Water Only for 3 Months. Will it change?

[HopeK]

Hi,

My whole family hasn’t used shampoo in 2019. However, for the first month we did use BS and ACV, but after we realized that those can be rough on your hair we quit everything. Now I brush my hair everyday for at least 20 min and wash with water once a week. I tried going 2 weeks without even water ( I still washed my body, don’t worry!) my idea with that was to try to really tell my body it didn’t need to produce more oil. I actually hate washing it as it stays gluey for 4 days after. I’m an athletic person and am constantly getting sweaty. I even tried letting the wind dry out the sweat and oil. After being in the wind for 20 min it did feel softer, but I don’t know if that means anything. Anyway, I’m wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and if it helps to wash more, say like twice a week, and to brush more, if that would help? I’m starting to doubt that the switch will come, even though I know that it has to. I’m actually not super discouraged, cause when I was washing with Shampoo I got oily within a day, and my hair was super thin. Now it’s still greasy but at least it’s got volume and strength!

[Hollow]

By gluey do you mean like a waxy feeling? (left over sebum buildup or something, from partial washing/water only washing can do). That build up tends to need a clarifier to help (diluted ACV). I was water only but eventually folded to get rid of the waxy feeling by using that about 1-3 times a month.

But eventually I needed a bit more help so I use dry shampoo (corn starch). I use only on the scalp (my hair is curly but straight is waist length). I dust in (as much needed), brush out and then clean the brush (BBB). It pretty much fully solved my hair balancing act.

This dry shampoo not only takes excess oil without out harshly stripping but you brush away dirt with it. I bathe daily but only wet/water only or rare ACV treat my hair once every 1-2 weeks. If you want a less harsh answer to ACV; try witch hazel. If I feel my scalp seems ph unbalanced this helps and it doesn’t over strip oils but does help with excess oils. I use witch hazel and water wash my face instead of soap/other cleansing products and easily go past the hair line if it was a bit of a sweatier day.

Hope this helps or at least gets you started on ideas on what can work for you.

[HopeK]

Hi,

Thank you very much for the info. May I ask how long you’ve been doing this? Will this be a lifelong process or are you still looking for that ‘magical’ day when the hair will just regulate itself (like on an animal). Because as it stands I still would not want to wear my hair down in public. The first 6in of my hair looks wet all the time and is slightly waxy or stiff. All the children here who are no poo from ages 9 and under, have perfectly regulated hair (silky and clean). Also, if you don’t mind me asking, how do you style your hair? Like after a wash can you wear it down for a few days? I also have really straight thin hair and I can only wear it in a bun, or tight ponytail. Curly hair might hide it better though.

Thanks again,
Hope and family

[Hollow]

How long and first month experiences

First off when I started no poo, I was already a 1-2 shampoo wash a week person so transition was pretty quick for me (about a month). But I am just over 6 months now no poo.

Consider reading this post: My 1 month success, experiences and observations
and mine: Frizz/Flyaways still? and Oops an oil treatment gone wrong!
Both have some trial and errors and our beginners’ 1st month’s experiences and that we both think dry shampoo is what works for us.

Kids and no poo

Our family has a few members doing a no poo to rare shampooers. My youngest cousin is like age 5 never shampooed, my niece just over 1, same - both clean soft lovely hair. I think we get in a bad way washing wise just before and at puberty - its like we are trying to wash it away because hormones are (or can be) hell transitional period. That or paranoid parents and possibility of lice in school. Then after hormones and school is done, we are dependent on shampoo and going no poo means a transition period.

Thin/Straight vs. Curly

Yes, I think straight thin hair has a harder time compared to curly. Before I went no poo when I straightened my hair I noticed my hair always oilier faster (which I would use dry shampoo before I even heard of no poo). I think that is why people tend to find different ways they do no poo.

Now I hear some people do a shampoo after 3-6 months, it doesn’t (apparently) reset to the transitional period but gives a good wash that WO or BS/ACV can’t do. I also see some people just go no sulfates shampoo - if you don’t want to go cold turkey, I think that is an option. But dry shampoo I think is still best option you can do the aerosol dry shampoo, or baby power, or corn starch, etc. Because you can choose where you want it and doesn’t seem to mess with anything.

Styling:

After a WO wash, my hair looks meh but I put either no product in or just some Moroccan oil on damp hair (but not the roots) and put it up damp and sleep on it in that loose bun. But the next day I do a brush and quick straightening to pull the oils down further then sleep with it in a loose bun and by day 3 I love my hair again. By day 4-5 I might have to do a dry shampoo dusting but I just do it when it looks too oily so truly varies.

While transitioning I used my watuko multifuction headgear (https://www.watukoheadgear.com/) more often; its bamboo, easy to clean and has multiple ways to wear.

But now generally I have my hair either loose bun (or rarely loose braid) or just take it out of that bun and smooth away with some Moroccan oil and/or cocoa butter. I do play/preen my hair when it’s down I don’t know if it’s cause is so soft now, habit from the scritching and preening or a nervous habit cause I am not use to my hair down without buckets of product (or all of the above).

