Washing Hair with Just Water?
I finally got fed up with the damaging effects of shampoos and decided to take my hair to the next level by going shampoo-free. It was the greatest decision I ever made for my hair! I tried various No Poo methods, and later transitioned to the Water-Only hair washing method, where I use only warm water to wash my hair. I’ve loved it so much that I’ve been strictly water-only for over a month now. Update: I’m still going strong with this routine after 13 months! – And my hair has rewarded me with the best quality it’s ever been in. :)
When I first heard about using only water to wash hair, I assumed it’d be a pretty grungy ordeal, but for me, it has been an incredibly effective, simple, and rewarding method – if done right. There are a few essential techniques that I follow that help enormously in managing the oils on my head, getting the most out of my hair washes, and keeping my roots looking oil-free and my ends hydrated. Once I got the techniques down, (and my scalp’s oil production calmed down), this hair care routine became almost effortless for me. If this is something you’re interested in trying, I’ve included some easy and effective techniques below that can help achieve the ultimate water-only hair, including while still going through the initial oily transition phase (like I was in the pictures throughout this tutorial).
What is the water only hair washing method?
The Water-Only (WO) hair washing method simply uses warm water (in place of shampoo) to cleanse dirt and excess oils from our heads, while utilizing the hair’s natural oils (like a conditioner) to protect and nourish the hair, making it soft, silky, and hydrated. My hair can look just as clean as if I used shampoo when I use the following tips and techniques.
The best part about this method compared to other “no poo” or shampoo-free methods is that there are no external chemicals that can damage, dry out hair, or wreak havoc on the natural scalp pH. The only “product” necessary is free of harsh chemicals, completely natural, totally free, and designed by nature specifically to nourish and protect our hair– the hair’s natural oils.
In my opinion, water-only is the final step to take in a shampoo-free journey. It’s self-sustaining, it can help get the scalp’s oil production under control, and it is a viable long-term hair washing method. It is also a zero waste, sustainable, and eco friendly hair washing method!
What is my hair like after one month?
My hair has never been more hydrated, voluminous, soft, silky, bouncy (the elasticity is through the roof!), manageable, fast-drying, or breakage-free as it is now. My hair looks just as clean as if I used shampoo, without any of the negative shampoo side effects, and it smells fresh. I can wash my hair way less often, because it doesn’t start to look oily until day 7. My hair no longer requires a boat load of styling products to look nice, and air-drying is a real life thing for my previously unmanageable hair.
To see the long-term results I got from this method, check out my 3-Month Update! (And after 13 months, I’m still loving this routine! No more oily hair, even after 10 days between water-washes.) I get even cleaner hair washing results now, but I’ve kept the original pictures on this tutorial from when I was still going through the “oily transitional phase” that many of us experience when starting a no shampoo method, just to show how clean my results are from the “before” and “after” pics at the oiliest part of my No Poo transition.
Before starting the Water Only hair washing method
***For quitting shampoo for the first time and switching to a no-shampoo method, I highly recommend checking out my other post how to start a no-shampoo method to avoid silicone buildup. Please also know that if you have previously been over-washing with harsh shampoos, and your scalp produces excess oils, there can be an initial oily phase when starting any no-shampoo method. See this post for how to get through the transition phase and encourage your scalp to slow down natural oil production. You may need to gradually transition to no-shampoo / water only while the natural oil production slows down, explained in this post. These things are crucial to know before starting any no-shampoo method.
The Ultimate Water-Only Hair Washing Routine
Let’s be honest, anyone can stop using hair products, stand under a shower head, and call that “water-only hair.” But let’s be real, we want hair that looks and feels great– not an oily mess sitting on top of the head! This tutorial is a guide for how to distribute & utilize the natural oils on the hair to give the look and feel of clean roots & delightfully hydrated ends.
What is needed to wash hair with just water:
- a boar bristle brush (BBB)
- wide-toothed comb
- very warm water
- cold water
- optional: a couple of drops of nourishing hair oil (e.g. coconut, argan, or olive oil) — helpful for dry ends on long hair
Step 1: Start with dirty hair!
When natural oils exist on the scalp & hair, it results in two awesome things:
- The scalp will take the hint that it’s not being stripped of all of its oils anymore, so it can slow down excess oil production.
