My "no-poo" Journey!

As most of you know, I made the switch to sulfate/silicone/paraben free shampoo several months ago and haven't looked back
Since then, I have done my research and my interest has been piqued concerning the "no-poo" (not using shampoo) movement that is gaining force throughout the all natural beauty community.

My first thought was: I'm sure it's great, but there is NO WAY that I can do that.
Well, now that I am trying to grow my super short hair out to be super long, I acknowledge that for this to happen as quickly as possible my hair and scalp need to be as healthy as possible. For that to happen, I need to stop damaging it with the awfulness that is shampoo.

Igor from igorsbelltower.blogspot.com writes this about why shampoos suck! It's great! ;)

Why shampoo sucks:
Shampoo strips the oils out of hair and then conditioner replaces them. No matter what clever and flashy commercials tell you, shampoo is damaging to hair.
The harsh surfactacts present in shampoo like sodium lauryl sulfate/sodium laureth sulfate and ammonium lauryl sulfate tend to overcleanse the scalp. These detergents also dry out the hair.
To compensate for the drying out, the scalp produces more sebum to protect itself and restore the natural state. Skin and scalp needs both a certain pH and natural oils to stay healthy.
This tends to put you in a cycle where you overcleanse to get rid of the greasy hair and your scalp produces more grease to compensate. Some link the overcleansing to dandruff and scalp issues.
Instead of using harsh products for cleansing and the putting the back moisture on, you can clean with a product that adds moisture.

After all of my research, I do not think I can jump straight to "no-poo". And by that I mean "washing" your hair with baking a soda and water mixture and "conditioning" your hair with an apple cider vinegar mixture.
Instead, I am going to work my way to that beginning by going "conditioner only" for a while, then transitioning to no-poo with the hopes of eventually just rinsing my hair in warm water instead of "washing" it with anything.

I am aware that this will not be an easy process, and I will have several days (possibly weeks) of less than beautiful hair, but my research has shown me that it will more than pay off!

WHY DO THIS?!?!? (Besides the fact that shampoo is ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE for your hair)

There are TONS of testimonials out there in the blogosphere about how going no-poo completely changed people's hair.....for the better! Blogger after blogger has said how after going no-poo (and suffering through the transition period) their hair had more body, more shine, less frizz, was more manageable, super soft and those with curly hair say this is a must to control curls naturally! All of this just by cutting out all the chemicals in shampoo.

PLEASE, DO YOUR RESEARCH IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TRYING IT OUT, THERE ARE TONS OF RESOURCES OUT THERE!

What I do:
3 times a week I will wash my hair with only conditioner, the other 4 days a week I will just rinse my hair with hot water.

To wash my hair with conditioner, first I squirt a handful of conditioner in my hand to massage into my scalp. I let that sit for at least 5 minutes while I finish my shower. Rinse that out then add more conditioner to the length of my hair (since the rest time was just for my scalp to mid shaft of my hair) then rinse right away.

What conditioner I use:
2 of the 3 nights that I plan on conditioning my hair I will use Giovanni Smooth as Silk Deep Conditioner and the other night I will use Giovanni Avocado and Olive Oil Conditioner Mask.

Tonight was my first night in this journey, but I promise to keep you updated!

Let me know, would you consider ever going "no-poo"? Why or why not?

Below is a picture of my hair once it air dried after my first day of using conditioner only!!!
Not too bad, yet. I'm thinking tomorrow may be worse since it will be my first time just rinsing it with hot water and not "washing" it with anything!