An update on the experiment

So it's been what, almost 3 weeks?  Here's the scoop on my Natural Hair Care Experiment.

Washing with baking soda alone has been fine.  I still only wash every other day, with just a water rinse on the odd days.  The soda seems to get the hairspray out just fine, and my scalp hasn't been itchy or anything.

The rinses, however, are a different story.  I've tried a few different combinations to see what works best for my hair, and so far the plain apple cider vinegar gives me the best results.  I tried ACV and honey (for frizz) which wasn't bad... just beer (for body) which left a weird residue and seemed to make it tangle a lot worse... ACV and beer, which wasn't as bad as just beer but not the best... ACV and olive oil, which oh god no.  The day after that one was the oiliest, most disgusting hot mess of hair I've ever had.  I had hoped the tiny, bitty little drizzle of oil would help with some of the flyaways I was dealing with, but it weighed my hair down worse than regular conditioner does.  So in the end, I'm sticking with plain old ACV, with a little honey maybe once a week.  I might switch to plain vinegar, but I like the smell of ACV better.

My hair hasn't looked nearly as fried - it's soft an shiny and so much easier to style, even if it still doesn't hold a curl all day.  My color is holding up much better too, and once my hair is dry it doesn't smell like a salad or anything either.  :-) 

There was one day that I had some leftover baking soda in the cup, so I used it on my face - forget the oil cleanse method, holy cow did this make my face feel wonderful!  It's got just enough grit to exfoliate, and I'll probably only do it once or twice a week, but it worked fabulously.  I still have a whole bottle of Burt's Bees face wash to use up first though.