What is good hair? It can be anything to anyone. Good hair is healthy hair, whatever you perceive that to be. — IM
I came up with the idea of not using shampoo for 30 days to observe whether my hair’s health improved.
Shampoo!
Well, for me, shampoo is just a chemical to remove dust from the hair.
The scalp produces natural oil, which can be damaged by using shampoo. After using shampoo, I use a conditioner to restore the shine of the hair. Wow!
After doing the first two steps (hampoo+conditioner), my hair looks pretty fluff.
Fluff, fluffy, please look at the picture below to understand the fluffy part. My cat is super fluffy. That’s what my hair looks like after conditioner.
To give my hair a style, I need to apply a product; else, it would just be fluff all over my head.
So far, I have used three products.
i) Shampoo to reomve the oil from hair
ii) Conditioner to restore the shine and fluff
iii) hair gel, spray, and/or Fiber/pomade to put the oil back
I love to use Fiber by American Crew (amazon affiliate link), which is again based on oil.
Now, did you see that I use the shampoo to remove the protective oil from the scalp, conditioner to put some shine, and again put the oil back on the scalp using another product (pomade/fiber/gel)? Lol
The idea of this 30-day challenge is to get rid of all the parts: shampoo., conditioner, and oil.
Note: This 3-step process is based on my opinion, and it might be different on your skin type. I am telling you what I observed after not using anything for 31 days on my hair except water. Let’s jump on and try to understand why I did this no shampoo challenge.
No shampoo challenge?
I read an article that shampoo might cause harmful chemicals to accumulate on your scalp over time.
As you use a lot of shampoos, your scalp will start doing all kinds of abnormal stuff, producing too much oil; that’s another major reason our scalp is too greasy all the time.
No shampoo is part of my 30-day challenge to build sustainable healthy habits. So far, I have completed 15 30-day challenges, including the no-shampoo experiment, in the past five months. Here is the list of my experiences and learnings if you would like to read them.
How often should you wash your hair?
There is no defined number you should use shampoo or wash your hair per week.
Everyone has a different natural oil production process, which is based on several factors: genes, skin condition, environment, etc.
According to experts, here are the 5 signs you can see if you are washing your hair too much!
a. Excessive washing or shampooing can break your hair easily
Hair is also more fragile when it’s wet, so combing or brushing while it’s wet and aggressive towel-drying can also lead to breakage. Dr. Shah, Dermatologist
b. You are seeing flakes.
A healthy scalp is just as important as healthy hair. It should be free of dirt and oils but also not too dry.
c. More oily hair
You might see your hair is oily. I know it’s counterintuitive. It may cause the scalp to believe that it needs to reproduce the oils, causing the natural scalp oil system to overproduce them.
d. Got frizz
According to the dermatologist, if you see frizzy hair, skipping shampoo can help domesticate frizz.
e. Your hair lost shine or bouncy look
If your hair is lacking luster, it may be the result of over-washing. Dr. Shah
Please consult with your dermatologist before doing this challenge. Everyone has a unique skin.
How big is the shampoo industry?
According to Statista, the global shampoo market is around $100 billion. Here are the biggest shampoo companies: Loreal, P&G, & Unilever.
These multibillion-dollar companies use 3D advertising to convince you that your hair is unclean, oily, and unhealthy to market their products. And the best solution is to get our shampoo.
Surprising facts about dandruff
Research shows that washing your hair each day can cause to get excessive dandruff because excessive shampoo can dry out the scalp.
We all know that the biggest reason to get dandruff is dry skin.
It’s possible you are using excessive shampoo or washing your hair daily and cleaning out all the natural oil from the scalp, which is causing dry skin.
As per my 30+ day challenge, you should not use shampoo every day, and it will resolve so many hair problems. A simple rinse will remove all the dust without using any chemical (shampoo).
I’m not sure where to draw the line between using shampoo and merely rinsing. It’s a delicate balance, and this experiment, I hope, will help you understand your hair’s health.
Here are some bizarre and interesting facts about hair.
Historical hair care facts
- In the early Renaissance era, the hair gel recipe, around 1300, used lizard tallow blended with swallow droppings.
- Women used to condition their hair with dead lizards boiled in olive oil.
- Mona Lisa loved a bit of lizard tallow in her hair.
- In the 1600s, at the time of Queen Elizabeth I, women set their hair with lard. History tells us that women used to sleep with nightcaps because the smell of lard would attract rats in the night.
- Hydrogen peroxide was used to bleach hair back in 1867.
- From 1870-to 1890, Henna was most popular to cover gray hair. It was pretty common in England.
- Until the 1860s, red hair was considered ugly.
- Hair curling using heated tongs or rag rolls was popular in the 19th century.
- Hot tongs were used to make the frizzle bangs in the 1870s.
- Most women often suffered burnt because of poor control of heating a curler over a candle flame.
World’s first commercial shampoo
Not long ago, people did not wash their hair. The shampoo concept appeared back in 1927 (liquid shampoo) invented by Hans Schwarzkopf.
What 30-day no shampoo can do to your hair
- I conclude that self-cleaning hair in this modern world is a myth for my skin type. Just use a good shampoo in moderation. Reasonable shampoo means which is suitable for your skin type and hair. Please consult your dermatologist to find the best product.
- I also learned I don’t need to use shampoo often. I used to shampoo my hair every time while taking a shower which I had 4–5 times a week.
- I noticed that my hair was looking way healthier after 3 weeks without shampoo. My hair became oily quickly when I used shampoo almost every day.
- I noticed that the itchiness had gone, but if I do not take a shower within 48 hours, I notice that my scalp is itchy. I believe it is dust, and it is extremely dependent on my lifestyle (hiking, running, etc.).
- Another fact, I observed no hair smell at all, I mean no fruity, coconut, etc. Just hair!
- Hair does not smell bad as long as you rinse it.
- I also tried the cold shower challenge, and it was really helpful not to use shampoo; I’m not sure if the shampoo or the cold shower helped my hair look more healthy (volume).
The bottom line
If your hair is done properly you can get away. with anything. — Iris Apfel
The final verdict is everything is cool in moderation. I need to use shampoo to get rid of the extra oil from the scalp.
I do not care if you use shampoo daily or not at all. All I’m saying is, please do not buy the product based on 3D commercials. Companies are doing nothing but selling the product and making more profit. Here are a couple of things you can consider to improve your hair health.
- Visit your dermatologist to find the best product for your hair.
- After not using shampoo for more than 30 days, my hair became more greasy. I believe it depends on the lifestyle. My lifestyle is pretty active and that could be one of the reasons.
- I learned that I could use shampoo at max once per week to have healthy shining hair.
Our desire to look good in society also makes us use more skin products. In the end, cleanliness is very personal; it’s your duty to decide what it means to you instead of following the commercial trap.
Thank you for reading; follow me, and clap a couple of times!
