These Amazing Things Happened To Me When I Stopped Using Commercial Shampoo
Could the secret to great and healthy hair be to stop doing the one thing we’ve all been doing in the shower our whole lives?
There’s a growing movement amongst natural beauty enthusiasts to remove shampooing their hair from their daily regimens. For many, when they first hear of this seemingly wacky notion, their first impulse is to recoil in horror. After all, most of us believe that shampoo is the key to having a hygienic hair and scalp.
Not so fast. Many beauty bloggers, such as Zoe Schaeffer, and Jenny Cupido are ditching shampoo. The result isn’t stinky, dreadlocked or gross hair, but rather a healthy scalp and voluminous, hydrated locks.
To help you decide whether or not this new hair craze is right for you, here are four fast facts that you should know about quitting shampoo – for good.
1. Shampoo Strips The Hair And Scalp Of Its Natural Oils
Shampoo strips the hair and scalp of our skin’s natural oils which our body produces to keep our hair looking moisturized and radiant. Because of this, many women have moved from traditional shampoos to sodium lauryl sulfate-free versions, believing that SLS – the ingredient that makes shampoo foam and suds up – is the cause of their dryness and flakiness.
However, many natural beauty enthusiasts believe that even SLS-free shampoos are bad for the hair, thanks to a slew of chemicals and detergent-like ingredients that can still strip the scalp of oil and moisture. For this reason, they believe that the secret to great hair is to forgo shampoo altogether.
RELATED ARTICLE: How to Quit Shampoo Without Becoming Disgusting
2. “No ‘Poo” Doesn’t Mean You Don’t Clean Your Hair
The no-shampoo movement – or the “No Poo” movement, as it’s come to be called – doesn’t necessarily purport that you shouldn’t ever wash your hair. Instead, it pushes to ditch commercial shampoo in favor of natural remedies like baking soda or apple cider vinegar. Many beauty bloggers do actually push for no cleansers whatsoever, claiming that after a few months of your hair’s natural oils rebalancing themselves, that your hair will no longer need to be cleansed period.
3. There’s A Few Weeks Of Oily Awkwardness
RELATED ARTICLE: This Homemade Chemical Free Shampoo Will Save Your Hair
The first few weeks of going no ‘poo can be a bit awkward. When your scalp has grown accustomed to its natural oils being stripped away, it can begin to overproduce oil to compensate. Hence, during the first few weeks of no ‘poo, your scalp will still be hyper-producing oil, but you’ll no longer be stripping it away. No ‘poo enthusiasts encourage newbies to just push through, asserting that after a few weeks or months at the most, the scalp’s oil production rate will return to normal.
4. The Results Are Crazy Worth It
If you saw the hair of a woman who’d been doing no ‘poo for quite some time, you’d be shocked. Without detergents and shampoos, the hair eventually regains its natural luster. No ‘poo hair is bouncy, hydrated and free of limpness and split ends. The best part is that this vibrant and gorgeous hair is achieved without the use of any products; instead, it’s the result of doing something completely all-natural and free.
Some women will never be able to part with their shampoo, no matter how many beauty bloggers claim that it’s the secret to gorgeous hair. However, for those who are a bit more adventurous and daring in their beauty pursuits, it’s a completely worthwhile endeavor. There might be a few weeks of excess oil and grease, but once your hair balances itself out, you’ll be wowed by the results.
