About six weeks ago, I decided to stop washing my hair. It was a good time to experiment with “no poo” (thank you Elis/zabeths for explaining to me that means “no shamPOO.” I was clearly really informed about my decision going into this experiment) because I was pretty much only hanging out with one person each day and she doesn’t really have a lot of opinions about my hair being as she EATS HERS (yes, this is a new fun thing. Yaaaaay kids.) so I could have gross-ish hair or wear hats during this time.
The point? I wanted lovely, gorgeous hair. And what better way to achieve that than by not washing it? you ask. Well, yes. Now, since I don’t do things like research before I just jump in, I don’t really know the science behind it, but what I’ve surmised is basically, most shampoos these days cause your hair to over-produce oil because the shampoo makes your hair think the oil will never come back, so you are basically forced to wash it every day to get rid of that extra oil. Lather, rinse, and repeat every day. Ostensibly, not using shampoo will cause the hair to adjust how much oil it really should be producing and thus you will eventually not need to shampoo. (Anyone who knows the actual science here, please chime in. I think I’m making most of this up.)
Beyond the science (“science”), I follow several Internet ladies who don’t wash their hair and their hair is GORGEOUS. GORGEOUS. Look at Jamie’s hair! IT IS GORGEOUS! See, I have seen it work (seen it through the Internet, whatever) and figured I would give it a shot. Here’s a little backstory on my own hair journey, so you can understand where I’m coming from.
I used to have great hair that I only needed to wash maybe twice or three times a week. I could workout and not even get it wet and it’d still be clean! It was amazing hair. Then I went and had a child and I swear, my hair hormones got royally fucked up. Within the last year or so, I went from washing every-other-day to washing every day and having my hair be greasy before day’s end. I tried dry shampoo (many different brands, some better than others), I tried dousing baby powder on my head (also very good for your Olde Maid Halloween costume), but the fact was, shit had changed and I was unhappy.
Armed with science (“science”) and the clear evidence on the Internet, I plunged into my no-shampoo experiment. I figured I would try the free way and hope it worked and if it didn’t, then I’d throw money at the problem. So, how’d it go? Well, I made it almost three weeks before I had to wash my hair. (I might have kept it going, but I got a head cold and I just felt so disgusting one day that I had to wash it.) Not gonna lie, it was a long and pretty gross road. I knew the first week would be bad. And it was. I was hoping the second week would look better. Some days I thought yes, it’s regulating itself! This is working! And it wasn’t. By the third week, I maybe could have made it. It was possibly getting better! Or not. Aaaaand then I just had to wash it.
(To allay any concerns, I did get it wet and massage it as though I was shampooing it. When I told Chris I was not washing my hair, he was like, “Like dreadlocks?” I think he was excited at the prospect of dreadlocks. NO. Also, since I got it wet everyday and slicked it back in a bun, I don’t really think you could tell it was so gross. It more felt gross on my head. I’m getting itchy just thinking about it.)
Since throwing in the (microfiber, more on that later!) towel, I’ve been washing my hair every second or third day using Neutrogena T-Gel shampoo and no conditioner. The only reason I’m using the T-Gel is because I think it contains less sulfites (the “pooiest” part of shampoo, I guess?) than the other crap in my shower and I’ve been too lazy to go out and buy new stuff. This is also why I haven’t been conditioning (but I have been applying Moroccan oil after washing, so that helps contain the static cling.)
About the towel, I’d been wrapping my hair post-shower in a microfiber towel, but I noticed late last week my hair wasn’t as nice as it had been the week prior and that’s when I realized I’d washed my microfiber towel and then put it back on the toolbench in the garage and had just been using my old terrycloth towel. I need to go grab another microfiber from the garage. For whatever reason, that seems to make a difference.
And that’s that! I feel like if anything, going three weeks without washing my hair has given me a new-found appreciation of what greasy hair really is. Now when it’s been three days or so, I’m like, hey! My hair looks goooood!
Re: products, I have natural wave/curl, so I might go with the products/methods Noemi uses (btw, I strongly urge you to read both her hair posts because she actually knows what the hell she’s talking about), but if anyone has any recommendations for “low-poo” shampoo and conditioner for straighter hair, hit me. I should mention, I know some people wash their hair with baking soda, but I have tried that and it doesn’t work for me. Also, baking soda gets on my face and in my mouth and *shudder* it tastes very gross.
This is very fascinating! My main hair problem is static so I may need to try the Moroccan oil. I started using Say Yes to Blueberries natural shampoo and conditioner and really like it. There’s also other ‘flavors’ in the Say Yes line.
In the last month or so, I have had a complete reversal of hair whatnot.
Previous K hair was fine, straight and UBER oily. I washed it every day, heat styled the hell out of it and it was always healthy and never dry or breaking.
Current K hair is none of that and I have believe it is because 75% of my head is gray (like in the last two years! EFF!) and it’s like having a new head of hair COMPLETELY. It is wiry and coarse and dry as hellll. So now I wash it less. Like every six days or so. I just curl it every morning and use hairspray–like a good ol’ wash-and-set.
When I do wash it, I usually use the Fekkai Apple Cider Clarifying Shampoo because of the hairspray build-up and then Neutragena’s Deep Recovery Hair Mask as conditioner. I’ve noticed that with washing less and using those two things that my hair is much less coarse and dry-seeming.
I imagine I could go longer without washing my hair, but since my hair is too short to pull back I have to kind of wing it.
I use Loreal’s “Ever Pure: Sulfate-free color care system” (volume) for shampoo & conditioner. It smells really natural — the scents are rosemary juniper & rosemary mint. My favorite dry shampoo is Garnier Fructis’ “Volume extend.” I think using a sulfate-free shampoo really helps with being able to do 2nd & 3rd day (& sometimes 4th day). That and my trusty dry shampoo!
I tell you what. I started using a sulfate-free shampoo about six months ago, and it made my hair amazing. AMAZING. Unfortunately, it also made my scalp itchy. So I switched to a shampoo that claimed sulfate free on the label, plus tea tree oil to regulate the itchiness, BUT it is stripping my hair every washing. (I looked at the ingredients and the word sulfate is in there, but maybe it’s a different sulfate I don’t know what do I look like, a chemist?) It makes my hair squeaky clean. This is no bueno. So now I’m wondering if I can just add tea tree oil to an actually sulfate-free shampoo? OR is tea tree oil part of the problem?
Anyway, sulfate-free is the way to go. As long as it is actually sulfate-free. Jerks.
I used to have hair that went super oily if I didn’t wash every single day. It’s super fine, though I have a decent amount of it. But not washing for one day left me looking like a the girl crawling out of the well. Not good. Now I swear by those “cleansing conditioners.” They’re sulfate-free, and only one step. I wish I could just recommend the Wen brand, but that mail order shit is for the birds. L’oreal has one, but it can be hard to find in drugstores. Herbal Essences just came out with one and I used it today and my hair smells nice. But generally these are kinder to my hair, plus I can go at least every other day for washing.
I didn’t use shampoo during college- just a long warm water massage and rinse, a tiny bit of conditioner on the ends, and style as usual. It wasn’t greasy/smelly/bad. In fact, now that I have my own post-baby hair woes, I’m considering trying it again. When I did start using shampoo I tried every sulfate-free shampoo out there. I found I didn’t love the Organix ones at all. Favorite drug store is the L’Oreal sulfate-free line, favorite salon is definitely Pureology.