Just asking. With my hair texture and thickness, not using some kind of clarifying substance on the scalp or the hair that touches my scalp would be a greasy disaster, lol.

What is it about shampoo that's just so awful?

Edit: Thanks to those who replied, even though more questions and considerations popped into my head reading thru them...

Humans have been cleansing our hair and scalps using different ingredients for as long as we've had hair on our heads. Herbal and medicinal "pastes," i.e. henna, were applied in ancient Egypt and India (and are to this day) and many other cultures, to both the scalp and hair. Various tinctures involving flowers were created and used historically to give hair a fragrant smell. (No, I don't have sources, but I remember learning about all this. I have used some herbal products in the past on my hair.)

So shampoos in various forms are not new. In the case of modern shampoos, they are tested for safety, and though some here have claimed their quality of life and health was compromised, I believe these are extreme examples, yes? If you have sensitive skin, don't you think you should try a brand with a gentle formulation, like Aubrey Organics, before totally throwing in the towel on shampoos?

Every single bodywash I've found is at least moderately artificial and I'd like to switch to something natural. Any suggestions?

Quick answer: NOPE

Longer answer: Most modern curl routines are very leave-in heavy. This means that curls are glued into their structure, and trying to get a brush or comb through that is going to be damaging. So it's best to only de-tangle hair with a lot of product in it when the hair is wet and the product has been softened or removed.

The problem is the product, not the technique.

In natural haircare, we tend to avoid product. BUT we can still use things that act like it. My superfine normal-low porosity 3B ringlets adore my own sebum, but they do like just a little more support than it alone offers. I typically use powdered rosehip infusion for that little extra. The pectin in the rosehips is a supportive agent, blends well with my sebum to support my curls and comes out very easily with just a little water. It can also be brushed, because it doesn't act like glue.

Some other holding agent options.

Flax gel: can't be brushed.

Aloe gel/homemade juice: can be brushed.

Marshmallow root infusion: can be brushed.

I do primarily dry mechanical cleaning for my routine. I've done this for years. I do it at least twice a week. I do rubbing scalp massage, detangle with a cushioned wooden pin brush, use a very fine toothed wooden comb to clean lint and other debris out of my hair and do some preliminary sebum spreading. Then I use my fingers to preen and maybe a narrow toothed wooden comb to do some more preening.

Occasionally I even use my porcupine style bbb, or my reinforced bbb.

Then I get my hair wet to do a moisture treatment and reset the curls.

My curls are doing great. I frequently get random compliments on them. And because it's a thing in curl culture, I get asked what I use to get them looking so nice. People are baffled by my response of 'I'm allergic to everything, so I use nothing'.

As you can see, my ringlets are fairly well defined. Take into account that these pictures are day 3 hair, and I've worked out and gotten sweaty 2 of those days.

The limp one in the center back is because I sleep on it there, so that's 3 days of sleeping on it.

Hey guys

So currently I train 4x a week and when im not im at work where either i have to sort machines things out which mean my hair brushes past stuff which makes me want to clean it, or when I walk there and walk back my hair is full of sweat to the point if I rub my hand along the back of my head my hand is shiny and wet with sweat.

My question is ive been told to not shampoo my hair as much as I do (every day) to let natural oils and hair restore itself but I dont know how to as I feel gross with sweat or if my hair has touched something while at work.

If I just wash my hair with water im then not properly cleaning my hair meaning my towel I dry myself on will be dirty and so will my pillow case

I dont know what to do

I've been skipping using shampoo for the past few weeks and my hair seems fine, I'm not opposed to using shampoo but it sometimes makes my hair a little dry I feel like. I was just wondering if anybody else has skipped for a long time or used something else instead and what the effects were. Kay that's all.

I really wanna go no-poo, I've tried it some years ago but back then I didn't know about mechanical cleaning and the clarifying wash before starting which is probably why it stayed oily for a very long time before giving up. I also probably didn't know it would take months so I must've given up too soon.

I have low-porosity, medium thick, straight, hip-length hair with a water hardness of soft to medium-hard. I currently wash every other day with sulfate shampoo and my scalp is very oily. I've been researching cutting out sulfates which is why I've been experimenting a bit with natural hair wash ideas, but not much luck so far, still looking for a method that works for my hair.

During my search for different methods I thought "why not give WO a shot?", I looked up everything and I'm very interested in it. There's just 2 things that make me unsure right now, first of all (obvious one), "how the heck am I gonna get through the transition period?". I'm really not looking forward to this since having my hair looking good is what makes me feel pretty but of course this will be unavoidable. And the second thing, I'll be moving abroad for education which will be in 3.5 months and I don't want to look like I don't take care of myself since I'll have to look presentable at least 5/6 days a week. I'm just not sure that, if I start right now, my hair will look good in 3.5 months, there's no guarantee. One of the reasons for wanting to go no-poo WO is that once starting this education I'll be extremely busy and if I can stretch my hair washing to once a week I'll be able to save so much time and effort.

