Life Without Shampoo: My “No Poo” Experience

What is it like to not wash your hair without shampoo, also called the “no poo” method? There are no poo people who only wash their hair with water, like I do, and people who use all kinds of natural ingredients like apple cider vinegar, flour and eggs. The last time I used shampoo for my hair was in September 2017. That means I’ve washed my hair with only water for about one year and eight months. So far, my no poo life has been great, and there’s also been surprising changes in my hair and scalp. To put it shortly, I have no desire to go back to using shampoo.

Before no poo

I’ve always liked to be rather natural when it comes to food, cosmetics, clothing and life in general. When I was a teenager and saw all the other girls starting to use plenty of products for their skin and hair, I felt the urge to do the same to feel nice and feminine, but at the same time I knew I didn’t need all those products. If I got pimples, I didn’t try to hide them with foundation cream because I thought they disappeared quicker when I just let them be. However, I used some make-up and basic stuff like deodorant, shampoo and tooth paste.

When I went to university and moved to a bigger city with good natural health stores, I started experimenting with organic shampoos, conditioners and make-up. Slowly, I made the shift to using only organic products. This was actually very easy – the only thing that took some adjusting was giving up “normal” deodorant and starting to use one from a natural health store. I switched my deodorants while I was on sick leave soon after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. It was also Christmas time, so I was just spending time at home, and it didn’t matter that for a couple weeks I had slightly smelly armpits.

Giving up shampoo was just another step towards more natural and ecological lifestyle. Following an ayurvedic diet had been helpful for my digestion, and I knew the traditional ayurvedic recommendation was to wash your hair with only water, which was one reason I was interested in trying it. What gave me the final push though, was the fact that my scalp was constantly itchy. Even my go-to natural shampoo stopped working, and the itchiness was getting bad. I tried using a shampoo bar, also for ecological reasons, and while it made my hair wonderfully fluffy and clean, my scalp became even itchier.

Quitting shampoo

I joined a couple of Facebook groups and read blog posts to learn more about the no poo method. It appeared that many people were using baking soda and apple cider vinegar for washing their hair. I decided to give it a try and again: my hair looked really clean but the soda was making my scalp dry and itchy. People were using many kinds of other ingredients for their hair too: rye flour, egg, clay, oil… I decided not to try any of these but instead go for water only.

Two weeks later, my scalp was no longer itchy. My hair didn’t even look especially greasy in the beginning. By coincidence, I came up with a way to cleanse my hair and scalp if they felt too dirty. I had some neem leaf powder in my cupboard. It was too strong to use internally so I had no use for it. Ayurvedically thinking, neem was supposed to be a good herb for my body type (pitta), as well as coconut oil. One day, I tried washing my hair with some coconut oil and neem leaf powder. First, I spread the coconut oil on my scalp, let it sit for a while, washed my hair, spread some neem leaf powder on my scalp and washed my hair again. And it worked! My hair felt cleaner. I didn’t do this wash often though – only once in two months or so.

The period of greasy hair

Pretty much everyone who starts experimenting with the no poo method, is worried about their hair getting greasy. According to the Facebook and blog posts I’ve read, it seems that most people have a period when their hair does look quite dirty. Luckily, for many people the dirty phase ends eventually as their hair and scalp get used to not being washed with shampoo. This happened to me as well.

The greasy hair phase wasn’t much of a problem for me as I was in hospital and on sick leave at home during it. I had started no poo life at the end of September, and early in November I had an ostomy reversal surgery. I spent about a month in hospital after the operation, and in December I was at home where my family took care of me. As far as I remember, when I started to go out a bit more again in January, my hair was already looking “normal”.

Changes in my hair

Naturally, quitting shampoo has had positive effects on my hair and scalp – otherwise I would’ve started using haircare products again. Here’s a little list of what’s different now than before no poo:

– More curls. I’ve always had slightly wavy hair, but now it’s definitely curlier than before.

– “Waxy” roots. My hair is always a little waxy even if it’s clean. It doesn’t bother me at all and I even find it funny to think about having completely non-waxy roots anymore. Doing my hair is also easier now, as it’s not as slippery as it used to be.

– Thicker hair. My hair is thicker than before I started no poo. However, I don’t know how much effect no poo has had on my hair growth as I lost some hair due to medications three years ago, and started to notice hair growing back about two years ago.

– Different colour (!!). After quitting shampoo, my hair started to grow in a different colour. It’s less yellow and more brownish blond. A hairdresser also pointed this out to me. I wonder if the shampoo I was using before no poo had some ingredient it that made my hair yellowish… I can’t wait for my hair to grow more so that I can cut off all the yellow ends!

– Hairbrush needs cleaning. As I already said, my hair is a little waxy all the time. When I brush my hair, some of that wax (don’t know a better word for describing it) sticks to my hairbrush, so I clean my hairbrush regularly. I used to have a boar bristle brush but lost it during my travels in Ireland, and bought one with wooden spikes instead. I really like the wooden brush!

– Healthy scalp. One of the main reasons I quit shampoo in the first place, was to help my itchy scalp. I’ve had no itchiness since.

– Less static hair. Especially during the cold winter in Finland, people here tend to have quite static hair. My hair doesn’t get very static anymore which is nice.

No poo life today

First and foremost, my no poo life is very easy. When I was travelling in Ireland, it was very convenient to only have a bar of soap in my backpack, to use when shaving my legs etc. No shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers, body scrubs, facial creams… I know our skins are different, but this works for me well.

It’s also cheaper not to have to buy haircare products. And it’s better for the planet, which is important to me. No plastic package waste, or bad stuff from the shampoo ending up in the oceans.

When people hear I only wash my hair with water, they’re usually surprised. Sometimes, they want to know what I do to take care of my hair. The answer is… nothing much really. I wash it approximately in every three days, brush it when it needs brushing, clean my hairbrush regularly, have a haircut when it needs to be cut… The normal stuff. I still do that coconut oil + neem powder wash seldomly. When I will eventually run out of neem powder, I think I’m going to try something else, maybe some Finnish plant powder. I also bought a little bottle of silk powder from a natural health store ages ago (and still have loads of it left). I use silk powder sometimes before I go out or want to do my hair nicely, so that it looks fluffier than normally.

Just a note: I generally enjoy a healthy lifestyle which also affects my hair, scalp and skin. So, it’s not just about no poo. I meditate, spend time outdoors, eat a lot of fresh plant-based foods, and what’s even more important, listen to my body and have some fun too!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post! If you want to share something about your no poo experience or are interested in trying it, please leave a comment below! I’d also love to hear from you on my Instagram and Facebook pages.

With love,

Iiris Linnea