- If natural hair oils have been distributed down to the ends of the hair, the nourishing oils are coating the hair shafts keeping them conditioned and hydrated between washes. (Like a free hair mask, woohoo!).
**The key to getting through the beginner’s initial oily transition phase and stop hair from getting excessively oily too quickly, is to try stretching the time between hair washes, so it can get used to not being stripped of oils. This means that a full water only hair wash likely doesn’t need to be performed every single day. (FAQ: “What if I like to wet my hair every day?” or “How do keep my hair clean between washes if I workout every day?” See this post for the solution.) Need more help with oily hair? Read here.
Note, that when I took pictures for this post, I was still going through the initial oily transition phase, and I intentionally waited six days since my last wash, which at the time, was a long time for me. The initial oily phase lasted a couple of weeks for me, and then my hair stopped getting excessively oily between washes. Note that no one has to let their hair get super oily for water-only hair washing. If this method doesn’t get your hair clean or the transition takes longer for you, please try out another no-shampoo or low-poo hair washing method in combination with water only until you get this routine down, so that you are getting your hair clean on a regular basis!
Here’s a link to my excessively oily before pics – for science. I hadn’t even brushed it yet because I want to show how well the brushing in Step 2 works. I think it’s okay though, because now you can compare these super oily transition pictures to the end result to see how well water-only works, even for a beginner who still gets routinely oily. Check out my 3-Month Update post for more info. I just wanted to clear that up so you don’t think anyone ever has to look this oily with the water-only method!
Also in these pics, sometimes my camera brightness is over-compensating because my hair is quite dark, so it’s automatically beefing up the contrast, making my hair look like it shines harder than it really does and making my skin glow like I’m an astral being or something. Thanks, camera. But don’t worry, I took the pictures you see in this post on the same day, in the same lighting, with the same camera, to keep consistency throughout this tutorial (for science).
Step 2: (Pre-Shower) Distribute natural oils!
The following are three very important techniques that should be done right before hair washing. These three techniques will help loosen up the natural oils on the scalp and will distribute them to the rest of the hair. The result will be less oily roots and added hydration for the ends— and they’ll make water washing in the shower a whole lot easier!
A. Scritch
On dry, detangled hair, rub fingerpads (not nails) in relatively quick, yet gentle motions all over the scalp. It’s similar to scrubbing the head in the shower, but without water. We’re talking light pressure that shouldn’t hurt the scalp. This creates some friction to warm & loosen up oils and dead skin cells sitting on the scalp. (Added bonuses: Scritching also increases blood flow to the scalp which can promote hair growth, and it feels soo good!) Section or part the hair if necessary to reach all areas of the scalp.
Once the oils have been loosened on the scalp, you might notice that all the oils are sitting at the roots. The next two steps will help distribute the oils down the hair shafts to nourish the rest of the hair.
B. Preen
On dry, detangled hair, take small sections of hair (I like to take wide, yet thin sections), and place two fingers on either side of the section. Starting at the base of the roots, gently pinch fingers together and slide fingers down the section of hair to the ends. This “pulls” the oils from the roots down the section of hair. Be gentle. Preening shouldn’t actually pull at the scalp or be uncomfortable. If hair is longer than 6 inches (mine is more than double that in these pictures), it might be hard to get the oils all the way down to the very ends, so just focus on getting the oils away from the roots and at least 6 inches down the length of the hair.
For long hair, this can be a time-consuming step to water-washing, but it still works well for many people. Pro Tip: I find it’s quicker to preen while brushing in the next step. (One hand to preen, one hand to brush.)
C. Brush – DON’T skip this!
A boar-bristle brush (BBB) is an essential tool for happy hair, and it is absolutely essential for practicing water-only washing. From my experience, a BBB is the BEST at pulling the natural oils down from the roots to the ends of hair, and it’s great to do after scritching and preening to pull the oils from the mid-shaft all the way down to the very ends of the hair.
After scritching and preening, brush a clean BBB through hair to reduce tangles and distribute the oils down to the very ends of hair before showering. Section or part the hair so the boar-bristle brush can reach all areas of the roots and hair. Once done with each section, brush the ends for a while to get all the oils off the BBB and onto the ends. Ends need lovin’, too. :) And make sure the brush is clean before using it, otherwise it isn’t soaking up oils, just moving last week’s oils around on the head with this week’s oils. (How to clean a boar-bristle brush tutorial.)
