow). I started with my sulfate shampoo (the Neutrogena). I then used the baking soda washed and followed up with the apple cider vinegar rinse (wikiHow). After that, I conditioned with Suave Naturals conditioner in strawberry.

So far, so good. lol Well, no flakes at the least. Scalp doesn't feel itchy. Hair feels soft. Oh, and I don't smell like apple cider vinegar. *gag* However, I'll reserve judgement. From what I've read so far, it is common for hair to go through a transition period of 2-4 weeks where it is limp, lifeless, and greasy. God, I hope not. I just want my hair back. And if using the Curly Girl method means I can get away with using LESS product? SCORE DEAL.