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Really? I’d love to have an answer to this too. What’s wrong with shampoo?
I know I used to shampoo far TOO MUCH (every day). I then found out especially for curly hair that this is a big problem. I now only shampoo 1-2x/week. I stopped blow drying my hair and just let it air dry (though occassionally at work if it’s still too wet I’ll stick my head under the hand dryer in the bathroom which gets all kinds of looks, but it does give my hair great volume…LOL)
try to read queenfluffs thread. (i’ve jumped around on it a bit but not read the whole thing either). but here is an entertaining and basic read on the basics of no poo and daily/weekly life of this mom. she has some other fun things to say about life and raw food as well.
http://www.goingbananasblog.com/search/label/no…
queenfluff is the one to ask she knows alot about hair. I went no poo because I am allergic to soaps and shampoos. I use baking soda I fill up a bottle about half full of baking soda and then the rest of the way with reverse osmosis water. I use it for both my hair and body. I then sometimes use a few squirts of apple cider vinegar in a cup of water and put it thru my hair before I get out of the shower. Not sure If I am doing it exactly right but my hair is much softer and thicker now. and I can go longer with no baking soda and just rinse with water everyday. I now only use it when I have done a lot of activity I am always worried about smelling like a wet dog. LOL
I think I used the baking soda for about a couple of months before I read queenfluff say something about just using water rinses and it worked like a charm. I think the baking soda helped get the shampoo residue out quickly so I could get away with just water easier.
hope that helps
Hey guys,
Yeah, the shampoo thread is getting long. Sorry about that. I would “browse” through it at least.
I plan to put some of the “tips” etc on a web page so people can access the “basics” easily. Don’t know when I will do that though. I thought about write a little e-booklet too.
Tzefira and hobbitgirl – I’ll try to give you guys a short introduction :) -
First off – What is wrong with shampoo? Well, there is nothing really WRONG with it (well there might be who knows what putting all those chemicals on our scalp does when it gets absorbed into our bloodstream). The process behind this whole “no ‘poo” thing is that shampoo alters the “natural” state of our hair and scalp. Most modern people have never experienced this “natural state” because we have been using shampoo since we were born. Shampoos are very strong soap/detergents – what they do is strip all the natural oils from your hair and scalp. Those natural oils are called “sebum” (some people think of it as the oily dirty on their hair but it not dirty and not supposed to be that oily!).
The problem with shampoos is that they overstrip the hair oils – so much in fact that it throws the natural state of scalp off and the body thinks their is something a miss – so it starts going into an overproducing mode with the sebum. This is why if you stop using your shampoo for a day or too your hair (roots mostly) start getting oily – your scalp is still in overproducing mode because all of the natural oils have been taken away. It keeps producing and producing the sebum to try to compensate for this.
That said when you start on no poo your hair will be oily and gross in your first week because it takes the body a while to realize that the oils are not being stripped anymore and that it doesn’t need to produce that much sebum. It takes a while for the body to catch up and see this. Most of us have been using shampoo all our lives and continually remove all our natural oils with shampoo. We think our hair is “dirty” and not clean when it gets oily from not shampooing.
Since the natural balance of oils on the scalp has been out of balance for so long – it takes a while for it to normalize. The amount of oil you see when you first quit shampoo is nothing like what the real natural amount of sebum excreted will be. The scalp should execrete just enough sebum to protect the scalp and hair. It serves as our natural conditioner. It provides moisture to the hair and scalp and adds shine and serves as a protective substance preventing the hair from drying out or absorbing excessive amounts of external substances.
What should you do?
The most natural way to keep your hair and scalp at its perfect natural state is to just rinse with water. All of the dirt, pollution or other things that may have been accumulate on the hair and scalp in a day can be removed with just water washing. Anything other than this can alter the chemistry of the hair and scalp. When getting throught he begining period, you may need some additional help to have decent looking hair. To combat the oilies until your scalp normalizes, things like diluted lemon juice or sea salt water rinse can help remove buildup and oil. More brushing and combing during this period is good because it will help distribut the oil from the roots to the rest of the hair or take some out. (Keep your combs and brushes extra clean during this time to avoid putting unwanted oil back in your hair!)
There was a time in human history when shampoo did not exist. How did people keep their hair clean? Just water. Because they didn’t ever alter the natural state of the scalp with chemicals they never had the problems we do today. Herbs and other natural things were sometimes use to give body or help in styling. But there was no shampoo like we have today.
