Ok, in case you didn't know, I worked a LOT of different service jobs. My 3rd "real" job was at Great Clips. No, they didn't trust me with scissors. BUT I was a pretty fantastic receptionist ;o) While I worked at Great Clips, Mandy, a stylist would occasionally show her clients the "buildup" she could scrape off of their hair with a razor. It kind of looked like wax flakes that you couldn't see before she got them off. It was actually silicone coating their hair. EEEWWWWWW!!!   Now, fastforward a few years {Ok maybe like 13 years... but, really, who's counting?!?} my Dad has had some cancer removed, my Mom has had cancerous spots removed and I'm like, "Hey... I'm genetically linked to them.... hmmmmm..." Then Scott & I were purchasing some carpet cleaner and I was checking the ingredients. I learned long ago that you don't ever use a cleaner with amonia in it if you have a pet. {Apparently Amonia will make pet smells insanely stronger and then sends a trigger saying it's ok to make more smells there....} So I was looking to find the ingredients and couldn't find them on the bottle. ANYWHERE. Well, on the very bottom in tiny writing it said to go to the website to see the ingredients. So, I go to the website and can't find an "ingredients" page. I find the listing of the different cleaning products, and again, no ingredients. I find the search box on the page and thought SURELY that would work, but NOPE I looked up "ingredients" and found NOTHING!!!!!! So, that got me thinking, "What on EARTH is in that bottle that they're hiding from everyone?!?" I still have no idea, but all these things combined is what sparked me to really rethink what I allow in my living environment, and what I am putting on my body. Afterall, I try to make smart decision about what I put IN my body, why not make smart decisions about what is ON my body & in my living environment?!? Oh did I mention that you can look up your beauty products to see how hazardous they are?!? My most coveted leave in conditioner scored an 8 out of 10 for hazardous.... WHAT?!? Check out your products at Skin Deep to see what your favorites are rating. Step #1.... Natural shampoo!!! So, I looked ALLLLLL over and found a lot of "I only use baking soda & vinegar for my hair routine"{I just said that in my best inner-hippie voice}. Uhhh NO! I want to have natural & healthy but, I NEED to have *SMELL GOOD* for these long locks. So after doing TONS more looking I finally found a few recipes that listed items that I have heard of or seen on salon products.... Tea Tree Oil, Peppermint oil, Jojoba oil... All of those sounded familiar. FINALLY looks like I'm on the right road for me!! Now, before I share the recipe, let me tell you a little about my hair & some tips I read. I already only wash my hair every 2-3 days. I wash my body, but have trained my hair so that I don't need to wash it daily. So, I don't think I have as much buildup of yucky stuff on my hair as I would if I was washing with shampoo every day. Plus, my hair doesn't create a TON of oil like it used to. Also, I don't use tons of heat on my hair on a daily basis. If I dry my hair I try not to straighten it on the same day. If I have to straighten or curl my hair I try to only dry partially. Ok, so some of the tips I've read are to use a Boar Bristle Brush. It naturally moves/removes the oil your scalp creates. You can get them at Wal-Mart for like $9 {OR if you have $200.00 you can purchase them at Nordstrom's. HA} I happened to have one because that is one of the few types of brushes my 6 year old will use on her hair for tangles. Another little secret I kept reading about {this is great especially if you workout daily and feel the need to wash your hair} using a dry shampoo or even scrubbing a little water & baking soda on the sweaty roots afterwards then drying is totally fine. I know... these all kind of sound weird right now, but remember, the ph balance of your hair will be different now once you go all natural and get all the yuck that is clogging your hair folicles as well as coating your scalp & hair off.   Ok. On to the recipe... 1/2 cup distilled water 1/2 cup liquid Castile Soap - I use unscented, but you can choose your favorite 3 tsp jojoba oil 1/4 tsp peppermint essential oil 1/4 tsp tea tree essential oil a pinch of baking soda Just mix all the ingredients together and store in a jar, flip cap bottle or spray bottle. The mixture is not nearly as thick as store bought shampoo & a little goes a long way. This mixture will lather but not as much as a store bought bottle of shampoo. The part I LOVED is that you feel a WONDERFUL tingling of your scalp from the tea tree oil & Peppermint oil. Did I also mention how DIVINE it smells?!? Next you want to rinse with an acidic base like apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. This will act as your "conditioner" and seal all the yummy goodness you've just put on your hair. Don't be afraid to add/remove or change up what you want. I am going to do a baking soda wash before I do this wash tomorrow to see how my hair does. I would love to hear all about how your no poo journey is going!! Here is what MY hair looked like a few hours after the 1st wash & then again the next day about 18 hours after washing. ;o)