Anyone else wash their hair with just conditioner - the no poo method

[nappyaddict]

Have started doing this recently and my hair is going much longer between washes without getting greasy now. I am really impressed!!

I use about a 5p sized amount of conditioner and spend about 2 minutes thoroughly massaging it into my hair. Then I rinse it out and put conditioner on the ends as I would normally if I was using shampoo. I comb it through, and wrap it in a towel while I wash my face and brush my teeth and then rinse out.

no poo method

[PercyPigPie]

Thanks Mammya. Better this morning after a wash with nasty vosene - but that's the end of my experimenting!

[mammya]

Oh dear Mud, that sounds nasty! Hope you manage to get rid of it.

[bosch]

Nightcat I've been washing with conditioner for some time now. Wash every other day mainly because I can't seem to style my hair v well on non washing days. Have v dry hair, tried to grow it several times but too many dry ends to chop off. This time it's really working and am really chuffed.

If my hair feels like it's getting too dry, I have also put conditioner on my (dry) hair in the evening, let it dry, sleep with head on a towel and rinse off in the morning.

[PercyPigPie]

Not sure Mammya, but I do know that this has really backfired on me! I forgot I react badly to conditioner on my scalp (I generally only put it on the ends and have been doing so for about a decade, so had forgotten the original reason for doing so).

I now have a nasty headful of what looks like dandruff and am about to have to put on really harsh anti-dandruff shampoo to sort it. I give up!

[mammya]

My hair isn't dry or curly and it works for me. You might have to try a few different conditioners to find the one that works for you. Also it might take your hair and scalp a little while to adjust.

As far as I know Johnson's baby shampoo contains just as much harsh detergent as any other ordinary shampoo... Check the label: does it contain sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate? If it does than it's not going to be particularly gentle for the hair or scalp.

[PercyPigPie]

Does this only work with dry and/or curly hair? I have been trying conditioner (silicone free) for a couple of weeks and look like I work in a chip shop . I am now using Johnson's baby shampoo as I am hoping it is mild, but I am sure someone on here will say it is the work of the devil!

[mammya]

Silicones in hair products are not usually listed as "silicone". The ones to avoid are:
-cyclomethicone
-cyclopentasiloxane
-trimethylsilylamodimethic one
-trimethylsiloxysilicates
-amodimethicone
-dimethicone
-dimethiconol
-beheonoxy dimethicone
-phenyl trimethicone
-simethicone
-trimethicone

These are non-water soluble silicones that can only be removed with shampoo.

There are silicones which are water-soluble, and products that contain them are OK for the no-poo method:
-dimethicone copolyol
-lauryl methicone copolyol
-hydrolyzed wheat protein
-hydroxypropyl polysiloxane
-every silicone starting with PEG

Hope that helps!

[Consuela39]

Thanks so much...I don't tend to condition it, because I find it makes it very limp - though maybe I was using silicones? I don't know, it was ages ago that I tried it.

At the moment it is kind of fluffy when I wash it then fairly oily within about 3-4 days so I end up washing it again - it's only really nice on about day 2.

It's not in great condition, sadly.

I might do what you suggest and try some silicone free conditioner for one of the weekly washes, and carry on with shampoo for the other one - but will check if the shampoo has silicone in it first (do they normally?)

Thanks again, I think I understand now.

[fluffles]

consuela - if you currently shampoo but don't condition at all then what type of hair have you got?

i have curly dry hair which would go frizzy if i shampood without conditioning. so the conditioner-only approach works for me. i think the more coarse and dry your hair the less shampoo you should use and the more conditioner.

i shampoo about once a week and the other days just 'wash' with conditioner, it's the agitation and water that washes your scalp anyway... this makes my hair more moisturised which makes it more curly and bouncy.

if you use conditioners or styling products with silicones in them then you need a really harsh shampoo to get them out, we're all trying to avoid harsh shampoo so avoid silicone in the first place.

that's the 'no shampoo' or 'low shampoo' in a nutshell.

[Consuela39]

I'm really confused.

Could someone talk me through this in really simple steps, or is it actually dead complicated to explain?

Is it just a question of buying some silicone free conditioner and using it instead of shampoo?

I don't normally use any products apart from basic shampoo (tresemme) about twice a week.

Where do I start? Just stop using it and switch to conditioner instead?

Also, may I ask, what is all the stuff about bicarb and oil and so on?

I gather the OCM is a whole other thread

I'd be so grateful for very basic steps. Thankyou.

[nightcat]

og golly, simple gentle care is not on the list , I swear I read the ingredients, maybe it's new here

[nightcat]

oh, thank you Mammya, this is very hopeful, how often do you wash your hair?

