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Shampoo free?

Halla74

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The theory is that silicones, dimethicones, and all the other stuff in shampoo and conditioner that makes your hair so shiny and silky is actually not nourishing your hair at all;

Hey Tiltyred! :hug:

Regarding my color bolding above, it is my understanding that our hair is actually "dead", in that the only living cells ar at the root/follicle level, and once the shaft of hair (keratin) comes out, it is no longer living tissue. It is however in better shape towards the root than the tip of the hair shaft, especially for longer hair, as over time shampoos, styling products, curling irons and blow dryers all contribute to drying/damaging the shaft.

So by "nourish" I'm assuming you mean "improve the condition of" and not "provide sustenance to living tissue" right? Because that is exactly what silicon (+ other cons, except Neocons) do to hair. Silicon is so slick and hard to get rid of that auto paint shops do not let any product with silicon on thier premises, especially Armor All, as it gets everywhere and screws up the paint jobs it contacts. :shock:

in fact, it is keeping it coated so the hair can't receive any moisture at all -- so when you wash with a clarifying shampoo like neutrogena, your head looks like the business end of a broom. Whereas if you don't use products with silicones, your hair will find its own equilibrium and will begin to shine and behave on its own.

Yup, that's exactly what I was talking about.

I've cut it all back off, though, it's just so much easier. Back to my default short hair.

I'll cut mine when I get my graduate degree, when I have to interview for a real job. :laugh:

Cheers!

-Halla
 

miss fortune

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I really don't think I could get away with the whole shampoo thing just from the starting process alone! I have really fine hair (my stylist compared it to cat's hair :doh:) which starts to look rather grungy after one day sans washing... on top of that it's rather dry and color treated, so I use super moisturizing shampoo that's color safe. :D

I can't see the whole going shampoo free thing working with my hair (for one thing I'd have to restart every month or so whenever the hair gets colored! :horor:) Though if it works for someone else, good for them! :yes:
 

cafe

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I'm trying the baking soda/apple cider vinegar thing again. I have psoriasis that gets extra-aggravated by SLS and only slightly less so from the shampoos that are SLS-free, natural, organic, etc.

I've marked two weeks on my calendar (2/9/10) to see if there is any kind of marked improvement and am trying to uses a boar bristle brush frequently to redistribute the natural oils. So far my scalp does seem less irritated and my hair is just a bit oilier than usual -- I clean it every few days like I did before.

If I can remember, I'll post an update with my results when the two weeks are up.
 

Tiltyred

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Seriously? That stuff takes the hide right off of me. I can't imagine what it would do to hair! I use it to clean the kitchen with.

Have you used it on your hair?
 

dnivera

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It's meant to be used as a body cleanser. (Not just Dr. Bronner's, but castille soap in general.) It works wonders for me as shampoo. I have fine hair that tends to get oily after a day or two, so I only wash every other day. So far it's kept my hair balanced and kept it from getting oily, in contrast to SLS/detergent-based shampoos that strip my scalp of oils and stimulate oil overproduction.

I highly recommend it as a replacement for detergent-based commercial soaps and shampoos.
 

cafe

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My two week experiment is at an end. I'm satisfied with the baking soda/apple cider vinegar routine.

My hair feels and looks about the same as it does when I use shampoo and my skin is not cured, but a bit improved.

The process I've been using is to wet my hair and scrub my scalp with baking soda, then rinse the baking soda out with water, rinse with diluted ACV, then rinse again with water.

My hair is fine and color-treated with average oiliness and I need to 'wash' it every two or three days to keep it looking clean with this method. Not unreasonable.

It is as good or better than the SLS shampoos and a very great deal cheaper.
 

runvardh

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I don't use shampoo often but I do rinse my hair pretty well in the morning. It's about all I can do to keep it from being an embarassment without spending my money on all kinds of conditioners and other hair crap. I only wash before I'm going to cut it and I have yet to run into the problems of feeling oily (I'm a guy though...).
 

