Health Issues Do we need shampoo?

[RabbitLuvr]

My scalp is really oily, and I have short hair that is both fine and thin. Not shampooing just doesn't work for me. I guess technically I don't NEED to shampoo, but my hair would be a limp, oily, smelly mess. (I've tried it.) My scalp also gets super itchy if I don't wash it every day.

However, if not shampooing is working for you, you should stick with it.

 

[Muggle]

I wash mine at least every other day (depends if I have time to dry it as it takes 3+ hours naturally or half an hour with a hair dryer) but when I've been at work it gets done everyday because getting dog poo in my hair is an occupational hazard

I used to be able to do it once or twice a week but that had to stop when I started working at the kennels so my scalp can't cope with more than 2 days now.

 

[Forster]

I wash mine at least every other day (depends if I have time to dry it as it takes 3+ hours naturally or half an hour with a hair dryer)

Good gawd... how much hair do you have?

 

[Muggle]

Good gawd... how much hair do you have?

It's really thick and it goes down to just below my boobs. OK, it's not 30 minutes of constant blow drying because I can't deal with the heat for that long. It takes me 30 minutes because I have to stop every 5 minutes or so for a bit of a break. (Actually, most of the time some of it is still damp because I give up after about 15 to 20 minutes. Takes the full half an hour to get all of it completely dry. )

 

[Forster]

It's really thick and it goes down to just below my boobs. OK, it's not 30 minutes of constant blow drying because I can't deal with the heat for that long. It takes me 30 minutes because I have to stop every 5 minutes or so for a bit of a break. (Actually, most of the time some of it is still damp because I give up after about 15 to 20 minutes. Takes the full half an hour to get all of it completely dry. )

heh, one of the small consolations of being bald and having short hair. Towel dry and I'm done.

 

[thefadedone]

It's really thick and it goes down to just below my boobs. OK, it's not 30 minutes of constant blow drying because I can't deal with the heat for that long. It takes me 30 minutes because I have to stop every 5 minutes or so for a bit of a break. (Actually, most of the time some of it is still damp because I give up after about 15 to 20 minutes. Takes the full half an hour to get all of it completely dry. )

Sounds similar to my routine, especially in the summer or if I'm blow drying my hair in a room with little ventilation. Takes me forever.

I think some people can go days, weeks, etc. without getting stinky hair, but I also think that a big majority of people just don't notice that their hair stinks. Like people with BO or people who wear way too much perfume or even smokers. They may not be able to smell themselves the way everyone else does.

 

[LuvOurMother]

I haven't used shampoo in years, my hair has grown longer, stronger and thicker than it ever was when I used shampoo.
I have olive skin so do get more oil production, but that actually helps keep my hair from being brittle. The key is to distribute the oils from the scalp to the rest of the hair, a wooden comb is best for this.
I also exercise and have sweaty, dirty chores in the garden. Rinsing in hot water followed by diluted vinegar works well for me.
I also use baking soda on my scalp every 10 days or so. All I do is sprinkle some on my scalp when my hair is dry, then work it around when I get in the shower. Followed by an apple cider vinegar rinse. Hair feels so soft after.

 

[KLS52]

*bump*

I would love to try not shampooing but I don’t think I could do it. Probably out of habit I suppose. I do try to wash less frequently...say, every 3 days or so. I should add, rarely do I do strenuous activity where I sweat. Sometimes I will try just wetting my hair, in between shampoos, when I shower. That doesn’t work very well. I’m guessing because I use products in my hair to control the wild curls. Maybe it works better for people who have easy to manage hair.

Also, my scalp gets really itchy if I go too long between shampoos. Drives me crazy.

 

[Chryssie]

I have read articles about this subject but I wouldn't do it myself. My hair has become much drier in my "old age" so I wash it only 2 or 3 times a week because shampoo does strip the natural oils. I don't sweat that much either, though sometimes in Florida you don't even need to be moving to "work up a sweat". Oh and I only use crueltry free products. I also need a conditioner to get the tangles out because my hair is very fine and tangles like crazy!

 

[shyvas]

It would be impossible not to shampoo my hair and scalp. My hair looks awful it I don't wash it every 6 days. However, I do use sulfite free products.

 

[silva]

I did the baking soda/vinegar thing for about 2 years, years ago. It was soon after going vegan, and before menopause. It took months to normalize, I had shouldar length hair, and would wear a headband with it in a bun while it transitioned, it would look greasy. After a month or so, it changed, and the the puffy frizzy top layer was no longer so puffy, it really looked nice, just wavy, not like Roseanna Danna! I kept a bottle of diluted soda water, and one of diluted vinegar and used them weekly.
Then things changed. I started smelling it, no one I asked said my hair smelled, but it drove me mad! I HATE that hair oil smell, and I consistently smelled it. Sometimes I think I hallucenate smells, I don't know.
I now buy sulfite free Salon Selectives from Dollar Tree.
I still use henna, only when my hair grows out over 2 inches cause I can't stand that smell either.
Now I'm debating going to get it cut, or doing it myself. My hair dos what my hair wants to do.

 

[Mischief]

I couldn't go shampoo free. For instance, there would be no way I would feel clean after mucking out the fowl house, with all the cobwebs and dust (much of it consisting of dried chicken and duck poo) that lands on my head, if I didn't use soap of some kind.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

I did once a week shampoo for a while, then I have been doing one a month with an extra one when needed. Before I used to do it daily. What happens is the hair produces extra grease to counteract you washing out the grease, this giving the false impression you need to wash with shampoo every day or two. once you stop using shampoo, your hair starts getting greasy much slower.

But it takes time for many people. So that's why I decided to do once a week for a while before going to fortnightly/monthly.

Now I find after a month my hair is about as greasy as it was before after 2 days. Once a month works fine when my hair is short. When it's long, maybe twice a month.

- I saw this video about this topic today.

I still wash with water on a daily basis.