I was intrigued when I read about The Six Week Challenge on The Lost Globe. Living without shampoo, and nevertheless having great-looking hair? I just couldn’t believe it, but I wanted to know more.
I started researching the Internet. I read The No Shampoo Challenge. I read the article by Matthew Perris that seemingly started all of this. I read Why I’ve given up washing my hair by BBC presenter Andrew Marr. I read Shampoo is not the only thing I’ve given up by The Guardian’s Michael White. I read a lot on MotownGirl.com (a great site, btw!). I read Could you survive without shampoo; Daily Mail’s follow-up on Andrew Marr’s article.
The concept is simple. Shampoo dries out the hair and the scalp, and as a result the scalp boosts its grease production to compensate for the oils lost. Stop shampooing, and the scalp will balance itself and the result is shiny, healthy, natural, beautiful hair.
It seems to be working best on dry, curly, frizz-prone hair. Frizz in itself is a sign of dry hair – the hair does not have enough moisture, so it takes up the moisture in the air. If you saturate your hair with moisture, there’s no room for more moisture and then you have less frizz.
My hair is all that. Dry, curly (ok, more wavy than curly but play with me here), frizz-prone. My scalp is very sensitive, and there are many shampoos that I can’t use because they make my scalp itch like crazy. I tend to get hair that’s greasy near the scalp and very dry and brittle at the ends, which is only logical as my scalp overcompensates for the dryness.
 I am also curious by nature, and would love to try the method….
…. but people, I am a professional hairdresser. Wouldn’t it kind of undermine my credibility if I didn’t shampoo my hair? Part of my salary comes from sales commission: For every bottle of shampoo or other hair products I sell, I get a percentage of the price. People trust me to recommend suitable products for them. I spend a lot of time reading on bottles, trying new products, evaluating effects…
I’m torn. Part of me finds the no-poo routine to be logical and wants to try it, and part of me can’t imagine going more than two days without washing my hair. I *love* the feeling of just-washed hair.
MotownGirl’s method sounds best: Wash with conditioner, not shampoo. I would still get that nice smell, the hair would get extra moisture and care, AND it is only logical: Grease dissolves grease. Conditioner has oils in it, which (if my chemistry teacher was right) would help get rid of grease build-up.
I was raised under the device don’t discard it until you’ve tried it. I’m tempted, but… oh, I don’t know.
Have you tried it? Would you consider trying it?
I’ve apparently been trying this for a while without even knowing. My hair is wavy and frizz-prone and my scalp sensitive (all of these things became exacerbated in southern Italy), but I find that if I wash it less frequently, all those bad things are lessened–by Day 3 of no shampoo, my hair looks fabulous (or as fabulous as it’s going to look anyway). Of course at the end of Day 4 or so, I just feel that my hair looks too greasy, so I wash.
I’d try it if I were you, at least washing less frequently–no reason you still can’t recommend shampoos and products to other people on the basis of what is right for their hair; we’re not all created with the same hair after all.
Although I don’t talk about this thing very often because people are obsessed with hair hygene (which in most of the time does not mean hair care), this time – and only for sake of the hair science – I will tell you.
I wash my hair once in a week, usually every 5 days. When I wash them, I do all the stuff that should be done: twice shampoo, then mask OR conditioner (I alternate them and alternate 3 different products so that the hair don’t get used to a single stuff), then a districatiing lotion or a de-frizz lotion (I combine the mask with the de-frizz, which is lighter, and use the conditioner & the districating lotion the other times).
I once happened to tell this to a friend of mine who stared at me like if I was a homeless person and suddenly was smelling some stiff in the hair (ah-ah before I told her so she didn’t smell anything…)
Yes I do believe that washing your hair too often is not good. First of all, for the reason you mentioned. Second and not less important, each time you wash them you have to comb them and the hairdrier/ hair straightner DO stress hair a lot, no matter how expensive are the product you use for the haircare.
Regarding the original topic, 6 weeks are A LOT, my girl! I happened to stay 10 days without washing my hair accidentally (I was hospitalized the day I should have washed them) and I literally run away from the hospital to get a shampoo (in Italian hospital there is no hair service nor shower).
