Indigo inquires… I’ve been reading a lot of positive stories online from people who have stopped using shampoo, and am wondering if I should try it. The people who seem to have the most positive experiences doing this have curly, dry, or frizzy hair, none of which are true for me. However, some people also counter-intuitively say that this technique also benefits greasy hair. The claim is that when too much of your natural oil is cleaned off, your sebaceous glands detect that there is not enough and will overproduce oil to compensate. Therefore, if you stop cleaning the oil from your hair, your glands will eventually stop this overproduction and your hair will stop being greasy.
The Left Brain responds:
There was a lot of interesting discussion on this topic in our Forum, but the quick answer is that the no-poo shampoo method does actually clean hair. But instead of high foaming detergents, it just uses the emulsifying surfactants used in hair conditioner to do the cleaning. This means it won’t be as stripping and your hair won’t “feel” as clean. Whether you should try it or not is up to you. I would suggest you do. I personally tried it for one month. It worked well but I missed the foaming of shampoo and the feeling of being clean. Many people just get used to the heavier feeling of no-poo washing and love it.
As far as the “health” of your hair goes, the benefit to no-poo washing is that your hair may be slightly less damaged but not much. The detergents in shampoos can strip the hair of naturals oils and cause it to dry out. But it’s also damaging just to manipulate ANY product on wet hair (that’s when hair is weakest). And the drying process is even more damaging!
What do you think? Do you No Poo? Leave a comment for the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Is no-poo the same as co-washing? I thought there was a camp that straight up stopped using anything other than water on their hair…
No-poo also doesn’t work if you use other products like sprays, mousses, gels, or serums. If you use that stuff, you DO have to wash it out with shampoo eventually.
No-poo only works for people who are going to go minimalist on ALL their products, and I remain skeptical of the method.
I haven’t used shampoo in almost 2 years. My hair is fine and straight, and – since I stopped shampooing – smooth and silky. I use Wen Cleansing Conditioner, but there are lots of “no-sulfates” cleansers out there; Wen happens to be my favorite. I use lots of styling products on my hair, too (by the time I’m done styling, I’ve used 5 different products – not including the cleansing conditioner). I get compliments on my hair all the time. And I only wash every 4-5 days. If I could give only one piece of hair care advice it would be, stop shampooing!
Curly girl here. I’ve been hooked on no-poo ever since I found the DevaCurl brand. If you’re not sure if it’s for you, try their Low-Poo.
Also, no-poo works just fine if you use a water-soluable gel like the DevaCurl An-gel.
I have no affiliation with DevaCurl, but as a curly girl, I don’t really know how I survived without them.
I’m sorry, but everything about “no-poo” sounds like hype and ickiness to me. I’m sticking with shampooing every single day. Because I don’t want to smell like I’m following the Grateful Dead!
I’ve heard that Jessica Simpson is a big follower of no shampoo and she only washes her hair once a month! She has amazing hair, so maybe there could be something to this. Does your activity level and climate also have any affect on this? If you’re all sweaty then you probably would want to wash your hair more often versus dry climates?
The thing that has the most influence on this is your tolerance for the way your hair feels & smells. There are no real health reasons to wash your hair more frequently than once a month. But most people don’t like how it feels, looks, and smells.
Well, this lady hasn’t washed her hair in 11 years. http://bit.ly/aXSYCY
Ill not get tired about saying this, do your own research!!, my hair is dry and the result of no pooing was smelly hair. Now im back to shampoo after a year my hair is not the same as used to be.
I have done the conditioner version of the no-poo for abut 5 months and i love it. Once every two weeks I take a tablespoon of baking soda and mix it with water and rub it in my hair before rinsing and using the conditioner. it helps cleanse any big build up without being harsh. My hair is healthy and dosen’t smell (why would people think that, you are still cleaning it).
I had dry curly hair and couldn’t figure out why it was so dry. I never used my hair dryer, I straightened it once every few weeks and washed every 3rd day, I even have a filter on my shower to keep out hard water. Since switching my hair has never felt better! I recommend trying it before you knock it.
