Jan 24, 2011
With the increase of toxic chemicals entering into our personal care products it is not surprising why people adopt alternatives. Product-free or “no-poo” hair washing involves using a boar bristle brush, water and plenty of scalp scrubbing to clean hair without chemicals. A few hundred years ago, the idea of washing your hair sans chemicals would have been commonplace. Today it seems strange or even unhygienic; yet some people are turning back to traditional methods of haircare. Whether stemming from a desire to reduce consumption, avoid chemicals, relieve conditions such as eczema or dermatitis, or simply experiment, shampoo-free washing (known affectionately as ‘no-pooing’ or ‘water-only washing’) can be very effective in maintaining clean and healthy hair.
Why Washing Hair Without Shampoo or Conditioner Works
Hair becomes dirty because of two factors: trapped particles, such as dust, and sebum, a natural oil produced by the scalp which makes hair look greasy.
Washing the hair frequently with shampoo strips the hair of its natural oil, sebum. To compensate, the scalp will begin to overproduce sebum to make up for the lack, resulting in a cycle of overcleansing and overproduction of oil. Once the cycle is stopped, the scalp will eventually regain its normal equilibrium, resulting in the need for less frequent washing. A transition period of about six weeks is required to accustom the scalp to lower sebum production.
Trapped particles of dust and dirt can be removed to some extent by washing with water. To further clean the hair, a boar bristle brush can be used to brush the dirt right out.
How to Wash Hair Without Products
True water-only washing uses no products at all. In this case, the hair and scalp are simply washed vigorously under lukewarm water, using fingertips – not fingernails to remove any particles from scalp. Some people find that alternating hot and cold water helps to break through the sebum. Finishing the wash with a blast of cold water will lock down the cuticle of the hair, keeping it shiny.
Some people, while refraining from commercial hair products such as conditioner, like to facilitate washing and conditioning with natural products. Baking soda, vinegar, herbal teas, natural oils and butters, egg yolks and even yoghurt can form the basis of commercial product-free hair washing.
Using a Boar Bristle Brush to Clean Hair
Washing the hair is only one component of productless cleansing. A boar bristle brush is used to spread the sebum from the roots to the hair shaft, where it can do its job of moisturising and protecting the hair. Boar bristle brushes also trap dust and dirt in their closely-packed bristles, helping to clean the hair.
To prevent hair breakage, the brushes should only be used on detangled hair. Long strokes from the scalp to the tips of the hair should be used, to move the sebum down the hair shaft. Depending on the length of the hair, it may take several days for the hair to become coated with sebum.
Easing the Transition to Water-Only Washing
The six-week greasy period, during which the scalp learns to produce less sebum, can be frustrating. Greasy hair can be hidden under a hat or bandana, or disguised in braids, which hold particularly well in greasy hair. A boar bristle brush will polish the surface of the hair, which can make sebum look like hair product rather than grease.
It is possible to wean the scalp off shampoo. Alternating diluted shampoo washes with water-only washes will make the transition period longer but less severe. Alternatively, conditioner-only washing can be used for a few weeks before attempting water-only washing.
Some water-only hair washers experience a renewed greasy period some months into their new routine; this eventually settles down.
Written by Sarah Tennant
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Hi! I read one of your articles on WO on another site and I have started. I don’t know if you answer questions here but I do have a question! My hair LOOKS normal, it looks shiny and healthy but it feels horrible. Not really greasy, but cakey (like I’ve left hair product in it) at the roots. I’ve read quite a lot about people saying that their hair is really greasy at the beginning but then clears up. Is the cakeyness of my roots grease that will clear up or is this what my no ‘poo hair is always going to feel like?
The greasy hair will go away after a several Weeks of no shampoo hair wash, you just have to be patient for the oil production at the roots to slow down.
Thanks for this! Quick question: With the boar bristle brush, do you do that before or after washing? Is the hair wet or dry?
During the wash
Hello to all,
The last time I washed my hair with any type of product was 23.09.11, it’s been water only since then and hand on heart, it’s been the hardest thing I’ve done….ever!
My hair is long, dark brown, totally straight, frequently fly away, really fine but lots of it and since puberty, I could wash my hair at 8am and by 5pm it was that greasy, I’d have to wash it again. BTW…I’m now 40, so that’s 25 years of trying expensive products, cheap products, specialist products and trying everybody and anybody’s advice on how to control the grease, NOTHING WORKED!!
So, as a last resort, I read many articles on baking soda with apple cider vinegar rinse and the water only method, finally deciding upon the latter. I booked two weeks off work and did nothing but potter around the house. From day one my hair was lank, the grease had seperated it (as it usually does) so I just tied it all back and combed it daily with a normal everyday plastic comb. I tried a boar bristle brush as advised, but it did nothing but skim across the top of my head because there was that much grease. For two weeks, I didn’t even attempt to rinse it with water, it itched, it felt disgusting and the day before my return to work, I nearly caved, but my inner determination stopped me….I’d bought a wig you see, dark brown, similar cut to my own hair and with a bit of tweaking, it looked passable. People at work asked if I’d had a hair cut and they looked genuinely shocked when I told them it was a wig. For the next four weeks, I rinsed my hair once a week with water but it didn’t get any better, still thick with grease and smelled of wet dog when wet, totally gross BUT I did notice the ends of my hair felt fluffy, a bit like rabbit fur, really soft and I liked it.