If not washing your hair is the only way to have silky hair, so how do the star do? And how come that there are common women who DO have silky hair, although they wash them more often than me and with less care?
I’m a black american with natural (meaning I no longer use chemicals to straghten it) hair. I was told by every single hairdresser I have ever had not to wash my hair too often. It’s very drying. I wash my hair twice a week. I work out alot so I can’t really go too long without washing it. Leave in conditioner is my best friend.
IN my microbiology class we studied the different microbial populations you have on your scalp/ hair. Basically it takes around 6 weeks of not washing it to get the balance ‘right’. Before that there are lots of stages were there are too many of one type and results in things like making your scalp crazy itchy. But there is a ‘science’ behind not washing it, and i know a few people who have tried it and been amazed with the results.
I have straight, not frizzy and quite greasy hair, so i have never considered it for myself. If i don’t wash my hair every day it looks disgustingly limp lank and definitely unwashed. PLus i do lots of exercise so it gets even greasier through sweat. I don’t have ANY problems with dryness, itchiness or damage and i just use whatever brand is on special at the supermarket (i don’t colour it or use a hairdryer), so i’m, not willing to do the 6 week no-wash.
But for you, why not try it, if you are willing to give all sorts of products a go, this is just another trial……
I don’t wash my hair every day. I wash it every couple of days…. if I MUST wash it two consecutive days in a row, then I use conditioner with no shampoo…
My hairdresser approves.
Like Paola and Caribbean Ragazza, I don’t wash my hair too often. Usually 2-3 times a week. It’s partly out of laziness but also because I’ve noticed that on day 2-3 after washing my hair usually looks really good. By Day 4 though I usually wash it as (sorry if TMI) it’s usually smelling a bit sweaty. Yuk! I wonder what would happen if I stopped washing it altogether? Maybe I’ll try just rinsing it with conditioner on Day 4 rather than washing it.
Anyway my hair is probably similar to yours, Annika – wavy and dry.
For me, not washing my hair is just yucky. However, I don’t shampoo my hair everyday, because as stated, it can dry out the hair and scalp. I shampoo it maybe 2 – 3 times a week. I just can’t imagine not using shampoo to wash my hair, specially with the weather and pollution in my city.
I would so love to try this. I have a real problem with oily hair. Not so much at the ends, but if I go more than 36 hours without washing my hair my scalp starts driving me absolutely nuts and my hair looks so greasy and oily that I can’t leave the house without a hat on. I would love to try the 6-week no-wash thing because I reckon it would sort out the imbalances I’m suffering from that are causing my overly oily hair and scalp problems. But what would I do in the meantime? Become a hermit? Two days after washing my hair is so greasy that even with a hairband on it looks gross. And I just can’t imagine wearing a hat or scarf whenever I go out for 6 weeks!
Now shampoo works because it has a fat base. Any tipe of foamy cleansing product starts from some kind of fat or oil that gets combined with a basic substance (the most basic and probably oldest soap ws mde out of anmal fat or vegetable oil and soda produced by soaking ashes). This combination acts two ways: the fat component combines with the fat that is already present, in our case, on the scalp and hair, and the basic component makes it all easier to wash off (details should be asked to a chemist ^___^). Yet, in many cultures the washing wasn’t done with the fat + basic combination but rather with the fat alone. Romans washed by massaging olive oil on their skins and removing it with a sort of spatula called “strigile”. This did remove most of the dirty layer from the skin while not dissecting, since it didn’t remove too much of the grease. As a side effet, the romans had less problems with greasy or dry skin, since their skins didn’t get too dry after washing and didn’t have to start producing too much fats to compensate. Product for the delicate skin are often based on the same general principle: adding less disseccating basic component to the soap or shampoo, they remove less grease whle still cleanse efficiently. Some of these products contain almost no base at all, they are light oils that can be removed very easily. Look out for them, they could be an addition to the basic products already sold by your salon.
I also don’t wash my hair daily. I usually do it every 3-4 days, one rather gentle shampoo only, which I massage on the scalp but not on the ends and some conditioner. In winter only I blowdry, but when it gets warmer I let my hair dry naturally. Especially in winter I use some almond oil on the ends. In summer, when it’s particularly hot and I need to wash more often, sometimes I use only the conditioner.