New to no poo would like some questions answered

Hello I am new to the no poo movement and I would like to ask a few questions. I read an article about a new York journalist that was no poo for six years in her article she stated that she washes with water and her hands just scrubbing her scalp and rinsing clean but as I continued to read more and more into no poo I’ve seen several different posts, videos, etc. that say use baking soda I would like to know what the difference is between them and how to determine which is best for me to use. Also since I’ve started the first 4 days I did no shampoo at all and no baking soda then once I read about usinf baking soda I thought I’d give it a try so I’ve washed 2 times with baking soda and both times I find my hair coming out super heavy like weights are on my head is that normal? and lastly my hair is super hard to brush after I wash it I’ve read to take it in sections but even doing that I get big clumps and it gets stuck and rips my hair how do I know if this is working like it suppose to and if I’m doing it right?