Why I don’t like baking soda for my natural hair anymore

Written by Samara on March 3, 2010

I no longer use baking soda for my natural hair anymore and I will even remove any suggestion of it’s usage from my website to prove how strongly I feel about using it. When I tried using the baking soda cleansing technique for the first time my hair seemed drier than when I used shampoo and I didn’t like it at all. I thought it was something I was doing wrong, but after trying it again and again I still hated it! I do however, still love my apple cider vinegar rinses, but baking soda is a thing of the past.

What’s wrong with baking soda?

Well, for starters it isn’t natural. In fact baking soda is man made, but sodium bicarbonate (natural mineral a.k.a as baking soda), isn’t. Even though actual sodium bicarbonate is a natural occurring mineral, I wouldn’t suggest it’s usage due to the alkaline level it has, just as man made baking soda (i.e. Arm & Hammer).

If you take a look at the chart below you will see the difference in the pH of our hair and baking soda. It is an alkaline substance and our hair is acidic. Hair and skin are a pH of 4-5.5, when baking soda is 8-9.0! That’s a big difference because alkaline substances such as baking soda, texturizers, and relaxers lift our cuticle layers to alter the disulfide bonds in them.

If you want to keep your natural texture and not dry your hair out, I’d suggest using products that are either neutral or close to your hair’s acidic pH.

After experiencing the baking soda effects as well as learning this new information I’ve went back to using sulfate free shampoos. Being natural is a learning process, and we are all learning together.

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