I hope this isn’t overload of info, I just didn’t have much help when I was first starting so I researched and ‘trial and error’d’ like mad. So want to be as helpful as I can

[HopeK]

Thanks for all the info. I was reading around on the forum and I think I will try the dry shampoo, cornstarch or something. It seems that you don’t have the insane amounts of grease that my hair seems to produce, though. I was reading another lady who did have really greasy hair and she said that she did it for 2.5 and it was only in the last 6 months that she had begun to regulate. She stressed only using cold water(so you don’t strip at all) with a filter and continuing to brush a lot. My dilemma right now is that I think it is a waiting game. I produce so much oil I’m not sure that even adding dry shampoo could combat it. I will try though, as I do see my horses constantly rolling in the dirt and their hair is superb!

I saw the picture of your hair on the other post, it looks like it’s doing well. I like the natural color more too! I’ll post some pictures here so you can see the terrible state my hair is in, lol. I don’t add any oil to my hair but as it is so long, I can’t brush the oil all the way to the ends, and after a shower, the ends are very dry so I rub in a little jojoba oil. These pictures are a week after a WO wash (not that it is really any different right after the wash).

[Hollow]

I can see everyone has different transition times. In fact I think that is why some people stop no poo straight and/or thin hair just easier to go back to shampooing.

Before you went no poo, did you pretty much have to shampoo daily? But if you use to shampoo daily, you may have to dry shampoo daily till your hair settles.

Actually, I don’t think your hair is terrible, I get that it is’t still not ideal but I don’t think crazy oily but probably flatter and maybe stringier than you’d probably like.

But I noticed my hair did flatten and go stringier going no poo, and I didn’t mind it being flatter tips to mid length but I did not like the flat scalp. And it was making me go mad! Dry shampoo did take the flat stringy look away without going frizzy, it even adds a nice amount of lift/volume. And almost instantly I felt I got my hair-sanity back

Yeah, that was a teenage old hair shot, when my hair was almost every colour Then I grew up and realized I liked my natural hair colour

I had a hard time oil pulling too (it’s like I can only pull so far), rest is adding hair oils or moisturizing product. But that is why I do a quick straighten it pulls the oils even further but heat isn’t exactly ideal trade off from shampoo, I gather for some. But in my case 5 mins of heat 2-3 times a month isn’t bad.

I did a jojoba oil/bees wax balm for my tips for a while, I did switch to a (Palmer’s) cocoa butter with vitamin e formula for skin (but I don’t care I like it for my hair anyways). And sometimes I reapply probably more than I should, however, I haven’t had a trim for 3 years (going to soon). But this has a hint of chocolate/vanilla so when I do hair smell check I smell a hair/sweet scent but I really have to put my face in my hair to smell any of it.

Feel free to keep updating your progress (pics too), I look forward to seeing this work out for you

[joyljoy]

I say yes to your question and hope you will see it through to your own success and share because mine has yet to be sweaty hot weather tested. Regarding your stuck place, there are so many factors: hard or soft water, porous or non hair, etc. I do suggest you water wash more often. I personally do twice a week now that I am past the detox and would do every other day if time permitts. If I go longer I have more work to do to correct. And my secret weapon is brushes. I have 2 paddle style mostly BB with a taller synthetic bristle per tuft (not the pin style which has the little ball on the end - much easier to clean without) which is wonderful to brush out dry hair and get down the road. Because I have 2, I always have a clean dry one. I also have a smaller Conair almost 100% BBB - so soft it won’t go down through my hair if I just need to get gone. However, it is perfect for preening small sections of hair focusing on the scalp and so gentle. So gentle in fact I still think it isn’t doing a thing for all the effort until I see the results. I can move oil/sebum down the hair with the others but they won’t quite move it off the scalp like the Conair will even after scritching. My routine takes about a half hour. 1- Scritch, 2- Preen small sections with the Conair, 3- Water wash thoroughly massaging the scalp 4- After gently twisting my hair in a towel to remove excess water, I style it with a round brush because I need some volumn - small sections at a time using low speed and distancing the heat from my hair until it is thoroughly dry 5- Brush with a paddle brush until the brush has picked up the waxiness in it’s bristles. You can see it. When I think I can’t get any more off the hair I wash the brush and my hands. Even though I have dried my hair with a blow dryer it will feel different a few hours later. The last thing I do is brush w a clean dry paddle brush again before bed. If I have done due diligence the clean brush will pick up veeeery little more - for a couple of days. My hair has begun to feel soft and managable and I’m getting comments about how good it looks. One additional thought: I googled things you don’t want in your shampoo, hair products, etc and found many ingredients to avoid beyond just sulphates. After the investment of time/energy, trial/error/startovers no way would I use a commercial dry shampoo loaded with chemicals. Arrowroot is natural and works. One site suggested adding cocoa to it if your hair is dark but had other recs for other colors. My next experiment will be with a rye floor poo. Google that !

