To think this 'no shampoo' trend doesn't work?

[mrsmootoo]

I haven't used shampoo since lockdown - thought it would be interesting to see and if not now when! I looked at a few sites and started with an apple vinegar rinse - yuck - greasy. Then I tried bicarb of soda - OK, but I seem to be washing it once a week, so is there any point? And I don't know if it is making the grease worse, like shampoo does. Can I just give up all products and use water? I have quite thick straight hair and exercise, so I can't see how just water will keep it clean. Also I colour it, so what will happen then? Does anyone find it really works?

I ran out of shampoo early in lockdown so used shower gel as I had no choice. I've actually continued using it since the last week in March and my hair hasn't been so soft, shiny and manageable since I was a teenager.
Who knew....

I have curly hair that is a few inches past my shoulders but very thin. I wash it twice a week. I put a hair net on when I do aerobics and find that it doesn't get greasy or sweaty that way (not the best look but it means I don't need to wash as often).

My hair is prone to being dry so I could probably get away without using shampoo for a few weeks but I don't think it would feel clean.

I don’t shampoo my daughters hair. It’s super curly so we just use conditioner every 2/3 days and it’s in great condition! Shampoo made it so frizzy and unmanageable

Someone I have on my Facebook has been using the CG method since lockdown, she posted a photo last week saying she'd finally found the right thing for her hair. It looked awful, the curls looked 'crispy' and had dropped out about halfway down, leaving the ends looking like very thin dreadlocks. I have naturally curly hair, as I've been WFH since March and the weather has mostly been pretty warm, I've been washing and conditioning as usual, applying a teeny bit of serum, combing through, scrunching with my hands and leaving to air dry. My hair has never looked better, thick and glossy and it even feels better when I wash it in that I can get a comb through it after shampoo only

I love it. I never wash my hair

My son has really curly long hair and only washes it with shampoo once a week or so. It makes it really frizzy. I can tell when it's had a shampoo, but it never looks or smells dirty in between.

You have to not apply water either.

I have always been dubious of this as I wash my hair most days.

But last year I spent six weeks in hospital most of which was connected to monitors, tubes and such so being able to wash my hair in any way shape or form just wasn’t possible. I have long hair and in the beginning I was horrified and was all for having the lot chopped off.

But then my mum bought me in one of those brush through conditioners, no water required. That worked well for getting out all the knots and once they were gone my hair was a million times better.

After about ten days my hair wasn’t greasy at all. In fact I found that on the couple of occasions I applied dry shampoo it looked worse.

it’s not something I would do by choice, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.

My hair has been SO greasy since lockdown. I have no idea why, I haven't used anything different, I'm eating the same things, it's a mystery. I've gone from having hair that tended towards dryness and only needed washing twice a week to hair that is noticeably oily the day after I've washed it

I was thinking about trying the 'no poo' method in the hope it might solve my grease problem eventually but this thread has put me off. Will just have to resign myself to washing my hair every day.

@mrsmootoo

I haven't used shampoo since lockdown - thought it would be interesting to see and if not now when! I looked at a few sites and started with an apple vinegar rinse - yuck - greasy. Then I tried bicarb of soda - OK, but I seem to be washing it once a week, so is there any point? And I don't know if it is making the grease worse, like shampoo does. Can I just give up all products and use water? I have quite thick straight hair and exercise, so I can't see how just water will keep it clean. Also I colour it, so what will happen then? Does anyone find it really works?

What's the point in going no shampoo 4hen trying a bunch of far harsher crappier early shampoos?

It's like refusing aspirin and munching on willow bark.

Billions has been spent making a thousand different specialised perfections of these original ideas.

You arent going to do better in your kitchen with some cheap crap from an Instagram article

@Potatobug

I would never go without shampoo and I think that people who “wash” their hair with vinegar and all that yucky stuff are mad. The scalp produces oil, it coats the hair and hair attracts lots of dust, pollen and whatnot, so it has to be washed regularly with proper shampoo. People who claim that shampoo is bad for your hair are misinformed. It’s on your hair only for 1-2minutes and then you rinse it off so it’s not like your hair/scalp absorbs it. Every time I watch a video with someone who doesn’t use shampoo I can’t see any difference in the quality of their hair, if anything, it looks more greasy and lank.

What are you on about your hair doesn't absorb it

Your hair is porus, how do you think you get scented hair after washing it ???

I've curly hair so dont use shampoo. You just need to be careful what else you are putting in your hair... you need to avoid products with silicones as these will cause build up and grease if they arent being washed away with shampoo. If you cut all those out, then conditioner or cleansing conditioner is enough depending on your hair type. Everybody is different. It isnt going to work for everyone. And it may be that it works for you, you just have to find the right combination for you. Shampoo, even gentle ones dry out and frizz up my hair, how ever I can get away with using a sulphate free shampoo if there really is a need. You may just have to experiment with different combinations to find what works for you.

I've been noopoo for three years, using curly girl method. I use a cleansing conditioner, which doesn't have to be expensive, cleanse weekly, and you don't need to use loads.
I use cantu cowash- costs around £5 for a tube that lasts about six months. As I Am Coconut CoWash Cleansing Conditioner is another good one.
I did start cleansing my hair a bit more frequently at the start of covid, but reverted to weekly with lockdown and social distancing.

