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I’ve noticed in the past year or so that my life is a fine balance of washing my hair often enough, and not washing it too often. Washing my hair too often actually causes it to become greasier than it does when I let a little time lapse between shampoos. Grease aside though, I feel like my hair isn’t CLEAN when I skip too many washes. How do I keep my hair from looking like I got dipped in a deep-fryer, while still having that clean feeling?
Enter NO ‘POO.
The No ‘Poo (the “poo” is short for “shampoo”) method is something I’ve been seeing everywhere lately. Vanity related concerns aside, No ‘Poo is also gaining popularity for its more natural approach to hair health; in case you haven’t noticed, all natural alternatives to just about everything are making a HUGE comeback. It was starting to irritate me how much it seemed to be popping up in every corner of the internet actually (though the hype seems to have died down in recent months).
I was always skeptical of it.
Because here’s another thing about my hair: if it gets wet without getting washed, it’s grease ×10 (and not the fun, summer lovin’, poodle skirt wearing kind). I’ve read a lot of testimonials and there were mixed reviews about its effects (although many of the negative reviews seemed to be a result of the reviewer either giving up before the adjustment period was done, or caving in and pouring some luxurious, foamy shampoo on their locks). My hair might be about to get a LOT greasier than I’ve ever imagined.
But, hey! I’ll try anything once and most things twice.
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June 29 − The Final ‘Poo
I washed my hair with shampoo for the last time (or at least, the last time for the next two months) this morning. It was a bittersweet day. I know that I’ll miss not having greasy hair while I adjust to my new routine, but I’m hopeful for some amazing results down the road.
July 3 − Wash #1
In doing some light research before beginning my No ‘Poo journey, I discovered there are a lot of ways to go about it and a lot of different things you can use as ‘Poo alternatives. I decided to settle on raw organic honey in place of shampoo and red wine vinegar in place of conditioner. Depending how this works out for me, I may be using completely different alternatives by summer’s end.(I actually had planned to use apple cider vinegar, but the grocery store only had enormous bottles of it and I remembered reading a lot of success stories about both red and white wine vinegar, so bought it instead.)
I diluted a tablespoon of each in a cup of water.
Before washing it, it looked like this:
As you can see, it wasn’t terribly greasy for having gone five days without washing, which gives me hope.
I had a little bit of difficulty trying to evenly distribute the mixtures onto my head while washing though. I think I need a better system than a glass next time. Anyhow. Washed and dried, it looked like this:
It had a strange “feel” to it, in my opinion. It wasn’t clean feeling but it also didn’t feel greasy. It was a regular texture but I could feel some sort of (non-greasy) sheen on it. If you’ve ever been to a foam party and then had your hair feel like dish soap afterwards, it was very similar to that.
July 5
My hair is looking greasier. As you can see, my roots were looking rather nasty and slick at this point.
I showered after this, but did not wash my hair. I did let it get damp from the steam and a little residual spray though, to hopefully flatten the kinky/poofy texture shown above (the result of wearing it in a high, messy bun for two days straight in attempt to disguise its greasiness).
This is what happened (July 6):
If you ask me, it looks rather nice for having not seen shampoo in a week. It still feels weird to the touch though.
July 8 – Wash #2
Most of the information I read about No ‘Poo suggested a minimum of four days between washes, which is dreadful but I’m abiding by it anyway. I also bought some spray bottles. I decided to use more vinegar than last time because I really want to dry out my roots.
The spray bottles were a wonderful idea, in terms of ease of application. I forgot to take a good picture of my hair, but it was the same as before. Not clean, but not greasy either- with that slick/sheen feel to it.
July 12 – Wash #3
I used more honey than usual, about ¼ cup honey diluted in ¾ cup water (as per a suggestion I read online). IT WAS GLORIOUS. My hair is finally clean feeling again. I’m not sure whether the additional honey is the reason or just that my transition period is over, but I’m going to continue using this much honey from now on just in case.
This picture doesn’t even do it justice. My hair was sosososo wonderful. And still going strong the next day too (July 13):
July 16
My hair misses manufactured conditioner. It’s fine as long as I don’t brush it, but as soon as I do:
July 17 – Wash #4
The extra honey was a fluke. I’m back to greasy hair even though I used the same measurements as last time. People tell me my hair looks fine though, but it feels so nasty.
July 23 – Introducing Rye Flour (Wash #5)
Honey isn’t awful. It gets my hair cleanish usually, or sometimes wondrously clean, but sometimes just greasy. I’d like something a bit more reliable. Something consistent in its abilities. I might go back to honey in the end, but I’m open to new possibilities. The internet says to try mixing a few tablespoons of rye flour with water until it is the consistency of runny shampoo. Okay. (PS, I’m still conditioning with vinegar.)
I’m pretty sure I just glopped papier-mâché all over my head.
July 24 – The Results
I’m in love! Rye flour is astounding. My hair is clean once more. (Here’s hoping that it’s not a one hit wonder like that one honey incident was.) But, I have a feeling that it’s rye flour for life:
The Rest of the Summer
At this point, I became preoccupied with other things and forgot to take pictures regularly. I didn’t really need to though because rye flour is my happily ever after. It works wonders and I stopped making changes to my regimen after this. As it is now, I wash my hair every 5 to 7 days depending how it’s feeling (the longest I went was 12 days!) and if I’m feeling lazy or rushed I sometimes mix the red wine vinegar right into the rye flour (rather than using water) to save time and steps.
If you see me out and about, feel free to ask me about my hair – there's a good chance I still haven’t ‘pooed!
Jazmin
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FAQ
Almost anyone who has found out about my No ‘Poo journey along the way seemed to have a lot of questions. I’ve compiled a few of the most common inquiries and my answers.
I thought No ‘Poo was washing your hair with baking soda, why didn’t you use that?
There are a lot of ways to wash your hair without using shampoo, including using nothing but water. Baking soda is arguably the most common and other common alternatives are honey, rye flour, clay, or tea. Although baking soda seems to have had favourable results for a lot of people, I’ve read a lot about how it has an unhealthy pH balance for optimum hair in most people. To be honest though, I was less concerned about pH levels and much more concerned about fading my hair colour. A lot of people who don’t ‘poo also don’t use chemical dyes on ther hair, so it’s not a huge concern to most people. I, however, am vain.Isn’t it gross only showering once or twice a week?
I shower multiple times a week, I just don’t usually wash my hair at the same time. I usually try to keep my hair dry though, but I don’t always succeed.Why don’t you wash your hair more often?
Washing your hair too frequently strips the hair of its natural oils, causing your scalp to produce more to compensate. This overcompensation is what makes your hair become greasy so easily. It’s also why we become addicted to silicone-heavy shampoos.Do you use other products in your hair, or just not shampoo?
I try to avoid both products and heat styling since beginning this project. However, I have been known to blow dry my hair occasionally and I still use a heavy-duty conditioner every couple weeks (twice during the summer, so far). The conditioner I use is from The Body Shop and I loved it even before beginning No 'Poo:
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