Does anyone not shampoo their hair?

[BerylStreep]

I am thinking of trying to allow my hair to self regulate, and not shampoo it.

It is quite fine, breaks easily, and prone to greasiness. I thought that this might help its condition.

I haven't shampooed it since Wednesday (washed in the shower with water though!) and it is starting to look very greasy.

Has anyone done this? Does it work? How long before it starts to look bouncy and shiny, rather than just shiny?

[mistlethrush]

My great grandmother apparently used to wash her hair twice a year with an egg. Lovely, long, snow white hair.

[mistlethrush]

Donki's seen my hair... It only really needs conditioning to get it back into shape (curly, fairly long) and get stuck together with something otherwise the bulk is too great - I can't brush it and normally only pull wet hands through it every morning. If the weather's bad and I'm busy I have been known to not condition it for 3 weeks or so too, but by that stage it is really drying out so does need the conditioner... (it takes about 4 hrs to dry and I can't blow dry it because of the resulting bulk). (I can give a very good impression of crystal tips given a brush, but prefer not to).

[IndigoBarbie]

I've been no shampoo for nearly 18mths, I can honestly say my hair has never been in such good condition. I rarely use heat or any product either.
I use bicarbonate soda to wash with water, rinse out and then diluted water&apple cider vinegar to rinse. Leave this a few minutes, then rinse with lots of water.
I generally can go up to 5 days between washes, and due to my hair being long (almost at waist) I haven't tried the rinsing with water on the in between days-might try now though :)
I notice the faint unwashed oily smell and that's when I'd wash it again.
Since stopping shampoo: no flakiness or itchy dry scalp, less friziness, less tangles (acv helps with this) and much much more manageable.
It did take me a while to get the amount of bicarb right, and learn to cope with no suds....strange at first.

[MellieFitz]

-That's interesting. Animals don't shampoo, do they, and they don't smell. Weird that humans have to. Never thought about that before!-

Err, most animals stink! Especially dogs and they hardly ever get washed

[mrscog]

It works wonderfully on Ds, I never shampoo his hair (unless he's been sick in it or something like that) and dh just uses water. Neither of them smell. I'm envious but I just can't bring myself to do it as I have such long hair. I do try to stretch out between washes though.

[GetLeanOrDieTrying]

I'm not sure, my child never sleeps, my dog fooking stinks!

What kind of vinegar are you putting in beryl? And I suppose what kind of bicarb? Liquid? White vinegar??? How did it smell?

[Donki]

Ok - thats 2 people I know with long hair who don't use shampoo. You would noy know - both their hair looks great. And they definitely don't smell.

[BerylStreep]

Interesting Mistlethrush. How does it look in between?

[mistlethrush]

I condition mine once a week. I've not washed it for perhaps 8 weeks - normally only when I go swimming.

[MyChildDoesntNeedSleep]

That's interesting. Animals don't shampoo, do they, and they don't smell. Weird that humans have to. Never thought about that before!

[BerylStreep]

I haven't shampooed my hair since last Wednesday, so 8 days.

I have been quite inspired by some of the no-poo sites. I tried bicarb followed by cider vinegar on Monday, and my hair was wonderfully soft and shiny. Have washed it in the shower with just water every day, and it has looked much fuller than normal, like I have really good product in it.

I must say though, today was looking quite grim, so I think I will try the bicarb again tomorrow.

Anyone else doing it?

[DubBgoodToMe]

Have to say, my DD hates her hair being washed. I washed it last night with shampoo for the first time in over a week and it looks no better. Maybe a little shinier. Her hair is a birds nest anyway tho. She has the most beautiful face but rarely let's me do anything with her hair to show her off

[BerylStreep]

Well I have found a few sites talking about the no-poo method.

Surprisingly, since I haven't shampooed it since Wednesday, my hair looks ok. I have rinsed it with water every day.

I think I will give it a try.

[Sceptimum]

I wash and condition my hair daily and wash with shampoo maybe once every 5 days. My hair is long, fine and dry and frequent shampooing ruins it. It works great for me but I had to build to it, washing every two days, then three etc. Conditioning keeps it soft and I wash when I get greasy roots.

[Dancingdreamer]

I think not washing def works for children. I have 2 sets of friends who have never washed their DCs' hair with shampoo - only rinsed in water. You couldn't tell that never washed. Kids' hair looks clean and no smells. People always surprised when told they don't shampoo.

Will be interesting to see what happens when DCs are teenagers and whether changes in hormones start to make hair greasy.

[kimimimi]

try washing your hands without soap, is same sort of dirt on hair and can't be clean it without shampoo.
Is just not coming off.
I use to read long hair community forum and they have a thread about no water thing, but personally I believe it is a limit to consider..

[Donki]

Friends hair is waist length!

[cowbiscuits]

Surely it's not just grease, it's the dust and grime that sticks to your hair that you need to clean off? I wouldn't have thought you'd get this off properyly with just water. It's probably ok if you have very short hair but long hair needs a proper wash. You wouldn't just wash your clothes in water with no detergent?

[BikeRunSki]

My hair is very dry and I only wash it about once a fortnight, even though I run every other day.

[Donki]

I have a friend who does this - it gets rinsed and dried gently at intervals. She has done it for years. She doesn't smell at all and her hair is in beautiful condition.

[PurpleWithaMysteryBun]

I had an enforced break from washing my hair ( just water) for about 4 months thanks to a reaction to shampoo. My hair did stop being so greasy, however it was very flat and not nice :/

[reindeesandchristmastrees]

I have quite short hair, it gets wet and I rub it in the shower every morning but it doesn't get 'product' on it, I don't think it smells. I have a very sensitive sense of smell. I can sense (I think) if I'm whiffy as when I've run and don't shower straight away I know I'm smelly.
My kids don't have product on their hair or use soap but shower or bath every day.
But I do know people who smell (good sense of smell)

[RunnerBeen]

My hair is now waist length and is a pain in the arse to wash and dry.

i've gone from washing it every day to only washing it every third day... by the third day it's unbearably greasy and i have to wear it scraped back in a bun.

i wouldn't say it self-regulates at all but my hair is definitely in much better condition generally than when i was washing and blowdrying every day.