[HopeK]

Thanks for all ideas. So last Sat I washed with warm to cold water, and it was way better. When I squeezed out the water with my hands my hands stuck to my hair, like it was sticky, but it didn’t have that heavy glue. So colder water is better, for me anyway.

Yes, before I was at the point where I needed to shower every other day or every day. It didn’t ever occur to me that you could not use shampoo. It insane how much our instant culture gets into you head and you believe anything the greedy people at the top tell you. Even now, it bothers me sometime how long it takes, to sit there and care properly for your hair, I also have 4 younger sisters all with long hair too so there’s a lot of brushing going on!

So after my shower I slept with it all wild. The next morning I put a bunch of powder in (cocoa mixed with cornstarch, my mom only used cornstarch and she aged 10 years, lol.) After I tried brushing out as much as I could. All in all, way better. I could wear it down for the first time in like 2 months. It did look a bit powdery and dull, but had great volume. Here’s what it looked like, I don’t have a back shot but the crown didn’t look greasy either. https://imgur.com/a/jQNHvBl

I’m interested to see how long it lasts, today it’s still great. Though, it is still dull, but I’m hoping that as I keep brushing out the powder that the oil comes through? I’m not sure how the shine will even out. I even played a soccer game with my family and friends and got super sweaty but after I aired it out it dried good!
Also, I think I will keep up with my water washes now, as I do understand that you have to keep removing the oil, or trying to. I need to look into brushes that are easier to clean. I have a BBB that a like but since my hair is so long, I do need something stiffer to get the tangles out.

About the rye flour… I have tried it before. It certainly cleaned my hair (make sure you sieve out the bran else you pillow will be full), but I found it made it super dry and then my hair retaliated badly with buckets of oil. Maybe I used too much.?.. Also, I didn’t enjoy the process of making a cake in you hair in the shower,lol, but, hey, it does clean. It might work good for you! I just found it a bit too much all around.

[Hollow]

Try less of your dry shampoo and build on it, till enough oil is gone without getting dull (yeah it’s a bit balancing act). But next day shouldn’t be as dull as day 1 dry shampoo (brushing should help too). But I am about 2 months dry shampooing with WO washing, so I am having less and less issues cause I am more use to working with it.

OMG! your hair looks way improved, that is how went from your before pics to this pic, practically night and day differences.

I have some (100) grey hairs, so yes, dry shampoo (corn starch) made them more obvious (and I had been planning of getting cocoa power to off set but I keep forgetting to buy). So I know how your mom could feel about that!

As for a BBB companion I have been thinking a wooden or bamboo wide tooth comb but I haven’t seen one I like yet. Just seems natural vs plastic/metals would be better with hair. Let us know what you use/what works for you with your BBB.

[HopeK]

Yeah, I’m going to keep trying to add less. My goal will still be no products but to keep my sanity I’ll stay smelling like cocoa for a bit. Everyone here says that cocoa should be a great smell, but since we recently went sugar free in our diet, we don’t really eat cake anymore, so it’s just annoyingly tempting. Not that I want to eat my hair, of course.

I tried using wooden combs. I decided I didn’t like them… It just takes too long, and I found they pulled out more hair, but maybe you could just see it more. You have to go through small sections at a time and since my hair is so long once I get a bit done and then came back it was naughty again, especially with oily hair. That was just my experience though.

I think its a good process in general though, just going off shampoo. It’s kinda an example of everything we do. For so many years you don’t deal with something and just follow what the world says. It’s hard to slow down and get connected again. I think it should be that way with all break down in life, we have to slow down and deal with the problems. We just have too much now, and it hasn’t helped.

I did go a little off course… Anyway, I’ll keep updating our hair changes, as they come, which I hope they do.

[Hollow]

Finally, I got the cocoa powder and already loving the cornstarch/cocoa powder combo, I was scared my pillow case would suffer but so far no problems but it was advised on one site to wait 2 hours before bed (or something along those lines) and since I do all dry shampoo (or touch ups) during the day it is no issue.

I want minimal products as end goal but I don’t mind some because my thing was hair improvement paying less than I was before. And less chemicals the better. I also am trying coconut oil, my head smells like mega dessert on day 1 but I like it

Yeah, I am going through a process lots of little things and changes too. Started with stop using soap/cleansers to wash my face. I am water washing with occasional witch hazel, and moisturizing (rarely) with natural products. Then this no poo. I also have a few non beauty things I am going away from or the past several years: I make my dog’s food, I eat meat once or less a week, only eat at fast food places 0-2 times a year, only drink like 3-5 times a year, etc. But sugar is my kryptonite lol, so good job! I probably couldn’t do it

[Kelly]

Thank you for this thorough breakdown! I see you use Arrowroot as a dry shampoo. Is it better than cornstarch? I have bee WO for a couple years with trial and error. I used eucalyptus oil drops with water in a water bottle and spritzed. My hair looked amazing. I realize I sometimes need a dry shampoo (easier than waiting for the hair to dry from the eucalyptus/water combo and less expensive.) I have heard of using cornstarch and then saw your Arrowroot recommendation. Have you tried both?