stop using shampoo

Two of my friends have done this, and a hair stylist recommended it, so I’m giving it a go. I thought it would be awful because my hair’s fine and gets greasy pretty quickly, but it was starting to feel dry so I just took the plunge.

It’s not as bad as I thought it would be! It doesn’t feel too bad, I’m still rinsing and blow drying every day. The first thing I’ve noticed is that I’m not shedding as much hair as I used to, which must be a good thing! And since I’m a student and wear a beanie every day (it’s winter here in Oz) I’m not embarrassed about the way it looks. This may be easier than I thought …

But my scalp starts itching at the mere thought of it.

I’ve read up on it a bit and I believe if I can stick to it it’ll be great but I’m not sure how I’d get through the first month.

Anyway, I’ve got about 4 bottles of shampoo to get through before I start. Damn Boots and their BOGOFs!

So realistically I hadn’t shampood my hair for about a week before the last entry, because I just had a baby, I ran out, I didn’t care, I was wearing my sweats.

So my hair did get really oily. Like, it felt healthy and greasy and gross and I was about to give up and be like “ok, i seriously need a shower now.”

But! BIG BUT!

I didn’t, I went along with it, and so far my hair is the healthiest it’s ever been. Seriously. It’s shiny, it’s soft, it’s grown a half an inch mixed with my prenatals, and I know now, that shampoo sucks. I think it’s like chapstick, dries everything out if you don’t keep using it.

I really love it. I use french vanilla essential oil mixed with water in a spray bottle so my hair does at least smell nice.. lol.

My husband says it looks healthier and has a lot more shine to it. (in a non-oily way) and the six dollars I used to spend a month on shampoo & conditioner is now the 72 dollars we save a year.

I’ve decided to try it. I give it three months. If it does my hair some good, I will continue. If my hair is still greased out, I will stop. I will be using lavender oil to help my hair and apple cider vinegar as a rinse.

I’m a guy who read a bit online about hair because my scalp had issues with dryness and I thought I’d see what shampoos would be best to try to alleviate my issues.

I read an article about NOT using any shampoo at all…and it made sense! I was skeptical but hey, we were born without shampoo…someone had to invent that. Corporations? hmmmm. Shampoo works, but then your scalp works overtime to compensate for loosing oils. Great for shampoo makers. Now they sell TWICE as much product because you have to use Conditioner if you ‘care about your hair’. don’t even get me started on other hair products. I’m a simple person and two-steps to removing some dirt is one step too many.

Soo I stopped using shampoo. Cold turkey. Dead halt. I wanted to see how greasy it would be, given the testimonials. It was greasy. Then just oily after a week or two. It took a few weeks, no more than a month, for things to even out. Make sure to keep combing and clean your comb once a day. soap and a toothbrush make quick work of it.

A friend told me I’d look good with long hair so I decided to grow it out about the same time I changed my shampoo routine, so I have no idea how my hair would be now, with shampoo washes. I dont want to risk ruining it, but I know its nicer, because last week I didn’t have access to my shower for a few days (ick) and my hair had even more body and was easy to comb however I wanted.
Lots of people love my really thick hair, it’s shiny, has lots of body, and a little wave to it.

My routine is to comb it once or twice a day and clean the comb. There IS oil on the comb, maybe that sounds gross? Get over it, or use some apple-cider vinegar. It comes from everybody’s head you’re just getting rid of it differently. I also dry my hair vigorously every now and then when it’s feeling too oily for my tastes, and that wipes excess oils away.

I’ve not used the cider vinegar since I had short hair, but it helps clean oil away without soap or chemicals, OR conditioner. I’m going to try it later tonight. Maybe I’ll post back with results on softness…hahaa.

Either way, I save money on shampoo, and since I dont cut my hair I save 13 dollars a month on that too.

I recommend trying it. take a picture of your hair in a few styles before you do though, and then again after. Do so in the same room with the same lights on, and compare fullness, body, shine, and contour. I think you’ll be pleased. I wonder what my girlfriend’s hair would be like if she did this…..

And remember, you don’t have to tell anyone you’re doing it. Unless someone routinely sniffs your head and will notice the absence of shampoo smell (chemicals!!) nobody will know… nobody knew for over a month until I started mentioning it when people asked what I used for my nice hair. go figure.

OH YEAH. one more thing. I was traveling for a few weeks and I think some harder water or the hot tub I was in temporarily ruined the softness of my hair. (probably the hot tub but I dont remember if it was bad before that, I think it might have been) If you have issues with that dont blame it on not using shampoo. A few days at my home shower and all became well again.

I’m two weeks into it and my hair is just feeling gross right now. I’m just glad it’s winter vacation so no one has to see me :)

It’s been about a month and a half since I stopped using shampoo. Aside from some greasiness and occasional teasing from my parents, things are going well. My hair doesn’t look quite as greasy as it did a while ago, though I can still feel the oils at my scalp. I’ve been using a scrubbing brush in the shower, though, which is very effective in eliminating a lot of buildup. Also, despite the greasiness, I can definitely feel that my hair is getting softer, and the waves look better than before =) Worth it so far, as long as this all ends up balancing out.

i made an appointment for a haircut today and to avoid the stylist insisting my hair be washed, i mixed together egg, apple cider vinegar, and a bit of essential oil (to cover the vinegar scent) and let it sit in my hair for a while. then i rinsed my hair in cool water (not hot, cuz you don’t want to cook the egg! what a mess that would be). the results were so good. my hair felt super clean and soft and fresh. when i got to the salon, i told my stylist that i had just washed it, so i just got a water rinse before my cut.

bonus: i love my haircut. it’s even shorter now, so maintaining the no ‘poo should be a breeze.

my best week so far was probably week two. although i used zero product, my hair had fantastic texture, as though i had that hair wax stuff in it. it held body and style like it never had before.

but that went away at the beginning of week three. maybe it was the rainy weather, maybe whatever hair oils had built up in my hair finally dissipated with all the water rinses, or maybe it finally got bogged down with oils. my hair didn’t look greasy or anything; it just looked and felt lifeless.

it was better today in that it maintained some volume. also adding to the problem, i think my haircut is growing out. these short haircuts are so high maintenance.

well, i’m not sure if i’ll go another week without doing anything. maybe i’ll try a salt rinse tomorrow. we’ll see how it feels and looks.

still not greasy. no problems with dandruff or anything. looks fine with nothing but water rinses. i’m going to go another week at least without using anything but water on my hair. after the third or fourth week, i want to do an egg/acv/oil rub. i would do it sooner, but i am curious about whether my hair can actually hold up three or four full weeks without any kind of treatment.