If you are still not convince by this, look a a newborn babies hair. It is all soft and clean without using any shampoo. I can guarantee you that babies hair will stay that way until someone starts using shampoo on it – than it will get oily and require shampoo all the time!
Keep in mind that patience is the key here. Your scalp and hair have been in an unatural state for quite a while and your scalp needs time to adjust to the changes. The rewards can be great: you save tons of money, you get free natural conditioner especially designed for you by your scalp, stronger hair, most people have less hair shed on no poo, the sebum gives your hair more body and it helps the hair feel thicker, you don’t have to wrong about putting anything possibly hazardous on your hair and scalp. :)
Tzefira, also keep in mind that your hair and scalp goes through lots of changes during the postpartum period. Around 4 months pp, don’t be alarmed at how much hair sheds – this is the normal hairloss but also the hair you didn’t lose during pregnancy since during pg I’m sure you noticed that you hardly shed any hair! Don’t worry, you will almost immediately see lots of new growth. Enjoy the simplicity of real life!
AND enjoy doing no poo, natural hygiene with your baby too! My 15 month old has soft, amazing skin and hair!!
tzefira, you might try going a day or two without poo to see how it works. If you cut down the amount of times you shampoo your hair every week, it will start to detox and you can wean off the poo.
Congrats on joining the no poo army. I’m only using coconut oil as a cosmetic now, no soap, lotion, etc. I cut baqck for about 6 months and now I am two weeks off the poo.
I like not putting toxic chemicals on my body, not pouring toxic chemicals down the drain and into the ocean, not putting plastic bottles in the landfill, and not supporting the companies that encourage me to do so.
I still have a bottle of shampoo in my cupboard, in case of emergency or house guest, but now that I’m off the poo, I don’t think I’ll go back.
I have been considering this for a long time. I switched to “all natural” shampoo and conditioner, with no harsh chemicals, but my hair is so thin and when I don’t shampoo, my scalp gets so oily it gets on my face and I break out and my face is super shiny. How long does it take before you stop looking like you don’t shower?
Updating, Oct 6th, still no poo or soap (except for hand washing at work) and my skin is soft and smooth, my hair is soft and not oily, but I have dandruff flakes still.
It’s been over two weeks (I forgot to count, probably more like 4) and I have no desire to go back to using chemicals in my hair.
Tzefira here..... Well 3 months no poo, my hair is shedding like crazy??? This is normal right, i read above it was so im sticking with that.
Why is my hair shedding? and when will it stop?
This is intriguing...but I am a swimmer and I'm quite sure the pool chemicals are streaming through my blood after the 20 hours I spend in a pool each week.
Queenfluff- do you think no poo could work for me? I have very dry skin and hair. I'm always itchy. I usually use hair products after washing in order to add more moisture and shine. Any suggestions?
Thinking about what shampoo chemicals do to your hair and scalp made me worry about what these chemicals are doing to me. I wonder if there is anything I can do aside from keeping my diet intake clean to help my body fight back againt the pool!
This is intriguing...but I am a swimmer and I'm quite sure the pool chemicals are streaming through my blood after the 20 hours I spend in a pool each week.
Queenfluff- do you think no poo could work for me? I have very dry skin and hair. I'm always itchy. I usually use hair products after washing in order to add more moisture and shine. Any suggestions?
Thinking about what shampoo chemicals do to your hair and scalp made me worry about what these chemicals are doing to me. I wonder if there is anything I can do aside from keeping my diet intake clean to help my body fight back againt the pool!
Also, My hair has become very dry. why is this?? should i just wait it out, or what??
THank for your help.
Rawmanibbles, I hear that diluted apple cider vinegar rinse helps with dryness. I haven't tried it because my hair tends more to oily.
I wear it in a braid down my back, it's pretty long.
No poo since mid September or so. I have quit using bobby pins, hopefully the fly-aways will grow out. I've been using a drop of coconut oil to smooth them down, it works.
I'm not the kind of person who cares much what her hair looks like, though, lol. Just keep it out of my face.
Yeah i've become that way lately too .... but uh, i hate the feeling of this dryness.I'll try the Acv, thanx. I also know that lemon juice makes it smooth, but i was wondering if the lemon juice was making it more dry in the long run?