Washing hair with baking soda: Does it actually helps?

Why are sometimes regular shampoos so bad?

Other daily life benefits of baking soda!

The following are some of the benefits of baking soda in general, according to Healthline.

• It can treat your heartburn
• It can help you get some oral hygiene as it makes a good mouthwash.
• It can be used home remedy for whitening your teeth
• It acts as a good deodorant to kill bad smells of your sweating & fridge.
• It is used as a fitness supplement to boost your exercises performance
• It can help soothe your itchy skin and can treat sunburns
• It works as an important ingredient of certain cancer treatments
• It is a safer, cheaper alternative to commercial air cleansers.
• It is a safer, cheaper alternative for your laundry clean up products.
• It is a common kitchen staple to help your utensils & floor cleanser
• It acts as a natural, cost-effective, powerful bathroom cleanser.
• It can clean up pesticides & insects from your fruits & veggies.
• It can act an ingredient in a lot of fire extinguishers
• It is a safer, effective killer of weeds in your home walkaways & cracks

What do you need?

• Just half, ½ a cup of baking soda powder
• About 3 to 4 times of water as compared to the quantity of baking soda

How to make & use this clarifying recipe?

1. First, warm up the water in a separate container to increase its dissolution power and then add baking soda powder into it.
2. Now, get your hair properly wet evenly. This increases the receptive power of your scalp towards the clarifying recipe.
3. Now, simply pour the baking soda & water mix onto your hair and use your hands to massage your scalp to spread it evenly on your scalp.
4. After 2-4 minutes, simply rinse it off your head and apply a good conditioner to seal the detoxification benefits gained.
5. You can use honey, jojoba oil or coconut oil as a conditioner post-baking soda application.

How often should this clarifying rinse be used?

Since baking soda can be harsh, depending on your hair type, you can use it from 1-2 times weekly or fortnightly i.e if you have oily hair, you are okay with using it 1-2 times a week. 

However, if you have already dry hair, minimal usage is always safe i.e once per week or fortnight.

Alternative Baking soda shampoo recipes

For your liking, if you are sensitive about using simple baking soda mixed with water on your head, there are some good alternative/safer/less harsh ways to use it.

These alternatives are:

1. Add baking powder straight into your shampoo and use as it as a new regular shampoo. OR
2. Add baking powder into your head after you have leathered shampoo on your head, and then simply rinse this mixture off your head.

What do you need?

• About 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• About 2 cups of water

How to apply ACV on your hair?

1. First, add the ACV into the quantity of 2 cups of water.
2. After you have rinsed off baking soda & water solution, simply pour the ACV on your hair.
3. After 2-4 minutes, just rinse it off with cold water which can help seal in the gained moisturizing and detoxification benefits.

How Often to use it?

Whenever you use a baking soda solution Or when used individually, you can safely use it 1-2 times a week or fortnightly.

Potential Risks/side effects of using baking soda on hair include.

1. Dryness

While there is no doubt that baking soda is a good cleansing agent, but it can do something extra cleansing leading to over stripping of natural oils causing dryness.

That’s why typical commercial shampoos contain ingredients that moisturize the hair and keep it clean and never cause too much dryness.

What you can do?: Whenever you use a baking soda rinse, keeping in view its ability to dry out, using some natural conditioner like coconut or argan oils can help to restore moisture.

2. Breakage

This is another major problem with baking soda due to the nature of its compound i.e its tiny, abrasive crystals can tear away delicate hair strands which lead to split ends & breakage.

3. Scalp irritation

Scalp irritation is another potential problem with baking soda. That’s why dry skin/dry scalps and people suffering from eczema should always avoid it.

Research evidence:

So far there is no research evidence that baking soda can actually benefit your hair like making it soft and shiny and there is a need for more research in this regard.

However, there is definite research evidence that it can damage your hair and cause skin irritation. According to research, a hair product with higher pH levels can damage the head & hair in the following ways.

• cuticle damage
• hair breakage
• frizz
• irritation

This is understandable as the average scalp pH is 5.5 and that of hair shaft 3.67 but baking soda has a pH level of 9.

According to another study, an alkaline soap (pH 9.5) could decrease the skin’s fat content and cause severe irritation in the upper protective layer of skin.

No poo Claim 1:  Dissolving baking soda in water can dilute its pH.

Ans: No, it’s not true. The pH level of baking soda won’t change.

No-Poo claim 2: Baking soda can remove oil & buildup from the scalp

Ans: Yes, it is true. It can but repeated use can cause serious damage.

No-Poo claim 3: Apple cider vinegar can help rebalance pH levels.

Ans: Maybe & May not be. So far, research has not proven this.

No poo claim 4: Coldwater used to rinse off can seal the cuticles

Ans: No, there is no such evidence to support this claim. In Fact, oils could be better suited to do this job.

Completely avoid “No Poo” if you have the following concerns.

• you have dry or brittle hair
• you use chemical/color treatments on your hair.
• Use a lot of heat styling tools
• you have sensitive skin

How to make this remedy?

1. Take lemon juice and water in a 1:2 ratio ( 2 water, 1 lemon juice) and mix them well and collect it in a spray bottle.
2. Now, using this spray bottle, start spreading all over your scalp with the help of your fingers and let it sit for about 15 minutes before you rinse this off with a clarifying shampoo to clean up any leftover buildup.

