I can’t believe it’s already been 4 months since I quit shampoo and started “no poo,” and 3.5 months since I went water-only! I am definitely out of the oily transitional phase and still going strong on water-only, so figured it was time to post an update to my Ultimate Water-Only Hair Washing Routine.
These pictures were all taken in the same lighting, room, and with the same camera as the pictures from the Ultimate Water-Only Hair Washing Routine post for an accurate assessment of progress.
Water Only Hair Washing Progress
How often do I wash my hair now? Once every 7-10 days with just water.
How long can I go between water-only hair washes before my hair looks oily now? My hair actually doesn’t get oily anymore, not even after 10 days of not washing it! :D
How long did the oily transitional phase last? / How did I get out of it? It took me approximately 2 weeks to stop looking excessively oily and about 2 months to get completely out of the initial oily phase to the point where my hair just doesn’t get oily anymore. I followed these tips from my other post to get through the oily transition as quickly as possible.
What does it feel like? My hair feels different… definitely softer and more hydrated, slightly heavier, and it’s a little harder to run my fingers through my roots than if I used shampoo. But I really don’t mind the new texture! It gives my hair more body, thickness, and volume at the roots!
Do I still get split ends? I got my hair trimmed right before going no shampoo (~ 4 months before these pictures). With shampoo, my ends would definitely be split, dry, brittle, rough, scraggly, and in need of another trim at this point, but with water-only, they are just as hydrated as the rest of my hair. They are soft, shiny (I’ve never had shiny ends), and I have very few split ends. (Pictured Below)
Growth? It has definitely grown ~2 inches over the past 4 months. This is a good rate of growth, but I also eat a lot of fruits/veggies/nuts and a daily multi-vitamin so this much growth is normal for me. :) The difference here is that my ends didn’t dry out so I can keep growing it without having to trim off the new progress.
Does it smell? Okay so I’ve been doing routine smell checks since I started no shampoo (for science), :) because I’m paranoid about smelling bad. For the first 5-7 days after a water-wash without any fragrances added, my hair doesn’t smell like anything. That’s a decently long time! After that, I’ll sometimes notice my scalp (not my hair) smells like… well hair. It doesn’t really smell bad, but it doesn’t smell like flowers and dandelions or what I’m used to. So if it doesn’t smell that nice, then I’ll add a drop of a blend of really fragrant shea butter/coconut butter (that smells like french vanilla mixed with chocolate… mmm) to my scalp and hair and it completely refreshes the scent. No more scalp smell. Dry shampoo also deodorizes it very well, and this DIY recipe makes my scalp & hair smell like chocolate. Boar-bristle brushing also helps keep any scalp smells from building up at the roots. There are actually loads of ways to make your hair smell like flowers and dandelions or whatever you want while on No Poo / water-only, so I made a separate post for that.
How is my scalp acting? Great! No issues here.
Do I still have to boar-bristle brush it in sections every day? Nope! Spending time each day to section my hair and brush the natural oils through it was the one time-consuming side to water-only, but I really don’t have to do it anymore. Right before I wash my hair, I’ll still scritch & brush it to make washing easier, and I’ll probably scritch/brush once more during the 7-10 days between washes. But I don’t have to do it daily anymore since my hair no longer gets excessively oily. I do brush my hair every day for a minute just to soften the look and style it for the day. Most importantly, I keep my brush really clean between uses as to not add last week’s oils back onto this week’s hair.
How has my hair dye lasted? I got my hair dyed a semi-permanent dark color the day I switched to no-poo (4 months ago). With shampoo, the color would typically last me ~6 weeks and then start to fade. However, this time the color was strong for ~3 months, and only during this past month has it faded a bit. Pictured above on the left is what my hair color looks like when my camera isn’t beefing up the contrast to solar flare status. You can see my blondeish-brownish roots coming in. Pretty good for 4 months after a semi-permanent dye! Pictured right is a contrast-y shot.