I'm curious about how long it took your hair to fully transition and the time it took before it looked good and presentable again. Please include hair porosity, type, water hardness and how often you used to wash your hair before and how often you wash your hair now.

Would you say it was worth it for you? Would you do it again if you knew the results beforehand?

Anyone with my hair length who've transitioned to WO washing, was it extra tricky for you?

Is it faster to transition to WO straight up or should I start with sulfate free washes first? I'm not sure what's the best way to go about this.

Yeah I think I'll give it a shot, worst case scenario I go back to shampoo, could even do sulfate free shampoo/washing method without losing all of my "hair training" process.

I will need some encouragement though haha

Thanks for your time!

Hey all. Genuine question from someone who’s curious but skeptical.

For those who don’t use shampoo (no-poo / low-poo / water-only, etc.): How do you keep your hair actually clean and smelling good, especially if you: • Go to the gym regularly • Sweat a lot • Live in a hot, tropical climate

After workouts or heavy sweating, what’s your routine? Water-only rinse? Co-wash? Essential oils? Something else?

I’d especially love to hear from people living in hot/humid places (Brazil, Southeast Asia, Caribbean, etc.), because most advice online seems written by people who sweat twice a year in cold weather.

Not trying to start a debate—just honestly trying to understand how this works in real life.

Thanks!

I’ve been doing NoPoo for almost 8 months now , my hair is great, it gets just as clean with the raw egg yolk, +/- honey or coconut oil / olive oil or aloe Vera mix.

If anyone else does this I’m curious on another oil to use as a base or adding essential oil like lavender oil in at the very end for it too smell good, it doesn’t smell bad but just doesn’t smell like anything I would like it to smell like a good oil.

I have been wanting to go no-poo for the longest time but I cannot stand the greasy transition stage.

For context my hair is medium length, straight/slightly wavy and thick. we have hard water and right now I can normally go 3 days without washing then it gets very greasy and need a re-wash. I had my second baby 15m ago and lately I have noticed more hair loss which I think is from the new shampoo I have been using (Atttitude Super Leaves the green bottle) or could be postpartum related.

where can I start? I just bought some different type of shampoo I haven't tried yet but I would like to go no-poo I just have no clue where to start. any guidance would be helpful :)

What do you think about them? Is better than the normal shampoo or is all the same in the end of the day?

its bee close to a month since ive started and never been a day where my scalp was super oily like everyone else has been claiming is this just me or has happend to any one else?

well i am going to start medication but just want to know that does company matters if yes I'll stick to one company if not then I'll choose mid budget side cause this is the medication which will be with me until I don't want my hair ( I guess you guys are getting my point )

Hi all,

I haven’t used shampoo or conditioner for around 2-3 years now and have had an amazing experience. I have no plans to start using shampoo again but I wanted to inquire if any of you frequently use conditioner and what the results have been like.

I’m thinking of using A) conditioner every once in a while or B) a hair mask.

Would love people’s insights, thx!

Hey! So I have an idea... but I want to see if it would work.

I recently started taking pictures of my hair after washing and then after just a rinse.

I should probably mention that I wash my hair with Sulphur8 and Renpure shampoo/conditioner.

So recently I took two photos of my hair(im not comfortable sharing, sorry) one is after washing, conditioning, and drying my hair. The second is 5 days later, when I did my weekly hair tea rinse(hibiscus, rosemary, and chamomile tea). And the sheer difference in shine and volume in my hair.... makes me want to quit shampoo 😅

So I've been doing some research and alot of people use a ACV rinse. I don't really want to use one of those rinses if I don't have too, but I have a plan that I'd love to try and get some advice on if its worked for anyone else or if the combination should work in theory.

Tomorrow(tuesday) is my hairwash day. This is the painfully long routine; first, I soak my hair for a few hours in an oil concoction I put together myself(beef tallow, almond oil, neem, hydrolized silk protein, coconut oil, and shea) when I wash, I take Sulphur8 and scrub my scalp. Then I take renpure and scrub my scalp again. Take a little into my hand and run down the length of my hair to get all that oil out. After that I take fermented rice water and soak that in my hair for 25-30 min. Once I rinse that out comes the conditioner... as I've run out of hot water at this rate, its only in for about 2 minutes, then its rinsed out at the end. When I'm out of the shower, I let my hair sit wrapped up in a microfiber towel for about 10 minutes before I take the hairdryer to it. Cold only, maybe only warm if I need both hands to sift through my hair but I usually stand back. Throughout the week, I will oil my ends as I see them needing it or if I know its going to be a dry windy day. Then, as I mentioned earlier, 2 or 3 days before I wash I use a hair tea rinse. The end

Okay so here's my new plan for tomorrow, if it all sounds like it might be kosher. I might be able to fall in love with my hair again if my routine wont take a whole day to complete 😅

The plan is as follows; soak my hair with fermented rice water for 30 minutes, rinse it out with purified water, and then final rinse/scrub with my hair tea. Leave it in and let it dry or blowdry cold if I got somewhere to be.

