It has now been six months since I began the 'Hair Experiment' in which I gave up shampoo for good! You may be interested to read about why I did this and the results after five weeks. Basically it was to try and overcome dry and flaky skin problems on my face and scalp but also just to keep things natural. There are too many harsh chemicals being used in this world.
So, since that five-week update, how have things been going?
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| The hair experiment - approx 3 months shampoo-free |
I have to say that I'm pretty happy :)
You can see from the pictures that my hair is clean, shiny and not greasy.
What you can't see from the pictures is that the skin on my scalp has improved massively. I still get the occasional flaky patch, but now I have to hunt for them. While I was still using shampoo they were everywhere and much bigger.
I am not one to fiddle with my hair. It is a rare event for me to get the blowdryer out, let alone the straighteners or rollers. My arms get too tired and it takes up valuable sewing time!!! I have to admit that a bit of effort with the hair straighteners does improve the appearance of my hair and smooths those flyaway strands, but I'm happy with the natural look while I'm just shopping or doing the school run. All these photos are taken 'au naturel'.
I love this photo.
Giving up shampoo has been a very easy process for me with practically no problems at all. As I mentioned previously, I used a very dilute vinegar solution instead of shampoo every three days. However, I did notice that my hair got a bit greasy-feeling around the two-month mark. I just carried on with the vinegar and this problem quickly passed.
I was so pleased with the progress I was making that around a month ago I decided to give up the vinegar as well and just use water on my hair. I get it wet in the shower every three days and just give my scalp a bit of a massage with my fingers. (I would be happy to wet it every day but it takes too long to dry so I wear a shower cap on the other days). I can't tell the difference as far as my hair is concerned, it's still great, but my scalp has improved even further. Win! On top of that I've also given up soap everywhere except on my hands and, ahem, privates. I thought I'd end up with smelly armpits, but I'm pleased to report that they are actually less smelly. Amazing! It certainly helps to keep the shower clutter-free :) I wear my home made natural deodorant made with coconut oil and bicarb, which is fantastic.
This picture was taken a couple of weeks after I had started using water only on my hair. I never would have believed this could work until I tried it myself. I would also have probably thought that someone like me was a radical loony, but luckily now we all know that that's not true...don't we?
I know a few of my readers and friends tried this too. I would love to hear how your own hair experiments are going.
7 comments:
There are 2 things I would love to do with my hair. 1. stop dying 2. stop with the harsh shampoo. Sadly, I have achieved neither. Your post has inspired me to start again.
That's wonderful. I really hope you can do it and I would love to hear if you do :)
I would love to use just water on my hair too. The only thing is my hair gets very tangly and static-y. How about yours? Do you do anything to it to detangle your hair?
Hi, my hair does get tangly, but not really static-y. I take care not to mess it up in the shower or while towel drying. Once 'washed', I brush it wet from the ends first, gradually working up to the roots. I have found my hair tangled less the longer I went without shampoo and it's not too bad at all now after approx 9 months! Thanks for the comment and good luck!
Hi Megan! I tried your hair experiment for 2 whole months - washed with nothing but water twice a month. My hair was a bit dry/frizzy but my roots were a bit greasy. Did that happen to you? Sadly I had to use shampoo after I started going swimming at a chlorinated pool with my kid weekly. What would you recommend for washing chlorinated hair?
Hi, that's great that you tried this! I had the same problem initially with frizzy ends and greasy-feeling roots (although they didn't look greasy). I sometimes used a bit of Moroccan Oil to smooth my hair down in the early stages. After 6-9 months this had gone and my hair was getting fantastic. Unfortunately I decided to use some shampoo after 11 months and now (13 months) I'm pretty much back where I started. I am so annoyed with myself! Still, I'll get there again, hopefully faster this time. I don't do lots of swimming, especially in chlorine, but when I do, I just use fresh water on my hair to wash it as usual. I haven't noticed any problems with occasional salt or chlorine exposure. I hope you give it another try!
Wow! Sounds fantastic! I'm all into natural products and often make my own. Tempted to do your hair experiment as I suffer from dry scalp as well. So funny, I came here to read about sewing... :-)
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