Manageability? Styling? My hair is very manageable now. My natural hair oils act like a styling product. I can make my hair super voluminous with the flick of my hand fluffing it up, or flat to my head if I wanted. It’s like there’s a natural hairspray in it. I really don’t need to do anything to my hair anymore. It’s weird standing in front of the mirror expecting to have to do something to my hair, but there’s just nothing to do. Hallelujah.
Do I use any styling products? The only things I put on my hair now are shea butter (for added hydration on the ends of my hair or for heat protection) and the rare usage of homemade dry shampoo (like once per month maybe) just to make my style fluffier.
Do I use heat to style my hair? I don’t have to! And that’s certainly an improvement since going no poo. With shampoo, I had to use heat to tame my dry/damaged hair every time I styled it, but now I can let my hair air dry which used to be out of the question before. Now around 1-2 times per month I’ll use a flat iron, and I use shea butter as a natural heat protectant during those times. Check this post for natural heat protectants for No Poo.
Do I still use coconut oil to hydrate the ends of my hair? I actually switched from straight coconut oil to using a shea butter/cocoa butter blend that has some coconut oil in it. I prefer using the shea butter blend as it dries less greasy and works excellently to hydrate the ends of my hair in winter. I literally just slathered the shea butter all over the bottom 2/3 of my hair right before taking the Day 4 pictures so I could flat iron it a little bit to assess the length. It definitely dries much less greasy than straight coconut oil, and completely absorbs into my “low porosity” hair within a few hours.
Will I continue to use only water to wash my hair? YES. I am very happy with my hair!
Would I recommend others try water-only? YES.
How is water-only going for you? Post your update in the comments!
Check out these posts next:
Do you ever go swimming in a chlorine pool? I’m having trouble figuring out how to keep my hair healthy while still training for my triathlon.
People looking for gel ideas, try using Linseed (flax seed) gel. It’s quick & easy to make & is great for curls. Some people even use the gel as their shampoo, but I havn’t tried that yet. If I feel like a need a quick clean to take the greyish build up off my hair, I use Palmers Co-Wash from Superdrug. I would like to get to the stage of fully water only, as that’s working amazingly for my skin. I litterally shower every 3 days using only water to wash my skin. I will give my armpits a quick wash with pure olive oil soap (Holland & Barrett £1.20) . If you’re looking for a natural less damaging dye, I had alot of success with Naturtint (Holland & Barrett) I only needed to buy 1 box instead of 2 like I would with drug store dyes. I’m growing my greys out now though, eek! Thanks for your amazing posts, it’s given me the courage to aim for water only hair in the long run.
This is seriously hair goals. I’ve been water-only for a week or two, and even though my hair is pretty oily, it’s actually not bothering me like I was expecting. I can definitely see what you mean about the natural oils being like a styling product, even though I don’t style my hair or use products. I can just flatten any flyaways. If I wanted to add a nice scent, I’d just spritz some rosewater or diluted lavender essential oil, same as a natural body spray. I don’t know if I’ll stay with it forever or if I’ll get into a Lush shampoo bar or castile soap, but I’m definitely sticking with it for now.
Hiya! I’ve started water only and love it so far! A couple questions:
What do you do about swimming and protecting your hair from chlorine and washing it out afterwards?
Do you recommend anything for holding heatless curls? I would assume we are trying not to use hairspray and mousse?
Thank-you!
Your hair looks so amazing! I don’t usually post comments … but your story inspired me to give water washing a shot. I am so grateful for your story—it’s changed the way I wash and care for my hair. I am not perfect at water only yet (use shampoo every other week because of dandruff troubles), but my hair already is looking so much healthier. It’s great to see that you don’t have split ends—that has been one of my biggest problems in the past, and I’m still trying to get them under control. Thanks again for the inspiration to try this! Your hair is so beautiful—I hope one day I’ll be able to get mine looking somewhere close to as healthy and shiny as yours :)