Curly girls ditch the shampoo

Kooli

Has anyone heard of this 'no poo' idea for girls with curly hair?
It involves not using shampoo any more and washing your hair with conditioner instead. And there's a lot of checking labels to make sure the conditioner doesn't contain any silicones.

I came across it when I complimented a friend's gorgeous corkscrew curls and she said she hadn't used shampoo in months!

So I'm experimenting with it now. Just wanted to see if there were any other 'no pooers' out there!

metaoblivia

I can't speak for the curly haired girls out there, but I can see why not using shampoo would help. Shampooing strips the hair of its natural oils and hydration, leading to dry, damaged hair, which can look especially bad on curls. I have a slight wave to my hair, but even then I only shampoo it one to three times a week. I'll be sure to rinse it every other day, but I won't always use product. Whenever I go to a stylist, they always tell me how healthy my hair is. So I'm a firm believer in cutting back on shampooing, if not stopping it altogether!

kittenkiller

I tried it for a few months there and i'd never go back.
For the first while it was fine, but the build up on my scalp was gross!

Considering most curly girls don't regularly brush their hair, it leads to really heavy build up and even though it looked fine, I just felt really grubby for doing it.

eth0_

You could just use a natural shampoo like Burt's Bees, which doesn't contain surfactants like sodium laureth sulphate. That's what strips the oils from hair.

Syl001

When you do the no-pooing you need to clarify now and then. Everyone's rate of buildup is different so you 'll learn when you need it. You can clarify with a clarifying shampoo but I think diluted Apple cider vinegar works better and No, the vinegar smell does not linger....you have to rinse it out properly.

what2do

I have very curly hair and this is really interesting as my hair tends to turn towards frizz so staying away from shampoo might be a good try for me..

So how often do I need to clarify? Should I brush it out to rid it of build up before I wash/condition it?

Kooli

what2do wrote: »

I have very curly hair and this is really interesting as my hair tends to turn towards frizz so staying away from shampoo might be a good try for me..

So how often do I need to clarify? Should I brush it out to rid it of build up before I wash/condition it?

The 'no poo' method would never allow you to brush your hair!!

If you're interested you should read a bit more about it! I got the book 'Curly girl' which explains the basics (including how to wash your hair, what products to use, how to dry it, style it etc.) and there is another forum www.naturallycurly.com which has loads of info on it.

I've only been doing it a week and my hair is definitely softer and less frizzy, but gets a bit greasy quicker. Apparently it takes time for the hair to adjust to not having to replace all the oils that have been stripped away, so I'll stick at it for now.

My only issue with it is that because conditioner doesn't lather, it feels like I have to use loads of it to cover all my roots in the washing phase.

dlambirl

tried using no shampoo last night and i have to say my hair looks better and softer... not frizzy either.

Twee.

Must give this a shot tonight! Sounds good.

Kooli

I'm actually really enjoying it!

I use a really cheap conditioner for the washing bit, and make sure I really scrub my scalp with my fingertips. Then I rinse it out completely and use a really nice rich conditioner as usual afterwards.

Just make sure you aren't using any conditioner or styling product that has silicones in it (check the ingredient list and anything where the word ends in '-cone' is a no-no). I think that's what'll lead to the build-up if you aren't using shampoo as they coat the hair and need shampoo to remove them.

Ginny

I'll try it tonight, I'm assuming most of John Freidas stuff is silicone based though isn't it?

Kooli

Probably - check the label.

misswex

This is really interesting, never of it before. I think I'll give it a go next week!! It can be so hard to get curly hair to stop being frizzy - this could be the answer to my prayers!!

mood

What if you have greasy hair? I could never do it with the amount of oil I product.

fi314

sounds really interesting. I find using mouse and serum ( fairly essential to tame my mop) leave hair in need of a good scrub, does the conditioner give that squeaky clean effect of shampoo.........

Twee.

Just used conditioner this morning and it feels a bit greasy already but the curls did hold very well with no styling product used. Gonna keep going for a few weeks.

