Shampoo free: Weeks 2 and 3

I realized that I never gave you the gist of what my hair type is. My hair is moderately thick, medium brown (all natural), approximately 6 inches below my shoulders, semi-curly, but also easily straightened, and in DIRE need of a trim. Even before I stopped using shampoo, I was having to flat iron it just to get it to be un-fuzzy on the ends (I think that's a pretty good sign you need a trim), but haven't been able to get an appointment because Michael has been working 12 hour days and taking all 3 kids with me really isn't a viable option, so I wait...

If you missed last week's post about my first week of going shampoo free, you can read it here.

Here's how this week went:

Sunday - no wash because I knew I was going to the gym Monday morning (I typically wash at night)
Monday afternoon - baking soda wash with vinegar rinse
Tuesday night - baking soda wash and I went back to using conditioner on the ends because of the whole desperate need for a haircut issue; then I brushed it out and let it air dry; also, I used baking soda again today because it seemed and looked insanely oily
Wednesday night - HOT wash, conditioner and leavin cream; brush and mostly air dried (finished it off with the blow dryer so I could go to bed)
Thursday - no wash
Friday - baking soday wash, conditioner, leave in cream, brushed out , air dried completely then only used a comb until next wash.
Saturday - baking soda wash, conditioner, leave in cream, brushed out and blow dried

At the end of this week I am seeing decent hair. It seems/feels a bit oily, but doesn't really look oily and I know a little oil is normal so I'm not too worried about it. All-in-all I think my scalp is reacting nicely and I'm not feeling like an oil slick. And my scalp is completely clear of eczema!!! Hooray!

The only issue I'm really having is how time consuming it is to 'wash' my hair. I've played around with different dilution/solution of the baking soda and water mixture and the mixture that works best for me is a very thick paste. Then I section my hair off (like you would if you were flat ironing or blow drying with a round brush) and rub the paste into my entire scalp section by section. I've tried just dumping it on and rubbing it in, but that doesn't seem to get very good coverage and I end up with spots that aren't clean, so the section method seems to be the best for me and it's extremely time consuming. It takes me approximately 10 minutes (usually 15) just to get my scalp covered in the mixture and rubbed in. I've tried doing it after I've gotten in the shower and wet my hair, I've tried drawing a bath and rubbing it in with dry hair and with wet hair and I've tried just standing in the dry shower and rubbing it in dry hair and can't seem to find a method that's any faster....

Week 3

Sunday - no wash because of gym Monday morning
Monday afternoon - baking soda wash, conditioner, leave in cream, brushed out and air dried
Tuesday evening - FAIL - I gave up. I absolutely couldn't stand how long it was taking me to wash my hair. So I will be open to suggestions! I really think my scalp was doing well and I liked how my hair was responding, so I'm willing to go it again if someone can help me on the time consuming factor.

Side note - I did finally get my hair trimmed on Friday afternoon!!!