In addition, these techniques can be used daily between washes! A boar-bristle brush can replace a regular, daily hair brush. Brushing oils through the hair is really the only upkeep needed between water-washes to keep hair looking clean and oil-free. Just a little brushing every day or every other day can really keep the oils from building up into a greasy mess at the roots. After my scalp’s oil production slowed, I noticed I don’t have to brush the oils through my hair as often anymore.
***For wearing hair naturally curly, brushing will un-define curls, so below are some options for managing oils:
- Curly hair has an advantage since curls hide oily roots better than straight hair. So if roots don’t look oily, scritch regularly, but wait to preen and brush the hair until right before washing it. Note that if natural oils aren’t being moved down to the ends of hair regularly, the ends are at risk of getting dry. Follow step 6 (below), which is to add a small amount of a natural oil (like coconut oil or shea butter) to the ends to give them some hydration between washes.
- If roots look oily and skipping daily brushing isn’t an option, try using the BBB daily to distribute natural hair oils throughout the week. Then dampen hair with a spray bottle filled with water to squish, style, and redefine curls.
- Or try a wooden-bristled brush instead, since wooden bristles are typically much further apart, and wood distributes natural oils through hair similar to a BBB.
Just by scritching, preening, and brushing, my hair already is starting to look a bit better compared to the way my hair looked when I started this tutorial. The most important thing is that we distributed our natural oils down to the ends which conditions our hair, and we loosened up oils from our scalp to make washing with only water a lot easier.
Step 3: Time to water-wash hair!
Temperature: Time to shower. The temperature of the water is very important. Too hot can damage hair or be too drying on the scalp, and too cool won’t break up the excess oils on the head. While scrubbing oils off the head, the water should be very warm… a comfortable temperature between hot and lukewarm. The water temperature can be lowered over time as the scalp’s oil production slows down since there will be much less oil to wash away (this happened for me).
Technique: Wet hair, then use fingerpads (not nails) to gently scritch the scalp in relatively quick motions (just like scritching before). Focus the water stream directly on the area being scrubbed so it can wash away dirt and oils while scritching. For long or thick hair, part the hair in sections while washing to easily access all areas of the scalp/roots. While going through the oily transition phase and/or noticing roots are getting clean but the next few inches aren’t, try preening the water through the length of the hair, just like we did earlier in Step 2B. The warm water loosens up hair oils, and preening while the water runs through the hair will help the water break up the hair’s natural oils further down to give an overall cleaner wash.
Be Patient: Make sure to get all areas of the scalp. I honestly had to spend quite a bit of time doing this when I was going through the initial oily phase, but I also only had to do it only about once per week, so it was worth it for me. (It takes me much less time to do it now.) If hair still looks oily after showering, try tweaking the method a bit. For the next wash, try using slightly warmer water, or spend more time gently rubbing fingertips on the scalp, or try preening the water through the hair from root to tip. This routine only gets easier and requires less steps as time passes and the scalp’s oil production normalizes. It took me a few washes to get the hang of it. Feel free to leave a comment with questions below, and I will try my best to help.
Hard Water? I have low to moderate water hardness and find water-only is successful for me. Some people have issues getting their hair to feel clean with very hard water. So hard water is something to check for if hair isn’t get clean. Test water hardness or look it up on the city’s website. There are ways to soften water at home. Many people have much better results after installing a shower head filter (which is also much cheaper than an entire water-softening system). I’ve actually even heard people say that their hair looks too clean and poofy with soft water so they prefer harder water.
Step 4: Rinse hair with cold water
This is my least favorite step, but rinsing with cool water helps the hair cuticles lay flat (after the warm water lifted them up), which helps hair look smoother.
Pro rinsing tip: After flinging the shower temperature handle to cold, take a giant step back out of the water stream. Bend over forward, flipping hair over the head, and stick only the head & hair under the cold water. Try not to think about every tiny molecule of freezing water hitting the shower floor and jumping back up onto legs. In fact, practice mentally checking out for a moment while the shock of 7 seconds of cold water attempts to ruin a perfectly zen shower moment. Just visualize being on an island standing under a beautiful, crisp, cool waterfall, overlooking the greatest scenery ever. …I do.