Kooli

fi314 wrote: »

sounds really interesting. I find using mouse and serum ( fairly essential to tame my mop) leave hair in need of a good scrub, does the conditioner give that squeaky clean effect of shampoo.........

Well if your styling products have silicone in them, then washing with conditioner won't be good enough I don't think. You'd need to change your styling products (I use the pink Umberto Giannini gel or the pink Boots curling cream, but hardly need any)

And no, washing with conditioner doesn't quite give the same 'squeaky clean' feeling in my experience. But I suppose that squeaky clean effect means you've washed out all the natural oils so that's not really a good thing! But it definitely feels clean - just a 'softer' clean.

I'm two weeks in now...no need for 'clarifying' yet.
The book recommends washing your hair every day, or at least wetting and styling it every day. I haven't been doing that, I would NEVER wash my hair every day, so I'm still doing it every three days as before.
The third day now looks MUCH better than it used to.

Luno

I decided I'd try this after seeing this thread. On my fourth day now and I don't see much of a difference in my hair frizz wise or holding a curl wise? I'll give it a while to see any changes tho

KatieEgg

Ooooo, am very interested in trying this now!
My hair used to be mad curly but then when it got very long (to my butt) it lost most of the curl due to the sheer weight of it all! I recently got it all cut to just above shoulder length & was disappointed when it didn't restore the curl as much as I thought it would...
Perhaps it's more to do with the shampoo!
I have a few questions first off;
What is clarifying? I have heard of this before but nevere knew what it was...
Is a small bit of conditioner enough or do I really go to town with it?
I never use other products except the odd bit of hairspray if I do a quiff or something-so I assume if I give up the hairspray the buildup won't be too bad?
I generally wash my hair every third day as it gets very greasy otherwise-with the no shampoo route will I likely have to wash more often?
Does anyone who has been using the no shampoo method have any conditioner recommendations?

Thanks!!

~Katie

tanyaog2007

i tired this last nite and my hair is pretty much the same, does it take long to start taking effect ??????

southsiderosie

I have long curly hair, and I've been doing a version of this for years. I do this routine every 3-4 days, and use diluted shampoo maybe every 10 days or so. It's actually a pretty quick process, especially since I don't need to use a blow-dryer.

1) I "wash" my hair with warm water, and go through my scalp like I'm shampooing it

2) Put on conditioner roots to tips and let it sit for a few minutes (while shaving or whatever)

3) comb it through with a wide-tooth comb with the conditioner in - the tangles just slide right out

4) Rinse (at this point the water in my crappy shower isn't that hot anymore!)

5) Squeeze out, put in serum and comb with fingers. Put in some kind of curl hold product (depending on what's available) by "scrunching" and shaking out my damp hair with it.

6) Sleep on it. I've actually found this to be the way to get the best curls, because otherwise, like an earlier post said, the weight of my hair pulls the curls out. This way, when I get up in the morning, it's curly at the roots even, which gives it more volume.

I almost never use heat on my hair, and on the occasions when I do decide to break out the flat iron, it looks a lot better than it used to. I think my hair is much healthier now than it was a few years ago, and I spend very little money on product, since I don't need to use that much of it.

aloevera

eth0_ wrote: »

You could just use a natural shampoo like Burt's Bees, which doesn't contain surfactants like sodium laureth sulphate. That's what strips the oils from hair.

owuld johnsons baby shmpoo be natural?

John Mason

i have curly hair and i wash my hair about once every 3 - 4 weeks but i use conditioner on it about once a week.

i get great curls normally

_Whimsical_

aloevera wrote: »

owuld johnsons baby shmpoo be natural?

No.Ingrediets of Johnsons Baby Shampoo:

Ingredients
Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, Sodium Trideceth Sulfate, PEG-150 Distearate, Fragrance, Polyquaternium-10, Tetrasodium EDTA, Quaternium-15, Citric Acid, Yellow 10 and Orange 4. May also contain: Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide.

http://www.johnsonsbaby.com/product.do?id=47


These would be natural http://www.evergreen.ie/natural-skincare--bodycare/6cat.aspx
You need to select "haircare" from the drop down menu on the above page.