life & style // 10

No shampoo week three:
‘So how do you wash your hair, anyway?’

» The method to my madness

Sophie Isbister

Life & Style Editor
Mlifeandstyle
@theotherpress.ca

H allelujah, I’m halfway
through my shampoo-

free experiment! For those
just tuning in, I’m avoiding
commercial shampoo
products for six weeks and
writing about it. My goal is to
test the theory that after an
adjustment period, my hair
will actually be fuller, shinier,
and more manageable without
traditional product. Halfway
through my experiment, it
seems almost possible that my

 

is still out.

The most-asked question
I—and the several other
women doing no-poo on the
Facebook community—receive
is, “So what do you wash your
hair with?” That’s what this
article is for: here are the main
ways that people wash their
hair when they’re no-pooing,
and how they work.

Baking Soda. This

: method cleans so well that

: you should only do it every

: four or five days at the most.

: You will definitely get that

: slippery, soapy feeling while

: washing, and then a squeaky

: clean feeling after rinsing. |

: wrote about the baking soda

: method before, but having

: done it a few times now, Iam

: a huge fan. Baking soda is very
: drying, so I make sure I only

: put it on the roots of my hair

: (a good idea for all shampoo,

: actually). Some people even

: view this method as cheating— :
: the alkaline baking soda works
: with water and the oil in your
hair will be nicer—but the jury scalp (sebum) to actually create :
: shampoo on your head, making :
: baking soda a controversial :
: player on the no-poo scene.

Water Only. The water-

only method is chosen

: by purists in the no-poo

: movement. Washing with

: just water is fairly simple, and
: it’s something that I do every
: couple of days, in between

: baking soda washes. It cleans
: the hair of any dirt or sweat,

: but it doesn’t do much for the
: oil. Tips and tricks include

: massaging the scalp in the

: shower, and then rinsing with
: lots of warm water. Not much
: to this one.

Honey and Aloe. This

: natural shampoo alternative

: is touted as a good alternative
: when you feel like you must

: wash your hair, but it’s not a

: wash day. I tried it with mixed
: results. This method involves

: blending % cup of aloe (the

: natural, additive-free kind,

: usually $7 at a health food

store) with two tablespoons

: of honey in a blender or food
: processor. Then you take it into :
: Do not heat style or blow dry
: afterwards, as any egg reside
: will cook in your hair.

the shower with you, plop it
on your head, let it sit for a few

: minutes, and rinse it out very
: thoroughly. Focus on the scalp, :
: because that’s where you'll see
: the benefits. The aloe works to
: moisturize your hair and scalp,
: which could be dry from the

: baking soda washes. Aloe also
: balances the pH in your hair,

: and the honey leaves it shiny.

: After I tried this wash, my hair
: felt a little cleaner, but not the

: squeaky clean I usually get
: from baking soda or traditional :
: shampoo. :

: tried, and to be honest, I’ma

: little scared to! I’ve read one

: too many horror stories about
: people rinsing with water

: that isa tad too warm and

: ending up cooking breakfast

: in their hair. The protein in

: eggs is apparently great for

: hair—simply blend one-to-

: three eggs (depending on how
: much hair you have), dilute it

: with equal parts water, apply

: it to your hair, let it sit for at

: least five minutes, then rinse

: This category includes

: anything that you would

: add to your hair in place of a

: traditional conditioner. I’ve

: been using the apple cider

: vinegar rinse I wrote about at

: the beginning of this series,

: and it’s been working nicely. It
: can be used every few days—

Egg. This one I haven't

it out with cold or tepid water.

Natural conditioners.

theotherpress.ca

: more frequently than the

baking soda wash. Distilled

: white vinegar is also an option,
: asis lemon juice. Dilute a

: couple tablespoons in a cup

: of water—but be careful with

: lemon juice, as it can lighten

: your hair.

Oil is also an option to

: use on the ends of your hair if

: they’rea little dry. I don’t have

: this problem, because as I’ve

: already mentioned I have more
: oil in my hair than the Sharks

: and the Jets put together. But if
: you have dry hair or split ends,
: try putting a teensy amount in
: your hair. Just make sure you

: don't usea heating tool on it

: afterwards, like a flat iron or

: acurling iron—this is a great

: way to literally cook your hair.

I’ve read about many

: more options for the daring

: no-pooer, but I don’t know if

: Tl be rushing out to try a clay

: wash, an apple-banana mask,

: ora tea rinse anytime soon. I’ve
: been loving the simplicity of

: my new no-poo life, and piling
: a grocery list on my head just

: seems overcomplicated.