I’ve been a no poo girl for more than 10 years! I exercise 4-5 days a weeks. In the summer months I can co wash every 3-4 days but in the winter it just isn’t possible to walk around with wet hair. My hair is dense though mid-to fine. It’s coily and crazy dry. Once I stopped using shampoo I could untangle my hair with ease and I stopped having an itchy dry flaky scalp. I just love it. I use to use the more expensive Devachan cleansers when I first went no poo, which work great by the way. But I found that the 99cent VO5 and White Rain conditioners have no “cones” in them and can be enhanced by adding coconut oil and olive for great moisture and slip. My scalp is clean, never smells and my hair loves the heavier non squeeky clean feel that shampooers look for.
I’ll never use shampoo again!
With my wavy/curly hair I still use shampoos, but the ones I use have no sulfates. My styling products do not have silicones. I use Suave and VO5 conditioners to co-wash. I clean my scalp every day. I use shampoo every third day. When I first read about co-washing I thought it sounded gross too, but decided to give it a try anyway. I gave it a month to work or not. That was 2 years ago. My hair doesn’t look or feel greasy. It doesn’t smell bad. Believe me, my husband would tell me if it did!
I’ve been washing my hair with baking soda and rinsing with apple cider vinegar (both diluted in water) for a month and my hair is amazing now! I’m obsessed with running my fingers through it (couldn’t do THAT so easily with shampoo/conditioner) and it feels cleaner, softer, and thicker than it ever has with shampoo! I definitely recommend trying it out and experimenting with it. I use about 1 T baking soda diluted in a cup of warm water,work it into my scalp, then rinse. Then I dilute a T of ACV in a cup of warm water and pour it over the middle/ends of my hair. Let the ACV sit for a few minutes and then rinse again with water. That’s it! I wash my hair 2-3 times/week.
I’ve been ‘no pooing’ for about 8 months. I have FINE, STRAIGHT, MUDDY BLONDE hair.. which seems to be about the worst for trying this ‘ method’… shows the dirt or grease easily.
I have experimented with various combinations and strengths of the following 10:
water only, sodium bicarb, vinegar, honey, bee pollen, Himalayan salt, coconut oil, olive oil, egg yolk, lemon essential oil.
Now.. I’m almost there. I use vinegar diluted to 5% mixed with lemon essential oil about 15 drops in 500ml water. I’m currently experimenting with adding about 0.5% Himalayan salt solution. I may have to adjust the lemon oil. But basically it seems to be a question of balancing the vinegar strength (too much makes the hair greasy) with the lemon oil which does the cleaning. However this only lasts for 3 days or so before I need to wash this way again (shoulder length hair). So I’d love to find the right balance to go longer.
Okay, what I am using can not be due to hype because all I use is baking soda and vinegar. Simple as can be: 1 T per cup of water, for both of them. Obviously, I give the baking soda solution a good stirring until the soda is completely dissolved. That is what I use to clean my hair. I pour it on my scalp and then through my hair, giving my scalp a good massage. Rinse thoroughly with water and then apply the vinegar rinse. Don’t rinse that out with water.
I’ve been using this for over two years now and it works great. I do have coarse, thick hair. I see NO difference at all except, perhaps, my hair is a bit softer. I use a light leave-in products to tame the frizzies a bit.
The way I look at it: What have you got to lose? Why not try it? If it doesn’t work, you just wash your hair the regular way.
Oh, and by the way, I have my hair coloured at a salon and my hairdresser, though sceptical at first, says you can’t argue with results.
Rather than thinking this is all hype, I think that the whole hair product industry is hype and nonsense.
Further to my comment above in 2011, I found the right combo which I have been using very successfully for over a year now:
1/3 to 1/2 teaspoon of Rhassoul clay, 2 teaspoons of vinegar, 2 drops of lemon essential oil. Add a little water and when ready to hop in shower add about 150ml hot water. It’s the tiny amounts that work well, methinks.
Incidentally I also went no soap about 2 years ago.. the key is friction
(exfoliating gloves) plus running hot water. Have never looked back. And I cannot imagine now slathering my body with soap or shower gel or some other nonsense. Later I did discover a paper that looked at various methods of washing bacteria from the hands… the result was that it’s the towel drying that takes most away, not the soap… i.e. friction. I do still use soap for my hands.
And in lieu of deodorant I drink a glass of clay water (French, green illite) every evening. Works perfectly.. unless I eat something that I personally shouldn’t ( gluten, A1 milk, high salicylate foods).
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