Transition to no Shampoo?

[~Sunflower~]

Hi guys
I am after some advice. I am really concerned about the amount of chemicals in commercial shampoo. I have tried many herbal ones, but my hair just comes out drier every time.

I don't shampoo my boy’s hair but maybe 2 times a year if it gets a bit smelly. They have beautiful hair! So healthy you wouldn't believe. And very different types of hair too - one is thick and straight and the other is fine and curly.

I am wanting to stop my own use of shampoo and conditioner, but am so reliant on it to tame my THICK dry, woolly hair. I have been reading up about what to expect, how it will get oily but after 6 weeks it *should* rectify itself. I’ve also read that some people use honey as a conditioner, others a baking soda mix to clean it and an apple cider vinegar rinse.

Has anyone else done this transition from shampoo to being shampoo free? I would love to hear your experiences, and the type of hair you have.
Thank you!

[GreenGully]

I stopped shampooing regularly about 12 years ago - I was still in highschool and I realised my think hair just didn't respond well to it. i have tried a few natural ones over the years but they are just not necessary. I currently use no shampoo and a conditioner once a week (from Perfect potion). I only really use it because my hair gets really knotty and it detangles, when it is short I don't use anything.

[~Sunflower~]

Thanks for your reply Gullygirl! Can I just ask - do you get a build up of conditioner? Do you use anything at all to wash your hair?

I have read more on using a baking soda rinse to gently clean the hair and scalp, and I am very interested in trying this. There are some rave reveiws about it on one forum I read.

I always put castor oil in my lengths and ends after washing which is fantastic for hair and economical too. Wonder if this will be conditioning enough?

[Jakaluma]

I've recently gone shampoo free. I have thin, fine, dead straight hair which I washed every day with shampoo. About 5 years ago I switched to soap bars from Beauty and the Bees, with a apple cider vinegar rinse. Good, but still lank hair which needed daily washing or it looked worse. Then about a year ago I started using an organic shampoo. Same deal, still lank and needing daily washing.

Inspired by a few people who have gone shampoo free, I decided to give it a go and gave my hats a workout for a couple of weeks. This was a massive step for me - even when bush camping, I mostly still managed to wash my hair. But it's actually working.

It's probably a month and a half now, and my hair has got body. It holds its style. I tried a bicarb wash, but to be honest, it just sent it through that greasy stage that I had in the first week again, so I haven't done it again. I wash it in warm water in the shower in the morning. It doesn't smell at all.

Another tip I picked up is to brush it often. It distributes the natural oils up the hair shafts to the ends, so they're not dry, but near the skull isn't oily.

HTH

[GreenGully]

No build up - I assume this is because I only use it once a week or less) and I use a natural one which I assume leaves no residue. I rinse my hair with plain old water most days (actually every second day now that it is getting cold).

[~Sunflower~]

This is brilliant, thank you ladies! Just what I needed to hear.
It's a HUGE step for me too Kathi - but I really want to try it.

I have read some more sites and I think I will start with the bicarb wash and vinegar rinse. Just see how that goes. My hair is SO dry, with oily roots after 4 days without washing, so I am keen to see the results.
Again, thank you for taking the time to tell me about your experiences, it's very reassuring!

[Marguerite]

I'd love to hear how you go Bea. I tried a while back but gave up because at the time my hair was also adjusting to the very hard water we have here.

I read that a boars hair brush is supposed to be really good to help distributing the oil through hair.

[starbuckozzie]

I am really interested in trying this too....but I swim several times a week. I am not sure whether going shampoo free will work with the effects of chlorine. Anybody have any experience with this? The chlorine removal shampoos are really harsh and often have to be washed out themselves.

[Jakaluma]

Can you have a warm water shower straight after your swim? Run your hands through your hair as though you're washing it from roots to ends. Sure that would get rid of a lot of the chlorine. There is so much chlorine in our town water here (thanks to everyone who voted no to recycled water... NOT) that I probably get heaps of it in my hair. (Though *happy dance* we're getting our whole house put onto tank water later today)

[Marmee]

I am getting inspired by this thread......