has anyone stopped using shampoo?

[TheCappster]

I've been reading about baking soda and vinegar and wondering

I don't want to look or smell like a sheep, but I have sad, limp greasy hair after a day of not washing.

Yes, me!

I washed my hair in conditioner for 6 months first which was ok after the initial greasiness of a few weeks but lately it started to get limp again - probably a build up or something. I had originally tried bicarb of soda and vinegar before this and it made my hair dry/head really itchy so gave up and used the connditioner instead.

This time I used 1 desertspoon of bicarb to half a mug of water and my hair is wonderful. It feels great - soft but not limp - and strangely my head feels really light! As for smell I can smell the vinegar immediatley after but then no smell at all - no complants from DH so far

so do you wash your hair with this mix everyday or do you not have to do it as often?

what type of hair do you have normally? thick/greasy/curly/frizzy

and do you think it has changed since you have started washing with conditioner/bicarb?

I wash my hair every 3 days, that hasn't changed.

My hair is fine but tends to be frizzy in the summer and limp in the winter.

I wanted to avoid shampoo for many reasons -bad chemicals, it makes my hands itch, my hair was too fluffy after it, wanted to save money etc.

I started the bicarb wash 2 weeks ago because it was getting limper and limper using conditioner. It felt immediately better, though I can't say that I have to wash it any less. No itching on my hands either.

No harm in trying it, bicarb and vinegar in every supermarket. Your hair will probably look a lot greasier at first though for a few weeks.

i use bicarb and vinegar for cleaning at home anyway so it would just be a case of buying more of it. for me it is all the chemicals and the money aspect aswell.

Look at the thread in style and beauty - I think no poo [as in shampoo] method for curly hair

I have curly hair that would go frizzy. I stopped shampooing ages ago and clean my hair and scalp with conditioner. This is the no poo / curly girl method (from the Devashon salon) which argues that curly hair gets damaged by the harshness of shampoo and this is what causes the frizz.

I tend towards dry rather than oily skin so greasiness wasn't a problem for me but I think the book recommends cutting back rather than quitting shampoo cold turkey. You can both increase the days between shampoos and water down your shampoo. They also say that you can clean your scalp with your fingers (sort of massaging it, iykwim) when you are in the shower.

When I had chin length hair I would wash my hair with conditioner only about once every two months - sometimes I'd go longer. It's curly anyway but not washing it really made it look great.

Somewhat foolishly I've now grown my hair down to my boobs and have to wash it every couple of days with shampoo and conditioner otherwise it's just a mess.

You need to wash your hair as often as you wash your hair, if that makes sense, which I'm aware it probably doesn't. So the more often you wash it, the more it needs washing. If at the moment you need to wash it every day, I'd recommend trying every two days for a while and see what happens. It will take a little while to adjust but your hair will soon get used to it and then only need washing every other day. Once you've done that you can increase it a day at a time pretty much indefinitely.

I only wash my hair once a week. The only problem with this I find is that I have to try to keep it to exactly once a week. If I interfere with the system, which is sometimes necessary, I tend to get a bit dandruffy.

My mum started washing with vinegar and found it worked really well. I haven't quite made the move over yet but do intend too. Even using them once a week, organic shampoos are still blooming expensive!

I bleach my hair, which cleans it much more then shampoo. In between just condition and rinse.

SparkyUK - my hair is curly and dry so after your post I'm going to ditch the 'poo and just condition.

Is bleach ethical?

Bit of a drastic option to stopping shampoo too

GreenGeek I tried stretching out the time between hair washes and never really got past 4/5 days in about a year. My hair is a bit fine and kinky/frizzy. It just gets lank after 4 days or so.

I use vinegar and water as a rinse, it softens my hair. DD and DH hate the smell after though (in the bathroom not on my hair!)

My DH doesn't use anything at all on his hair, and it looks great.

We have been thinking of doing this for my DD, who has eczema - she can go for 2 weeks without washing her hair and it looks fine.

I haven't shampooed my long curly hair for about 20 years!

Sounds terrible when I write it down.

Shampoo has always made it really frizzy, so I stopped using it & just rinse & condition as it's rather dry,

Found out recently that I've accidentally been doing the Curly Girl method all this time!

I'm tempted to give up the shampoo....can you still blow dry if using baking soda and vinegar?

I've found my thick wavy hair is getting curlier and curlier and looks best if I don't blow dry but sometimes I don't have the time to wait in the mornings (shoulder length).

I use eggs to shampoo my hair, or beer. But in my case it's because everything else makes me itch. But I do have very shiny hair from doing this.

It didn't work for me personally; I hear that on some hair types it can work wonders.

My DH doesn't wash his hair, just rinses it every few days and it is fine, bu he has short hair. I'm not sure I could do it as my hair is long and would get a bit matted. I only wash twice a wek though and agree with those that say the less you wash it the less it needs it. My DD (21 months) has only has her hair washed about 4 times since she was born, but she doesn't have much!