Four Months Without Shampoo

Sunday, July 31, 2011

I've been doing the no shampoo thing for about four months now, and I figured it was about time to do a little write up. All of these photos were taken on the same day, about 4 or 5 days after I last washed my hair with diluted baking soda and apple cider vinegar. You can read about my first two weeks (also, the worst two weeks), here.

The left image is my hair after being rinsed with water and then blown dry with a round bristle brush. The right image is my hair after a day of being in a French braid, sleeping, then brushing in the morning (no rinsing or styling, just slightly improved "bed head"). Frizziness was not really a major issue before "no 'poo", so it's not surprising that my hair isn't really less frizzy than before. The most obvious difference to me is the reduction in grease. I can go days not washing my hair, and it won't get significantly greasy. Although, by the 5th or 6th day, my hair really needs to be washed. So, these photos are showing my hair a day or two before I would normally wash it.


My bangs are an entirely different creature (please ignore their unevenness, there's a haircut in my near future). Being blunt-cut bangs, they still pick up forehead sweat which means I end up washing my bangs only with baking soda and ACV every other day, instead of just every 6th day as with the rest of my head. Slightly annoying, but then I remembered that I used to shampoo everyday. That thought is becoming more and more ridiculous to me.

Most of the reviews of the no 'poo movement talk about how eliminating sulfates from the haircare routine is really good for those with curly hair. I was interested to see what the benefits would be to those of us with rather straight, medium thickness hair. While the results aren't as drastic as many of the stories I've heard from the curly-haired camp, I'd say my hair is happier in "shan'tpoo." However, I can't use conditioner with silicones in it, nor can I use most other hair products, because they all need the harsh chemicals in shampoo to cut through it at the end of the day. Small sacrifice.

Overall, this has been an interesting experiment: I'm saving money not purchasing shampoo, I'm saving time not shampooing everyday, and my hair is softer and less greasy. The real test, however, is after next week when I get my hair cut short and will be unable to wear my hair in braids everyday.