No Poo? No Problem. Thoughts on going (almost) six months without shampoo.

The wild beast as it looked after a long day, taken today!

June 1st marks a full six months since I began using the "No Poo" method on my hair! It's kind of hard to believe how time flies...I think I'm at a point where I can really share my views in earnest.

If you're not familiar with the "No Poo" method for hair care, please see more seasoned veterans for their explanations, like Crunchy Betty, who has a much better description of the whole shebang.

I would like to share why I ended up stopping my use of conventional shampoo, the good, bad, and unforeseen things that have come through this process, and if I'm going to keep it up!

How Lorde made me stop using shampoo & an abbreviated hair story:

I have no idea what type of products musician Lorde uses in her hair, but that first time I saw the "Royals" music video I was green with envy with her dark, long, carefree curls. My hair, in the curly hair dictionary, falls anywhere between 2C, 3A, and 3B curls. Which in layman's terms it isn't wavy but is not obsessively curly either, with a lot of varying sizes and shapes. It's fine and it just would not grow. Like ever.

I didn't straighten or blow dry my hair, I rarely dyed it, I conditioned all the time, I used a comb, but it just refused to grow far past the length you can see below in the photo. And around the time that "Royals" was on every radio station, my hair was getting horribly greasy, too. With dry scalp. How does that even work? 

About 1 year ago, back in my shampoo days. 

When I was at the point where I was shampooing almost every day, I'd had enough. It's too expensive, time consuming, and obviously wasn't working for me. So with a little research, I thought that the "No Poo" idea was a godsend that would alleviate ALL of my hair issues: the grease, the flaky scalp, the lack of growth, the whole shebang. So I clarified my hair one last time...then things really got interesting.

Solving the world's oil crisis, a.k.a. the transition period:

From Thanksgiving to Christmas, my hair was a mess. It was an oil slick, and there was hardly anything you could do. People warm you about the "transition" to no shampoo...but it was not a fun experience. I tried to not wash my hair more than every three days. If you're curious as to what was exactly going through my mind during this period, I wrote a blog post about it on my old blog.

 Buying a boar bristle brush helped to distribute some oil on the off days, but my hair was up and/or in a braid 90% of those days. The flakes from my scalp were still bad. Don't give up on this time though, it gets better...eventually! After about 5 weeks, my hair finally started to let up. I could go three, four, five plus days without shampoo! Now let's get to the nitty gritty.

My current regimen and products:

• Cleanser: salon squeeze bottle with about 2T [ish] baking soda, a few drops of tea tree oil, and the rest is water. I don't use it all in one day, I'm just lazy and don't want to make it fresh each time. Work into wet scalp about once a week before thorough rinse.
• Conditioner: spray bottle of 2T [ish] raw apple cider vinegar and water. Spray on ends, leave until end of shower before rinsing. This follows the cleansing routine.
• Deep conditioner: Shea Moisture Purification Masque. I am a  huge fan of this brand. This mask is designed for dry scalp and it is also a great all-over conditioner. I use it about every two weeks or as needed, leaving it for a half hour or so.
• Detangling brush: I've been loving this Goody detangling brush. Without silicones from conditioners, it's not always easy to get the knots out. This one gets the job done better than a comb.
• Styling products: Maybe I should be a Shea Moisture spokeswoman. I have been using the Curl Enhancing Smoothie a ton. I wouldn't say it's a home run in my hair by itself (I like a little more hold), but it smells awesome and doesn't contain the same harsh stuff that a typical gel has. 
• "Stink" refresher: mixing a few drops of lavender oil in a spray bottle with water keeps my hair smelling fresh. A girl likes to smell good at all times!

The good, the bad, and the ugly:

After six months, here's a short, concise list of things that are great, not as expected, and totally unexpected from my experiences:

I was disappointed...

•  that this is not a miracle, life-changing thing. Well, not for my hair, anyway. (See other bullets for reasons why!)
• with my hair growth. As of late, my hair is sitting around 4" below my collarbone. I have had one haircut in 6 months. Hair grows slowly but taking out chemicals didn't really speed up the process. I'm not planning on getting a cut for a while, we'll see if it gets past this "terminal length."
• with the ongoing dry scalp. I thought the sulfides were overdrying my scalp; I still get flakes every so often and have to use a treatment regularly to exfoliate and moisturize it.
• that I never get to use those [insert type of oil here] products. Word of warning: never use coconut oil with No Poo. It takes weeks to get the extra oils off your head. Try a different treatment, but I steer clear of...
• using "homemade hair masks." I hate eggs in my hair. I hate honey in my hair (unless it stays in like 10+ hours). Mayo in your hair is GROSS. I completely regret onion on my scalp (the smell stayed for weeks). They all made my hair stringy and not soft at all. I tried it all. I prefer a natural deep conditioner (see my products section for my favorite). 
• with my curls. I thought that my curls would be so much tighter and bouncier and that wasn't true. Overall, my hair didn't change too much.

I was impressed...

• that I don't have to wash my hair, like ever. I wash using baking soda/ACV once a week. Maybe longer, and I mostly do it to keep my hair smelling fresh. My scalp doesn't get oily. I rock the bedhead, and it still feels great--no dry shampoo needed.
• that I didn't need super slippery conditioners or sudsy shampoos to get a clean head. As a previous conditioner junkie, I went through so many bottles of product. I was worried diluted vinegar would make my hair dry and unruly. It does a pretty good job of moisturizing without being smelly or difficult.
• how inexpensive hair care can be. I pay pennies, if that, to wash my hair. My hair doesn't need salon products to look great, so why bother?

In six months, I unexpectedly...

• have made some other life changes to make my life more "green." No, I'm not a tree hugger by any means, but I've switched my styling/shower/cleaning products to be more natural and organic. It is better for me, my wallet, and the earth. 
• use a lot fewer products. I don't feel like my hair or face or body needs all that stuff on it.
• like changing my hairstyle. The transition period taught me new uses for braids, scarves, hats and such.
• do not feel like a hippie. Although my mom thinks I am.

Psst! I'm a rule breaker!

I don't "do" rules. I like guidelines. I sometimes brush my hair (when it's dry). I sometimes dye my hair. I sometimes try my mom's hair products because they smell good. I choose to not use shampoo ever (except for when I highlighted my hair...natural honey highlights weren't working out!), but don't be afraid of using a product every once and a while if it makes you happy.

A final word on "No Poo:"

I'm not saying you need to try this. I'm not saying it's a miracle or that it will change your life. But I am all for giving it a shot--I don't see any reason to go back to conventional products...if my hair looks beautiful, it's not because I put a fancy, temporary product in it; that's my favorite part! This lifestyle change doesn't have to cut out shampoo cold turkey--plenty of natural shampoos work great! 

I'm going to stick with it for now--I'm still trying to grow it out a little longer, but overall this experience has been a good change for my hair and full of unexpected surprises!

Are you going to try the No Poo method? Are you transitioning or are you also a firm supporter of this lifestyle? I'd love to hear your thoughts!