by Louise Sutherland
Almost a year ago a conversation about the chemicals in shampoo changed my opinion about hair washing and inspired me to experiment and give up shampoo. Here’s what happened…
I used to wash my hair with shampoo every day. Sometimes I washed it twice a day if I had another shower. It was just a habit, when I was in the shower, I would always wash my hair. It seemed a completely normal thing to do. My shampoo wasn’t tested on animals, so why not wash my hair every day?
However, the conversation about shampoo chemicals made me think about it differently, was it true? Were they really so bad for you? I decided to do some research. What I found disturbed me, the chemicals I put on my head and skin everyday were toxic if eaten and banned from food substances! Suddenly shampoo seemed a less pleasant thing to be putting on my head. I read more about the effects of chemicals on health from the Women’s Environmental Network , www.wen.org.uk they had plenty of advice and information.
The more I thought about it, the less I liked the idea of using chemicals to clean my hair. Especially as to remove the dirt stuck to the natural oils, they had to strip all the natural oils out of my hair. It started to seem silly to use conditioner to put the oils back. Why use a fake oil to do what my hair was doing before I stripped the oils out!?
I decided to try to stop using shampoo. My hair was used to being washed every day, so for one week I washed it every other day, the following two weeks I washed it every third day. Then I stopped using shampoo all together. I had read that you should just use water, still massage your head as you would with shampoo, to get the water all through the hair and rub the dirt out. So that’s what I did. It was strange at first, massaging my head without the bubbles I was so used to. After five days of washing with water it looked greasy. I didn’t like it, I tied it back and hoped it would ‘stabilise’ itself. The next two days were grim, when I scratched my head I could feel the oil in my hair, at work I felt unclean and scruffy and I noticed my hair had a smell of grease to it. My boyfriend told me I used to have lovely hair when I washed it! I gave up and washed it with shampoo, but after not using for a while, using it again felt odd and I didn’t like it.
I resolved to try again. The internet suggested using baking powder and water and putting this on your hair, massaging it in like shampoo and rinsing it out. I tried it. I felt very unsexy standing in the shower with a cup and spoon, mixing a baking powder goo to put on my head. It was messy and unpleasant to put on and I felt silly. When I dried my hair it felt dry and brittle, the baking powder had stripped all the oils from my hair and it seemed slightly damaged. I decided baking powder was not the answer.
Bobcat suggested using very dilute cider vinegar. I bought the organic Aspenall cider vinegar and mixed one little capful into a full beaker of water. I poured it on, bit by bit onto the different areas of my head, massaging it just like shampoo, but without any foam. After my hair had dried, it felt and smelled clean and was very shiny. I was impressed.
I carried on not using shampoo, and once a week or so, I used the dilute cider vinegar to get some of the oil out, but not strip it all out. For me this has been the ideal solution. I’m not sure if it counts as not washing my hair, because I wash it with water and the dilute cider vinegar. But I’m happy because I’m not using chemicals which could harm my health, I don’t have to buy plastic bottles anymore and I’m not pouring soap down the drain.
What effect has my experiment had on my hair? My hair is very different now to when I always washed it with shampoo. I’ve been amazed by the difference. I think the oil your hair glands produce is actually good for your hair, now that I have stopped stripping it out, and use a densely bristled brush to brush the oil down my hair, my hair is softer and it seems thicker. I have very fine hair which is usually very flat, but now it bounces and curls slightly! Within a month of stopping using shampoo, I noticed my hair didn’t get as greasy as it used to when I washed it every day. When I get up in the morning I don’t have to have a shower to sort my hair out, I can just brush it to style it now, its great! If I think it is too greasy, I use the cider vinegar and its lovely again. Another unexpected side effect has been a greater understanding of my hair, it feels more like a part of me now, something I’m aware of, a part of my souls expression and I like it.
I decided my experiment should be completed with a comparison. I was so sure my hair was thicker and looked better without the shampoo, I decided to wash my hair with shampoo again to compare the difference. So I washed it with shampoo again and once again my hair was flat and fine, suffered from static and hard to style into anything. Yes, I decided, cider vinegar beats shampoo hands down! So now my experiment is over, I’ve learned what works for me and once again I’m free of shampoo and my hair is thicker, bouncier and happier!
In summary I would definitely recommend giving up shampoo, its great for your hair and is better for the environment. The greasy phase is short lived, just a couple of weeks in my experience and if you use dilute cider vinegar its easy!
Blessings of experimental fun /|\
