I have gone no poo over the last few months and thought I would share some things I have learned.
MY HAIR TYPE
My hair is fine and I don’t have a “lot” of hair (as opposed to my sister who has fine hair but very dense!). At the moment my hair is short but I have had it long in the past (before no poo).
BEFORE
When I was using shampoo and conditioner my hair always needed washing daily, on the second day it was just passable in the morning but by the end of the day it was always really greasy.
AFTER
After successfully transitioning to no poo, my hair is soft and I no longer have dry flyaway ends and greasy roots. I wash it in just hot water every few days. My hair does not smell bad, it just smells like skin.
THINGS TO UNDERSTAND
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Shampoo removes the hair’s natural oils, even if you use a gentle or non-SLS shampoo.
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Conditioner often contains silicone which coats your hair with a layer that your hair’s natural oils cannot penetrate.
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Bicarbonate of Soda is alkali and any kind of vinegar is acid. These will interfere with your
hair’s natural pH balance. -
Every part of your body has evolved to thrive with a colony of helpful bacteria on it. These actually form part of your immune system and help keep bad bacteria away. Washing these away with shampoo or killing these bacteria (e.g. with tea tree or a course of antibiotics) will lead to the chance that you’ll get only the bad bacteria colonising your skin or scalp (these can make the bad smell that you may fear from not washing).
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You pretty much have to be committed to letting your hair be in its natural (normally beautiful) state. Using styling products will lead to you having to wash your hair. Salt spray will wash out with water though! Your hair will probably not need styling products as the natural oils will condition and style it wonderfully!
HOW WILL THIS AFFECT MY TRANSITION?
All of these things will contribute to the experience you have transitioning to no poo.
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Your scalp may be overproducing oil while you are using shampoo and need time to adjust.
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If you don’t wash off the silicon with a strong detergent (perhaps washing up liquid) you may find your hair seems greasy in the first stages.
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If you use Bicarb (alkali) and vinegar (acid) you may make the scalp less friendly to the good bacteria you want to encourage. Chemically, you may also damage the structure of the hair (in fact hair dyes deliberately damage the hair by using acids and alkalis to allow the colour to penetrate the hair).
HOW CAN I MAKE THE TRANSITION?
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Wash your hair with a strong detergent to remove silicone.
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Comb it gently, it will be at its most vulnerable now as it has no natural oil or artificial conditioners on it.
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Let your hair dry naturally.
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When you start to get some oils at the roots of your hair, use a natural bristle brush to gently brush these down the hair root.
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Repeat the brushing no more than twice a day, make sure you wash the brush with gentle detergent daily and let it dry naturally.
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Wait as long as you like before washing. When your hair seems too oily, wash your hair with water as hot as you can stand (this is not to kill bacteria, any water hot enough to do that would also burn you, instead this is to soften the oil in your hair and help to wash away any dirt). Rub your scalp thoroughly with your fingers.
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Straight away blot your hair thoroughly with a large towel, using a fresh bit of towel each time, this will help to remove excess oils while they are hot and most liquid. Then comb your hair with a clean comb.
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Over the coming days and weeks continue to wash your hair like this whenever you feel the need (no more than once daily) and pay attention to what your hair and body is telling you.
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You may not find that you need to use the bristle brush over time as your hair reaches a steady state.
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You can style your hair with a home made salt spray. I use Wellness Mama’s recipe at half strength.
NOTE! Bear in mind that you will need to accustom yourself to the feel of natural oils on your hair. It may feel sticky, waxy, oily or greasy. Try to be open minded and come to view this as normal, not the abnormal squeakiness of shampooed hair or sliminess of conditioner.
MISTAKES I MADE
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Washing my hair with soap. It was fine for a while but I got a soap scum residue in my hair eventually which was so horrible and was very hard to get rid of.
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Not clarifying my hair before going no poo. It took a long time for the silicone from my conditioner to wear off so my hair could absorb the oil from my scalp. This led to greasy hair while transitioning as the oil sat on top of the hair shaft and didn’t sink in.