Ivy

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Just checking in here- I bought a bottle of WEN and I LOVE IT. They should call it WIN!

I used Dr. Bronner's on my hair for a month or so last year and it was awful. I could have made dreads by the end of it. It was SUCH a relief to finally wash it for real. I still use Bronner's for pretty much everything else (the almond is quite gentle IMO) but I can't wash my hair with it. It seems to work fine on my kids' hair, though.
 

Aquarelle

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The thing is that you're trying to keep 'cones out of your hair. The theory is that silicones, dimethicones, and all the other stuff in shampoo and conditioner that makes your hair so shiny and silky is actually not nourishing your hair at all; in fact, it is keeping it coated so the hair can't receive any moisture at all -- so when you wash with a clarifying shampoo like neutrogena, your head looks like the business end of a broom.

:laugh: Hahah that made me laugh. :) Having very straight and fine hair, I don't have that problem, but if I could reduce the number of times a week I shampoo, I think it would be good for my hair - my ends get very dry and prone to split ends, and I don't like cutting my hair more than I absolutely have to. The scalp area gets very oily, though, so I feel like I need to shampoo every day. Meh.
 

prplchknz

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I don't know, I use generic shampoo and probably wash once or twice a week. and my hair does fine.
 

Synapse

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normal%20shampoo%20and%20conditioner.png

This is the shampoo that I wash my hair with.

Some shampoos like anti dandruff burned my scalp when I had dandruff. And other shampoos did as well with extra additives, the current shampoo doesn't react with my scalp.
 

poppy

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To those of you who have gone shampoo free -

How long did it take for your scalp/hair to adjust?

Did you feel it made your hair look better ultimately?

I made it a week and then had to cave. Is there a way to just less and less frequently use it and your scalp will adjust better? I have wavy hair and a scalp that tends to be dry, so I figured I would like to avoid overstripping my hair. I can't stand the adjustment period though! Ideas?

Ah yeah, I highly recommend weaning yourself off of it over the course of a few weeks. And I had to rinse my hair super super thoroughly every single day I didn't use shampoo (like, really get in there and scrub with your fingers). My hair behaved quite well after about 2 weeks, very soft, no itchy scalp.

But after a couple of months of no shampoo I switched back. My hair started to get kinda gross.
 

ScorpioINTP

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I didn't read the thread, but I just read something online a few days ago, that the whole washing your hair too much or using hair spray damages your hair is a myth FWIW. Blow drying might be a different story though. My hair gets nasty if I go a day without washing.
 

poppy

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Washing your hair too much probably doesn't really damage it. Some of the ingredients in most shampoos do irritate the scalp though.

A lot of people probably never have any issue with it, but if I wash my hair too much my scalp itches like crazy. And gets oily way faster. It is as gross as you would imagine.
 
F

figsfiggyfigs

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I've started doing that no shampoo thing as well, My hair is naturally not very oily, so thats great but it was always so dry and I had a lot of hair falling out.

I use conditioner to wash my hair out, its as good as shampoo. My hair feels strong, hella shiny, and is VERY healthy compared to before.
 

iwakar

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Hey, fidelia--you can get WEN products through their site (but they'll set up auto-delivery). You can also order them through QVC. I like the sweet almond mint kind. It's called WEN by Chaz Dean.

Tilty--I've just spent the last two days reading the Naturally Curly forums, thanks to you! I'm going to try doing their curl methods on my wavy hair.

I think I'm gonna give WEN a try. I like Philip B (I got it as a gift for Christmas and it's like lathery caramel for your hair, mmmm), but good grief it's expensive Charlie Brown.
 

Tallulah

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I think I'm gonna give WEN a try. I like Philip B (I got it as a gift for Christmas and it's like lathery caramel for your hair, mmmm), but good grief it's expensive Charlie Brown.

I'm still using WEN. I love it--my hair really doesn't do as well with anything else. I keep hoping they'll strike a deal to be carried at Wal-Mart and the price will go down a bit. No such luck yet. :(
 
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