Losing the Shampoo: Why You Shouldn't Be Scared

If you've never heard of the "No 'Poo" movement, chances are you don't hang around too many beauty blogs. As squeamish as the name itself may make you, you'll probably be even more revolted by the real meaning behind it.  It took me a long time to warm up to the idea, but once I did, my first thought was that it was totally revolutionary. My second was the realization that it was absolutely the opposite- which is why, after the 'gross' factor, it makes so much sense.

As far as I have found, the movement's roots (pardon the pun) can be traced back to the book  Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey. The "No 'Poo" concept itself is quite simple: ditch the store bought shampoo and use only conditioner or natural concoctions to wash your hair. As disgusting as this may sound, it actually has a solid scientific foundation. Shampoos rely on nasty ingredients like Sodium Laurel Sulfate-- which is actually a detergent-- to clean your hair.  By definition, detergents are used with water to clean away oil and grease particles. While this sounds great in theory, it isn't just the dirt that's being washed down the drain. The natural oils in your hair, which are necessary for its health and luster, are washed away too. This hardly leaves for glamorous tresses: really, have you ever tried shampooing without conditioning afterwards? 

So (if you've made it this far) we've established we don't want those nasty ingredients in our hair. How do we stay clean?!?  There are actually a surprising number of answers to this conundrum, but before we get to that, there are a few things you should know about going shampoo-free:

1) You WILL go through a transition period. This means that, for a span of a few weeks to a few months, your hair will be more oily and greasy than you have ever seen it before. The duration of this period differs for everyone: my boyfriend's hair adjusted to the B.S. method in a matter of days, while the same method took my long hair a month to fully adjust to. This transition is completely normal. Your body is used to producing oils at a high rate to compensate for your frequent shampooing.  As long as you stay away from the bottle, your scalp will slowly adjust and begin producing those oils at a much slower rate. My recommendation? Invest in hair bands and cute ribbons to tie your hair up with (braids are especially good at hiding greasy-looking hair).

2) You WILL be tempted to go back to shampoo once, only to immediately regret doing so. This says nothing of your strength of character. Just know that once you step out of the shower and feel your hair post-breakdown, you will be so disgusted that it will only strengthen your resolve to go 'poo-free. Really, quitters never win.

3) You WILL save money. A lot of money. And even more than a lot of money if you go with the W/O or sebum methods.

4) Once you have adjusted, you WILL wash your hair substantially less than ever before.  As much as I  love saving money, this was THE selling point for me. I used to have to wash my hair daily if I wanted to avoid a greasy, waxy look. Now I'm washing my hair every three days or so, though I can go substantially longer without it being noticeable. In fact, my hair looks better five days after a wash (it was an experiment...) as it used to look after twelve hours. If you adhere to the rules (which we will get to in the next post), this will never cause your hair to be dirty or smelly.


Sold yet? Of course not, but for all of the benefits, you'd be crazy not to at least try it. I'm hardly an eco-freak, but when something is so good for your body, the earth, and your wallet... it's really a no-brainer.

Losing the Shampoo: How-To

One of the greatest things about knocking store bought shampoo off of your beauty supply list is the variety of choices you have when considering its replacement. There are four generally accepted methods to choose from to keep your hair clean. While I personally find some to be superior to others, all are superior to using store-bought shampoo.


1) Conditioner-Only (C/O)

This method is the only one that requires continued use of store-bought product. Simply put, the C/O approach requires you to use conditioner as a sort of two-in-one hair product. While I have never attempted this method personally, it is very popular in such online forums as the Long Hair Community (check out their C/O thread here). Apparently, scrubbing your hair with conditioner can be an effective way of keeping your hair clean and silky. Unfortunately, a lot of these conditioners have silicone in them, which builds up in your hair and locks out moisture. It's great if you can find a conditioner that has modified silicone (which cleans out of the hair easier) or has none in it at all. Some recommend periodical washings with clarifying shampoo; this will affect your results going 'poo-free, but hair care is all about what works for you.


2) Simple Ingredients/Homemade Concoctions
While sulfate-free shampoos do exist, they are generally one of two things: expensive or full of chemicals. If you aren't comfortable with the other methods, this one is great to try first, because it eliminates store-bought shampoo and conditioner without requiring a long transition time. And, by using ingredients you would find in your kitchen, the chemicals you put on your head are limited to those you would put in your body.

This method is also appealing because it offers so many safe and effective options. Indeed, entire blogs are devoted to DIY hair care products. I have only tried a handful myself, but the simplest and most effective one employed just three ingredients: baking soda, apple cider vinegar, and water. When using this method, I use a mix of 1 tbsp baking soda/8 fl.oz water as 'shampoo', making sure to carefully but vigorously massage my scalp  (A warning: if you dye your hair, baking soda may wash some of the color out. That's how well it cleans.) To close the cuticles of my hair, I use a 7:1 water:apple cider vinegar solution. While this isn't totally necessary, I find that my hair looks just a little better after using it. 


Admittedly, after rinsing, your hair is hardly as soft and smooth as it feels after a good store-bought conditioning. Luckily, it looks phenomenal once it dries, and you needn't shampoo nearly as frequently as you're probably used to.


3) Water-Only (W/O)

This is where it starts getting scary, and (admittedly) a little gross at first encounter. The W/O method is as simple as its name: using only water, you vigorously massage your scalp to achieve clean hair. After a rinse with cold water to close those cuticles, your hair regimen is done until your locks are dry. This is the method I chose to convert to when I realized I couldn't avoid coloring my hair forever (effectively ending my affair with baking soda, for the most part). Yes, it sounds disgusting, and yes, it really does work without making your hair stink to high heaven. People have explained it far more eloquently than I will be able to: read about it at the Long Hair Community.

4) Sebum-Only (No Water)

Can you wash your hair without water? Apparently, you can.  Using the boar bristle brush that any hair lover should already have in their beauty arsenal, you can lift away excess oil and debris from your hair just from brushing. I personally have never tried this method by itself, but while using a clean boar bristle brush in between W/O washes, I have never once noticed my hair to be greasy or foul-smelling (and neither has my boyfriend). I enjoy my daily showers too much for water-only washing to be inconvenient, but for backpackers or those without access to enough water, this alternative seems reasonable enough.