One week later, (week 7 of water only)I was working away from home and booked into a hotel, it had a power shower which I don’t have at home, my water pressure is really weak, it takes 25 minutes to run a bath, but I’ve got used to it and it doesn’t bother me. That said, the first thing I did was jump in the shower and I rinsed my head, I turned the heat up, sectioned pieces of my hair off and rubbed the sections between the palms of my hands, finishing off with a jolly good rub of my scalp. I towel dried my hair and left it to dry naturally and boy how impressed was I! I noticed my fringe first, not the usual fine strands that clump together and then seperate within minutes, it had body, yes body, after all these years, I couldn’t believe it! Historically, my hair dried pretty quickly but it took longer this time, but when it did dry, I noticed some of it was as fantastic as my fringe and some of it still felt a bit lank, so I jumped straight back into the shower and repeated the process. I woke up this morning with lovely grease free hair, it feels thicker, looks as shiney as it ever did with shampoo and I haven’t stopped smiling all day…great big cheesy grin….it’s great.
When I run my fingers through my hair, it feels soft and smooth, although it does leave a bit of residue on my finger tips, I’m putting this down to the natural oils though and I don’t ever think it will feel squeaky clean like it did with shampoo but hey, who am I to poke holes, I didn’t need to wear my wig today and my hair looked so good, I attended a board level meeting and didn’t feel self conscious in the slightest, I felt proud of my locks…whoo hoo!
To conclude:-
Fine, straight and always greasy hair
I live in Yorkshire, which is a soft water area
Last water rinse was in Sandhurst near London which I think is a hard water area, but not 100% sure.
Week 7 and my hair feels like I’m stroking a fluffy rabbit.
I’ll come back with an update if anything changes.
I hope this was useful to anybody about to embark on the process.
Samantha
Thanks for sharing such an in-depth insight Samantha! We would surely love to hear updates from you on this.
My hair is fine and thin and it got greasy really quickly, so I usually had to wash it every day if I wanted to wear it down. So, about 8 months ago, over the summer, I decided to embark on a no-poo journey in an attempt to stop the greasiness. I washed it every other day with baking soda and conditioned with vinegar. It worked well, my hair got totally clean with the BS washings, and it didn’t get greasy as fast. It was also much healthier and shinier, and the ends got way less damaged after a trim.
Then, over christmas break when I wasn’t going to be at school so it wouldn’t mattter, I decided to just water-only wash it and let it be greasy to let it sort of condition itself for a few weeks. I would WO wash it every other day, and it got pretty greasy, so I just put a bunch of baby powder in it and put it up, which looked decent enough to leave the house without frightening my neighbours. I fully intended to go back to the BS washing when school started again, but hen, about 2 week into my WO washing, it started to get less greasy rather than more. I thought it was a fluke, but after another week of WO washing every other day, it has gone almost completely back to clean. Is just a bit greasy in the back but not enough to be noticeable and I can wear it down without a problem.
I feel like I have experienced some sort of biblical miracle or something! This was the last thing I expected to happen when I decided to WO wash over the break. I thought maybe the oil production would slow down enough that I would be able to go three or four days between BS washings, but not this. I’m confused but excited! Where did the oil go? It’s like magic…
I did find it interesting that Samantha didn’t have any luck with the WO until she washed it with he high water pressure, because when I wash mine, I turn my shower head to the setting with the highest pressure and sort of power wash my scalp. I didn’t think this was actually doing anything other than giving me a nice scalp massage, but maybe water pressure is more important than I thought. Thanks to Samantha for sharing your story. I don’t think I could have done it if I had had as difficult a time of it as you did. My transition was mostly an accident, and it was surprisingly easy. Maybe it was because I did the BS and vinegar first? But however it happened, I will definitely not be going back to the BS washing any time soon
I luv hearing everyones stories about when they first started WO washing and how the transition period went for them. I was just mentioning to my hubby that i think ivr gotten thru or am slowly getting thru the transition period already but its only been 11 days! I honestly wasnt counting on it happening this quickly but if lunaboo had a similar experience, maybe its possible?
I havent tried styling it much but i know for sure it would curl very easily and it would prob hold that curl longer than my record for having curled hair of about 20 min…my hair is very straight, medium thickness and light brown.
For me, before doing WO, i was already only showering every other day, and had been for as long as i could remember, and since im a mom of three under five, i sometimes would only shower once every 3 days. So, after i read abiut doing WO, i figured not showering everday would be easy. Dealing with the greases however, kinda scared me, moreso that id develop some bad acne on my face and forehead but so far my skins been clear, ( i think acne is more a hormonal thing than actual buildup)
Anyway, so i began my showers every ither day and id simly scalp scrub and either comb out my hair while under the water with my fingers or my comb. Then id do it again wet, and then dry again ince it fully dried, which btw, drying time takes much much longer now that im WO, which is kinda a pain but its worth imo.
Then i wuld comb my hair out a few times per day, usually after i come in from a windy walk and def before bed.
Around day 4-7, i had some pretty greay days and i tried to comb more often to distribute the oil and i think that worked nicely to speed up the trainsition period. I have been noticing some sebum buildup on my comb and ive begun cleaning that out every other day, and i may just store my comb in vinegar and water in a mug to prevent the buildup. Other than that nuisance and the longer air drying time, i am luving the WO! It doesnt smell at all, and it feels, now on day 11 as soft as it would be after shampooing but with no flyways or baby hair…which i term new hair growth from having kids that usually sticks straight up and ruins my updos
Oh this is good. I am in second week of my water only…. the only problem – I have 70% grey hair ( only in roots) and I am only 30. I cant do without coloring my hair. Since I have a wedding to attend next week…. is there anything available to combat that!!!!!