However, I clearly did go wrong using pantene :( , thank goodness I used only a very small amount :)
Today I washed it again with bicarb, loads of water and fruit mash (mango/avocado that gone too soft), I also went out and bought non-silicone conditioner, about to check if it's on your link, it's called simple I think

[mammya]

I've been doing this for a few months for me (short, straight hair) and my dd (long, curly, mixed-race hair) and it works really well for both of us.

I've found that the cheapest, most basic conditioners tend not to contain any silicones (presumably they are expensive ingredients!), for instance, Wilkinson's, Tesco or Boots basic conditioners are good.

Here is a list of silicone-free conditioners available in the UK.

[JetSetWilly]

Oh thanks fluffles that's really helpful

[fluffles]

found this online
"Find out if your conditioner has any 'cones' by scanning the ingredients for items ending in -cone, -conol, and -xane. Ingredients with PEG in front of them are okay however."

i think the most comon one is something like dimethicone..

[JetSetWilly]

Ok thanks fluffles

That link isn't workIng for me right now but I'll have s look on the pc later (on my phone right now) but I think I used to use mop stuff when I lived in Australia

For silicone free conditioner does it have to specifically say silicon free or will it just not have 'silicone' as a listed ingredient? I ask because every conditioner I have lOoked at so far does not have silicone listed as an ingredient! Even the cheapie ones

[fluffles]

you need to try to find a conditioner without any silicones in it.. otherwise they'll build up and your hair will get heavy and lank, only the harshest shampoos can break it down.

i ordered mop c-system online www.mopproducts.com/
but you can also get various silicone-free conditioners in boots, health food shops and body shop.

make sure your styling products are also silicone free.

[JetSetWilly]

Okey dokey in that case boo I may go straight to the bicarb method-my thinking is that this will hopefully not irritate my scalp? Also seems to work for you boo so should be good

Nightcat I'll keep you posted so we can swap tips etc, let me know how you get on

[nightcat]

JetSet, u can't possibly get much help from me as I am total novice and I only looked up 2 websites mentioned above, I used lots of water and 2 smallish blobs of conditioner

for now I think I will just use up the conditioner I have, which was pantene, but next time I will add apple cider or bicarb option and whatever might be on the fruit plate, grapefruit maybe

Boo, thank you for encouragement :)

[ILoveItWhenYouCallMeBoo]

i started this about 2 months ago and then changed completely to bicarb and apple cider vinegar afetr a month. the hairdresser was in awe at the shine on my hair.

[JetSetWilly]

I completely agree with you about haircare industry creating the need for so much washing products etc by making the shampoo so harsh. People did survive without these products at one point! As a result I wash my son's hair very rarely

So did you just use a but of conditioner on the scalp? Which conditioner are you using?

My problem is not so much the frequency of washing-I currently wash once every four days-the problem is that my scalp becomes irritated when I do wash it, I've tried every shampoo going over the years. Even the organic paraben free stuff makes my scalp itch

Which conditioner are you using? And which website did you get your info from?

[nightcat]

no help to you JetSet, I am doing trial & error myself, just done first water and conditioner only wash, I am so desperate to make my hair better. Hair feels different, has more body and it doesn't feel dirty as such, early days though yet, I hope I can break the habit of frequent washing and I will try herbal and maybe beer rinses.
Also, I think the industry may have created the need for all the additional hair products by making the harsh shampoos.
I can't wait to see if the new regime makes any difference.

[JetSetWilly]

Hi can somebody take me through the no poo method? I'm really keen to start it as I seem to have become allergic to shampoo since a salon burnt my scalp dying my hair about six years ago! (obv haven't had it dyed since)

Ive tried lots of different shampoo to no avail and am currently using one prescribed by dr for dandruff/dry scalp

Anyway I think the no poo method will suit me. Having a quick look at sites some are suggesting baking powder and some are suggesting just conditioner. Which method is the best do you think or is it just trial and error? And how exactly is it done / which conditioner / vinegar do you use etc

I have mousey hair midway down my back very greasy at the moment due to following the oil cleansing method!

[nightcat]

thank you fluffles
Cybil, my dad is 89, when he was at home, he didn't like to wash all that often so when we talked to the staff when he first went in, he was OK with what they said, and I guess as he got to 89 I can't really argue :)

[fluffles]

i use a very gentle shampoo about once a week and a non-silicone conditioner most days.

i have curly hair which never seems to go greasy but does go limp and frizzy if washed too much.

the key to this is to also only use silicone-free water soluble styling products.