Is Shampoo One Big Scam?
I heard about a growing trend of people who have completely stopped using shampoo and I decided to give it a go and then publish my results.
No shampoo, or "no-poo" as it’s commonly referred to is steadily gaining popularity, especially in Europe. I heard that some celebrities don’t use shampoo, and I even heard that Prince Charles doesn’t even wash his hair, but I couldn’t find any references to back this up.
It’s been about 3 months now since I started. At first it was fine because I had my hair cut very short, but as it grew longer it started to get greasy. I used baking soda to combat this, which is the preferred method. I then moved to a place that had a water softener, and even now with my hair very long I don’t need any baking soda; it comes out clean each time. The obvious benefits to this are a healthy scalp, avoiding chemical shampoo additives absorbing into my scalp, and saving money on otherwise expensive natural shampoos. This is also a great method for people who have allergies or skin sensitivities to these harsh products.
The reason my hair got so greasy was due to an imbalance from using shampoo for so long. Shampoo strips the coating off of the hair follicles causing them to dry out, and then the scalp over-produces oil. It can take up to 2 months for the oil production to balance out once starting the no shampoo method.
Some people use apple cider vinegar as a conditioner, but I have not required this yet.
I have been getting dandruff lately, but I got dandruff before when I still used shampoo. This is likely due to the weather getting colder and I probably have the water too hot.
I hope this helps people decide if the no-poo method is right for them. Shampooing isn’t really that necessary; any honest hairdresser will tell you that it does more damage than it’s worth. Why not give it a shot?!