Okay in all seriousness, don’t slip and get hurt. But that may or may not be what I actually visualize. (It is.)
Step 5: Dry with a T-Shirt and Detangle
After showering, pat the hair dry with an old t-shirt or microfiber towel (instead of a bath towel) to reduce frizz and flyaways. Using a t-shirt or microfiber towel for this step actually does reduce frizz for me (unlike a bath towel), and I wish I knew about this tip forever ago.
Comb through damp hair with a wide-toothed comb, starting at the ends and working up. Be gentle as hair is fragile while wet.
Step 6: Hydrate Ends (Optional)
If hair is long, it may take some time for the natural oils to be distributed down far enough to condition the ends. Until then, I recommend applying coconut oil or any deeply hydrating, natural oil to the ends (and only the ends) of the hair as a substitute for the hair’s natural oils. Especially if ends are damaged or tangly. It will help smooth out the ends so they don’t dry frizzy and so combs/brushes don’t get snagged in them while detangling… plus it gives hair some added hydration. I prefer coconut oil, and unrefined, cold-pressed version of coconut oil makes a world of a difference to me, but any natural oil will worko including jojoba and argan oil. I stopped having to use oils after a few weeks, as they eventually became unnecessary. :)
Caution! Be careful with the amount of oil and where it being applied! Slathering a bunch of oil on the hair or roots will lead to excessively oily hair. I just rub one or two drops of oil between my finger tips and glide it onto the very ends of my hair while damp. My hair seems to look a bit oily if I apply the coconut oil to dry hair, but using it on damp hair seems to fix that for me. Then I thoroughly wash the oil off my hands before touching any other part of my hair so I don’t spread any extra oil to my roots.
Step 7: Air dry hair! or style as usual
My hair actually air dries SO fast now (and many others report the same with water-only). It’s literally ridiculous how fast it dries, but it’s so wonderful. I just gently twist it to the side like this until I’m ready to style it.
Products? I actually stopped needing to use any styling products since switching to water-only. With shampoo, I HAD to use styling creams, waxes, smoothing serums, volumizers, hair spray… Now my hair just does whatever I want it to without any product. Manageability levels are through the roof. Thank you, natural hair oils.
Heat? When I used shampoo, I had to use heat to style my hair every day to get it to look presentable. But now I only use heat on it maybe twice per month and just let it air dry the rest of the time. It’s incredibly low maintenance. any additional styling products for that matter,
If using any products, ensure they are silicone-free products or ones containing water-soluble silicones to avoid silicones building up on hair!! More on the importance of avoiding silicones here.
I didn’t use anything else in my hair for this tutorial. I just let it air dry & then lightly used a flat iron on it And that’s what you see in the pictures below.
***Important note: While myself and many others have followed Water Only and many other “no-shampoo” hair washing methods for years with positive experiences, I cannot encourage that anyone with a pre-existing scalp condition follows this routine. I am not a doctor, and I have only had positive experiences with “no poo” methods, so I can only speak to my own situation. If any undesirable symptoms arise, please take care of yourself and check with a professional. Thanks for listening!
DONE! Water Only Hair Washing Results Below
This is actually about 14 hours after I washed it :) Same lighting & angle as all of the above pics. So much volume! — NO styling products necessary. There is NOTHING in my hair except water, my hair’s natural oils, and a couple of drops of coconut oil on the very tips of my hair.
Have you tried this method? Did it work for you? Leave a comment below! :)
Questions? I’d love to answer them. Check out my other hair posts for fast answers.
Check out my 3-Month Water-Only Update to see what the future holds with water-only!
I LOVE your post!! It’s so detailed and informative! I wish I had found this before I went no-poo with baking soda and citric acid. I’ve been wanting to try water only for the longest time, but I couldn’t find any info about the best way to avoid the “greasy” stage. After reading your post, I’m going to go water only ASAP!
Slightly TMI question: how do you wash your body? I’m currently using baking soda for my body as well, but I recently read articles about how the pH of baking soda isn’t good for your skin. Any thoughts?
I’m so glad this post was helpful to you! You are right, baking soda is way too alkaline for our scalp and skin, and I do not recommend using it.