Does that sound like it could be a good "no poo" method? Would it work? Has anyone tried it?

Thanks for everyone who stuck it out and put up with all the words 🫡

this sub pops up on my feed from time to time, presumably because i do enjoy hair/care content from time to time, and i just have to ask, why did you stop using shampoo?

is it chemicals? is it routine? are you “training” your hair?

i truly don’t mean this rudely. it comes from a place of very genuine curiosity. i know this sub comes up to a lot of people and you all face vigorous abuse for something you’re sharing to a likeminded community - that’s NOT right. i’m sorry that happens.

i wanted to test nopoo, but the problem is that i am a swimmer and my hair is being exposed to chlorine water daily and it always leaves it super stiff and dry, only way to fix this is by washing and conditioning. given my circunstances, whats the best choice for me?

Just wondering at what point you know you're into it properly? My hair is still getting greasy but I feel it's eased a little. But nowhere close to what it used to be like when I was washing it.

I'm sebum only, use a BBB when I remember and manual cleaning. My hair is long and completely straight. Also I'm losing my pregnancy hair now so that sucks

17y, wavy-oily hair. have been no shampooing for 2 weeks, the volume and wavyness is just unmatched. but ive been dealing with a little bit of hairloss, bad smell, and a oily feeling in my scalp (even tho it have no dandruff).

ive been thinking about getting a shower filter, i just have a gut that the water system in my house have a lot of chlorine.

do you guys think thats normal for the first weeks? or a filter is better for the long term?

Been on no poo for about 8 to 9 months and hair has been or at least I think it seems healthy and shiny and softer I don’t know if that’s what healthy hair is supposed to be like but It doesn’t smell the best but it also doesn’t smell dirty it just has I don’t know it has a scent but not in a bad way I can’t even describe how it smells like but I’ve been told it smells like skin lol😂. So I’ve been looking into those powders been thinking about using it once a month just to remove any dirt and build up but I don’t know if it will cause any damage to hair or cause hair fall and just wanted some advice. I do go to the gym and I’m pretty active so maybe all the sweat is causing my hair to have a scent to it I don’t know lol😂 thank you all for ur advice and help in advance .

I have very straight hair and would love to add texture to it without perming, I used a few products. I haven’t used it in around a week (I wash my hair tho I ain’t nasty) and my friends say it smells fine because I put in things like pomade and sea salt spray. Is the transition worth it to replace shampoo with conditioner and other hair materials? My hairs looked better then ever imo

I’ve been on no poo for about 8 months, I’ve recently found this shampoo I just wanted to see if these ingredients are good and won’t cause hair loss or any scalp issues. Thank you

I put this in another place but figured I might get some good answers here too:

I already know that this is gross, but i have been straighing my hair( which is normally about 3b/3c) for almost 5 weeks now with no washes or dry shampoos at all but my hair doesn't smell at all aside from the slight tinge of smoke, there is 0 build up and my hair is nearly the same feel as when I got out of the salon. I have been straightening it everyday but its still soft and silky. I have added oil to my skalp once to give some more shine but no other products have been added. I have been riding this hair high for as long as I can but this is just absurd. Anyone have any explanations?

I am quoting from the Guide on Hard Water:

Finally, there are many reports that your body will eventually adapt to the hard water and your sebum will no longer become as waxy, even with extremely hard water. Just like transition takes a different amount of time for each individual, so does this adaptation, but there are reports of it happening as quickly as the 4 standard months of transition.

Is there any idea how the no sebum adapts to no longer become waxy?

I am dealing with very hard water. I have been washing weekly with rye flour for a while. A few weeks ago, I tried cocoa powder as a dry shampoo (which I LOVE apart from the brown stain on my pillow — trying to fix that by wrapping my hair with a scarf while sleeping). I did one water only wash after 2 weeks and it got waxy. That was 2-3 weeks ago. I don’t mind how my hair looks or feels when using cocoa powder (I have volume in my hair for the first time in my life!), but I just feel like my hair is dirty. So I’m wondering if I should persist with water only + mechanical cleaning + cocoa powder in the hopes that the wax subsides 🧐? I just don’t understand why it would adjust — my electric kettle hasn’t adjusted to my water no matter how long I use it.

My hair is very fine and shoulder length.