 

The Other Brew: Hoyne Brewing Company

» Island Brewery impresses with stout, lager

Taylor Pitt
Contributor

onight I sit down with

Hoyne Brewing Company,
located on Bridge Street
in Victoria. While I don’t
understand their motto, which
is “Drink Hoyne for smarts,
strength, and stamina,” I do
understand their beer to be
some of the finest I’ve tasted
out of this province so far,
and with so many breweries
to pick from, that comes as
high praise. First on the list is
Helios, a Dortmunder Golden
Lager, which I shamelessly
picked for the artwork on the
label.

Helios pours extremely
light and bubbly, almost
like a sparkling apple juice
in appearance. Any lighter
and it might be mistaken
for champagne. A slow but
steady pour creates a two-
finger head that goes down
quickly. It smells quite sweet,
but unremarkable otherwise.
Before I tried it, I was ready for
disappointment, worried that

: the best thing about the beer

: would be the bottle’s artwork.

: I’ma lot happier after I tried it,
: as the beer tastes exactly as the
: label looks: bright, cheerful,

: and for lack of a better word,

: epic. While there are no

: unusual flavours or special

: additions to the recipe, Helios
: doesn’t need them. It’s smooth, :
: but not so smooth as to make

: you forget that it’s alcohol, and
: the bubbly sensation sticks

: around in your throat.

Really, the only downside

: Tcan find here is figuring out
: how I should convince you to
: try it. What can I say about

: a beer that tastes... well, of a

: teaspoon of sugar, malt, and

: hops? How about this: it’s a

: limited release, and if you don't :
: go out and buy it, perhaps at

: the 8th Street Liquor Store,

: you'll regret it for the rest of

: your life. Two kids, a divorce,

: and a remarriage later you'll

: be thinking back to this article
: and wishing you had tried that
: beer.

Second, I picked up Devil’s

Dream IPA, an India Pale Ale.
: While it isn’t as eye-catching

: as Helios, or as immediately
: intriguing, I figured it would
: be an interesting contrast to
: my other two choices. After

: all, it’s an IPA, possibly the :
: most popular beer produced by :
: microbreweries on the entire
: West Coast. I knew before I

: poured it what it would look

: guess at the taste. However, I
: wasn’t quite given what I was
: expecting.

: aslightly darker gold than
: Helios, and another slow, :
: steady pour created a head only :
: one finger in height, that went
: down with time. Of course,

: it being an IPA, it smells like

: hops, and has medium-low

: that’s surprising. Amazingly

: bitter and heavy on the hops,

: even for an IPA, I was initially

: displeased by the taste. And

: with no aftertaste, I didn't look
: forward to finishing the rest

: of the bottle. I took another :
: small sip, and it only seemed to :
: confirm my distaste. Even fans
: of hoppy beers may find that

: this is just too much for them

and smell like, and had a

Devil’s Dream pours only

carbonation. It’s the taste

: night, and even when held up
: to the light it retains the black
: coloration. Its head, about one
: finger in height when I poured
: it, was a medium brown in

: colour. My first sip left a great
: impression—it certainly was

: what the label advertised. I

: had an espresso beforehand,

: just to compare, and it tastes

: familiar taste of hops there,
: too, but nothing more. It’s not
: as complex a brew as Stoutnik

: to take. On the other hand, if

: you've found other IPAs too :
: light or boring, this may be the :
: brew for you. :

Last but not least, tried:
Hoyne’s Voltage Espresso Stout. :

: Asyoucanimagine, thisisa
: beer brewed with a lot of coffee :
: flavour. It’s extremely dark and :
: smooth, almost to the point of
: not tasting like a beer. Now, if

: you checked out my review of

: Longwood Brewery’s Stoutnik,
: you'd probably expect me to

: trash this beer just thesame. :
: Luckily for me, and perhaps for :
you, Voltage goes down much
: better than Stoutnik did.

Voltage pours dark as the

quite similar. Sure, there’s the

Two kids, a
divorce, anda
remarriage later
you'll be thinking
back to this article
and wishing you
had tried that
beer.

: was, and the smooth quality of

it doesn’t damage it as much as

it did Stoutnik.

Hoyne brewery seems to

: consistently make delicious

: brews. Except for their IPA,

: I’ve not been displeased by

: anything they’ve put out, and
: it may just bea matter of my

: personal taste when it comes to
: Devil’s Dream. I’d recommend
: you pick up some beers from

: Hoyne the next time you plan
: a small gathering of friends,

: or when you need something

: to cheer you up during your

: studies. They range from $5.50
: to $8, so give it a shot.