For my body wash, I currently use “Everyday Shea Moisturizing Body Wash” (the Lavender one). The lathering/cleanging agents in this body wash are basically soap (“saponified”), but the soaps are derived from shea butter and coconut oil, and there are no sulfates in it. It isn’t as gentle as pure water, but as far as I know (at the time of writing this comment), saponfied shea butter or coconut oil does not strip away natural oils (as claimed by J.R. Liggetts shampoo bars which are “no-poo” and also contain saponified oils). The body wash does leave me feeling very clean, I enjoy the smell of it (lavender), and my skin feels super hyrdrated… more hydrated than it EVER has. So I am happy with it! I got it at “Whole Foods” in the US, but I also found it at “Healthy Planet” in Canada. It might be fairly easy to find!
I’m so glad I found this. I’ve been no-pooing for a while but find I end up with gunky roots after washing, and it’s a pain to mix.
I just scritched and preened while watching tv and I think that helped remove the gunk from last nights wash. I’m hoping it looks better in the morning.
If you’ve been water-only for a while and doing everything in my post, but still have waxy buildup… it’s possible that you just have a lot of leftover buildup from the initial oily transition phase. If so, I recommend using a co-wash or low-poo (sulfate-free shampoo… there are SUPER gentle/natural options) just ONE time to wash out the leftover buildup. Just do it only once though and then go back to water-only so you don’t throw your oil production back out of whack. It should get rid of the buildup!
do you have to make a transition before doing the actual method or can you just go straight into it?
please answer!!!
Hi, I want to help, but could you please clarify what you mean by this?
I am thinking of switching to water washing after about five months of no-poo baking soda and lemon juice. I started experimenting with alternatives to shampoo because my hair, now that it is longer, has been falling out at alarming rates. My hair is extremely fine and looks absolutely terrible when its greasy. I’m worried that the coarse brush is going to pull out more of my hair, I’m only using a wide tooth comb now and it has helped a little with the fall out. Do you think my hair is strong enough to even try this method with all the scritching and brushing? Also, what do I do about the days in between when it is really greasy? Because it’s so thin putting it up just accentuates the problem. I’ve been using corn starch in between baking soda washes as a dry shampoo and that seems to work really well for a couple days but my hair is still greasy after one day and needing the cornstarch. I don’t think the water wash will get the cornstarch out when I wash though. Any suggestions?
Baking soda is definitely something I would never recommend to anyone. It’s a shame there is a baking soda craze right now, because while it brings people to no-poo, it’s the worst kind of no poo. Baking soda is very alkaline and can be way too harsh for the human scalp/hair (and even promote breakage). Many people have bad experiences after using baking soda for a long time… Here’s a link to some more info on it, but I recommend you do your own reading, too.
Water-only hair washing is the gentlest method that I know of (in terms of eliminating irritants and damaging cleansers) and the best at promoting hair growth. If you go with water-only, I recommend scrubbing gently, don’t use hot water (you can use very warm if you have a lot of excess oil, or just warm to lukewarm if you have normal oil production), and use a wooden bristled brush instead of a boar bristled brush to avoid breakage as much as possible. These tips will give you a gentler routine (It’s actually the routine I follow after being on water-only for several months and having a normalized scalp oil production), but it won’t be AS good at managing excess oils from the initial oily transition. If you think the scrubbing is too harsh for you, you can also try raw honey washing or co-washing instead of water-only. On the in-between washing days, you can use a dry shampoo as discussed in my other post. I use arrowroot powder mixed with cocoa powder, and I have never had an issue with water-washing it out.
I am so sorry to hear that you are experiencing hair loss :( I had this a few years ago (prior to ever going water-only). Iron supplements helped me (because for the longest time, I didn’t know my blood contains low iron levels) and getting off of hormonal birth control (which caused a TON of hair loss for me). I don’t know what’s causing yours, but I thought I would share this info in case it helped you in some way. Best of luck. <3
What would you suggest for really low sebum production ?
Cool or lukewarm water will wash away dirt/sweat, but won’t wash away as many oils on your head. Brushing, scritching, and preening still helps distribute the oil down to your ends if you notice they get dry. You can also add oil to your ends (coconut oil or shea butter). Just avoid adding oil near your roots if you don’t want your roots to look oily since it’s hard to wash out coconut oil with just water. You can also try a wooden bristled brush for easier brushing and less breakage than the BBB if you don’t have as much oil to distribute.