My journey to a healthy and clean hair was not simple, but after experimenting with numerous methods, I have finally found a solution.
I have never liked my hair. For as long as I can remember, I have constantly found myself changing its length, color, texture and the various products I use. This constant abuse really began to catch up with me by making my hair unbearably dry. Finally, it was at the point where it was almost impossible to brush, so I cut 10 inches off and hoped that it would become healthy again. When that didn’t work, I decided I needed to take drastic measures and try a new method to repair my dull hair. That is when I began researching to find the perfect solution: completely ending my use of shampoo.
Shampoo has many cleaning agents in it, such as sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), which is a sulfate that rids your hair of dandruff and dirt. However, it is also known to dry out your scalp and strip your hair of its natural oils that keep it healthy and shiny.
Although shampoo is a cleaning solvent, it essentially strips your hair of its natural oil, and when you condition, the conditioner replenishes the oils. Usually, our trusted hairdressers tell us to only shampoo three to four times a week. Even celebrities, such as Adele and Kim Kardashian have joined the many people who never shampoo.
After learning all of this, I decided to give going shampoo-less a try! The day I got back to school, I decided to throw my Moroccan Oil shampoo away and began only using conditioner when I showered.
About five days later, I noticed that even though I was showering, the grease at the top of my scalp would not go away. This was an increasing problem because sometimes it would be extremely noticeable no matter how much I tried to hide it. It got really awkward when I was going out, and it made me feel especially uncomfortable when I had to participate in sorority recruitment. However, after about 3 weeks my hair started getting used to the change, and it stopped getting as greasy between showers.
Previous to my shampoo experiment, I had never had dandruff, but when I stopped shampooing, I would see it and feel it building up in my hair. I probably had to shower twice a day to keep it from getting too unbearably greasy for me not to look socially acceptable to leave my house.
Eight weeks in, I went home to go to a sweet sixteen, and my honest, Italian mother told me that I had to do something to make my hair less greasy, or she was forcing me to shampoo it. With that incentive, I furiously searched Google and found that washing with baking soda and vinegar is a great alternative to shampoo. Since the idea of my hair smelling like vinegar nauseated me, I just tried using a ton of baking soda as shampoo and scrubbed it in my scalp. After that, my hair was super voluminous, and the grease was basically gone.
When it got to week 13, my friends were begging me to start shampooing again, so I caved. I was finally able to see the impact that going shampoo-less had on my hair. I saw that my hair had grown at least three inches since I came back to school, and it was way more silky and smooth than it has been in years. I could literally run my fingers through my hair for hours because I became obsessed with the new texture.
I’ve used tons of different brands of shampoos, conditioners, hair masks and oil treatments. However, going shampoo-free is one of the best things that has happened to my hair, and everyone needs to give it a try.