Why does Lemon juice work against scalp build up?

• Rich in Vitamins C, it is effective against the free radical damage of your scalp skin and improving collagen production to treat stunted hair growth.
• Lemon has strong antifungal properties which effectively counters any infection growth on your scalp and control hair fall and dandruff
• It helps the opening up of clogged pores to stimulate the growth of dormant hair and regulate the overproduction of sebum which is one of the main contributing factors for scalp buildup.

What do you need?

• About ½ a cup bentonite clay powder
• About ½ a cup pure aloe vera gel
• About 3-4 tbsp of ACV
• An extra cup of ACV

What do you need to do?

1. Simply mix up the three ingredients bentonite clay, aloe gel and the ACV quantity mentioned. Stir well to get a smooth paste.
2. Now, simply lather this mixture over your scalp and hair and cover-up for 20-30 minutes to protect it from drying.
3. After this much time, simply rinse the mixture with a cup of ACV and wait on for 2-3 minutes.
4. Finally, after this much time, simply rinse this off with cold water and use a good conditioner to seal the gained benefits.

Why this natural detoxification works?

• This powder is rich in minerals, including silica, calcium, magnesium, sodium, iron, and potassium. These minerals help to purge away dirt and open up clogged pores from heavy metals, impurities, and chemicals.
• On the other hand, Aloe Vera gel, due to its powerful nourishing properties, it can soothe any potential irritation. It’s also a great conditioner and prevents itching.

How often to use it?

You can safely use this natural detoxifying clay recipe once in a fortnight and if you would like to use it more often then you have to minimize the use of harsh vinegar in it.

What do you need?

• About 2 parts of coarse sea salt
• About 1 part of a shampoo

How to use it this detoxifying remedy?

1. Simply mix up the sea salt and shampoo well to get a good mix.
2. Now simply spread it on your hair and using your hands try to create a good lather.
3. Finally, after 3-4 minutes, simply rinse this off with cool water and apply a good conditioner after that.

Why this natural detoxifying shampoo works?

Sea salt would work as a natural scrub to help you exfoliate while shampoo would help you supplement your exfoliating efforts as an additional cleansing agent.

How Often to use it?

You can safely use this natural detoxifier once a month.

How to do it?

1. Simply choose any of the below-listed oil depending on your hair type & concern, dilute them with water and start deeply massaging onto your scalp for 10-20 minutes.
2. After this, simply cover up your head to let them sink in your hair well. Else, just sit out in the sun to allow the heat to open your pores and make them more receptive to the treatment.

Why this oil massage works?

• coconut: moisturizes damaged hair
• olive: moisturizes thick, processed, damaged hair
• jojoba: moisturizes damaged hair, itchy scalps
• argan: helps in improving overall scalp health and provide protection against hair damage & loss
• essential oils: boosters for targeting growth, acne, itching, and more

What do you need?

• About 1/4 cup coconut milk
• About 1/3 cup castile soap
• About 2-3 capsules vitamin E oil
• About 15-20 drops fragrant essential oil (totally optional)

How make this natural shampoo?

1. Simply mix all the ingredients mentioned in the list and store them in a separate bottle to be used after again.
2. Now first get your hair properly wet and use the mixture just like your normal shampoo on your scalp and spread evenly from tips to roots.
3. Leave it for 10-15 minutes, after which simply rinse it off with cold water.

Why does this work?

• The castile soap in itself is a powerful natural cleanser that can easily remove away all the product buildup.
• Coconut milk is a natural exfoliator and deep moisturizer that not only help you clean up your hair but its deeply moisturizing properties would help to impart some much needed deep moisturization to dry hair types.

How Often to use it?

You can use this natural shampoo recipe 2-3 times a week without any potential side effects.

What do you need?

• About half, ½ tbsp of cinnamon
• About 1 tbsp of baking soda
• About 2-3 tbsp of olive oil

How to use it natural detoxifier?

1. Simply mix the raw ingredients in a clean bowl and stir well to get a smooth consistency.
2. Now simply massage the mixture onto your scalp and through apply over your roots to tips by sectioning your hair strands.
3. After 20-25 minutes, simply rinse this off with cool water.

Why this natural remedy works?

Cinnamon can easily pull out the dirt and grime from your head while its natural antioxidant properties can prevent further hair damaged to keep them overall healthy.

How often to use it?

You can safely use this detoxifying mask 1-2 times a week without risking any potential side effects.

• The high acidity level apple cider vinegar triggers the shedding and falling down of dead skin cells and thus preventing dandruff
• It is a great PH balance of the skin which easily fights off any sort of dandruff-causing fungus.

How to use it?

Don’t directly apply apple cider vinegar to your skin rather, add a few tablespoons of it to your daily shampoo or any other hair oil and then apply directly onto your hair and scalp.

If you’d like to give apple cider vinegar a try, add a few tablespoons to your shampoo or combine it with other essential oils and spray directly onto hair.

How to control stress?

There are many easy to do stress control strategies like meditation, deep breathing aromatherapy and yoga which can be effective in getting your stress under control.