I use a deep conditioner instead of cowash around once a month, but that's for colour rather than condition - its a purple one, to keep my hair white rather than getting yellowy tones.

I'm curly like some others here. Mine never gets greasy and is dry. I went many years without shampoo as it made it even drier and frizzy with broken ends.
Curly girl products don't seem to work well on me, I ended up just finding what I like. So now I use a three in one shampoo once or twice a month, then the rest of the time I just use some coconut conditioner and then use Pantene conditioner after. Works for me.

Ive got very wavy/sometimes curly, long, thick hair. I've tried CGM but you're not supposed to brush it, and my hair, though it looked okay, would feel like a bird nest by day 3. It just felt horrendous.

Lots of the people on there post pictures of absolutely glorious hair, but when they post their routines, they're so complicated and time-consuming - it must take up half their lives! I can't be done with that.

I have retained some habits from it though. I don't rinse conditioner out the bottom third of my hair as it encourages the curl and reduces frizz. I also dry it using a t shirt, never a towel - also reduces frizz.

I never had a problem just washing with conditioner though. It does get it clean, you just have to really scrub for at least three to four minutes and rinse thoroughly.

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I also do curly girl method and only use conditioner, it works really well for me and my hair is in the best condition it's been in for years.

I've been mostly just using non silicone conditioner for a few months now. I've had lots of compliments on how nice it looks. I use shampoo once every 3 to 4 weeks and use a conditioning mask after, then back to just the conditioner. The only time it looks a bit flat is after the wash and mask.

My clean hair is really soft and shiny. My unwashed hair is lank and horrible. I have got fine hair though and any additional weight ie grease and muck, weighs it down. Shampoo and conditioner make it look and feel nice.

Well I've never washed son's hair with anything stronger than water and he is 2, his hair is beautiful.

I don't use shampoo on DS's hair. He's 7 and it looks fine. But he has eczema so there is emollient in his bath. His big sisters have hit puberty and their hair gets noticeably greasy and smelly after a couple of days.

There was a thread on here not long about the curly girl method. Some said it must leave your hair dirty, lank and greasy looking - along came some CG method converts who insisted their hair looked fantastic and posted photos to prove it - their hair all looked dirty and greasy.

Well I've never washed son's hair with anything stronger than water and he is 2, his hair is beautiful
Surely that’s just because he is 2 once he gets older and hormonal that’ll change

I’ve had greasy hair since I was a teen - since around the same time my skin became quite oily. Surely the two are linked? Not washing your hair if it’s greasy is about as much use as not washing your face if you’re prone to break outs. I use hairspray and other products on my hair which I wash out daily in the same way I feel I should wash off my make up.

I have fine (but a lot of it) almost straight short hair. I thought I would try giving up shampoo and wash with conditioner. I've been using Aunt Jackie cowash (it was designed for afro hair) for a wash in the shower. I am pleasantly surprised about how good my hair feels (the style is another matter at the moment), feels thicker and has more shine - my hair has in the past always been on the greasy side.

I used to do the curly girl method and just used conditioner to wash (has to have no silicones in it - this is v important as they need shampoo to remove them and will build up without shampoo). Any hair products you use must also be silicone free and water soluble. You need to use lots and lots of conditioner- like 3-4 big handfuls and really scrub it into your scalp and roots (the complete opposite of how you'd normally use conditioner!), add a little warm water and scrub scalp again then rinse. I found no greasiness issues and it worked really well for me. I did have the odd period of itchiness but that may have been down to the products I was using. It's sort of like using a cream cleanser on your face rather than a foaming face wash.

I didn't like the fact I was using huge amounts of conditioner though (all the plastic bottles etc) so now use a tiny bit of shea moisture shampoo twice a week and condition afterwards (still with silicone free conditioner - I get 5 litre containers of Suma). My hair is still in great condition so I am going to stick with what I'm doing and not go back to conditioner washing.

@LunchBoxPolice - I think with the CG method, the look of the hair depends on what products you add afterwards. A lot of people who do it have had frizzy hair all their lives so they like the clumped curls and lack of frizz that lots of leave in product gives. I prefer a little frizz!

I fine low porosity wavy/curly hair. I started the (modified) curly girl method two months ago, however I had already largely ditched sulfates and silicones in shampoo and conditioner, but some of my hair oils and protein packs contained during alcohols or the odd silicone.

I use a clarifying and chelating shampoo every 4 weeks. The rest of the time I either co-wash with a cleansing co-wash (As I Am coconut co-wash is great), co-wash with normal conditioner and occasionally I use a low poo shampoo (noughty's wave hello which smells divine).

I get the best results with a co-wash, the low poo shampoo can tangle my hair. Co-washing allows to me to gently condition the hair closest to my head while cleansing, without weighing it down.

My hair looks and feels so much better now. It's much less frizzy, and I am really enjoying seeing my hair get curlier - when I gently encourage it to dry straighter it's frizzy and tangled and feels dry, when I encourage my curls it feels much less dry to touch and doesn't look as frizzy

It's a lot of work though - lots of products (cleanser, conditioner, curl activator, mouse and gel), plus taking the time to wet plop, micro plop and dry plop before diffusing. My hair looks and feels so much better though, and I only need to wash it 3 times a week instead of 6 times a week!

It honestly doesn't look or feel greasy. Trust me, DH would tell me if it did!