How do I protect my hair from heat?
You may find that you don’t have to heat style as often on No Poo mainly because 1) your scalp’s oil production slows down so you don’t have to wash it as often, and therefore don’t have to style it as often, and 2) your hair should no longer be frizzy or dry, so using heat tools to manage unruly hair isn’t as necessary as it used to be. With shampoo, taming my natural waves used to be like taming a lion’s mane after each wash and blow dry, but now I only use a hair dryer occasionally and a flat iron about once per month. (I’d just like to note that this level of low maintenance was completely impossible back when I used shampoo.) Of course, never using heat on your hair is ideal for its health, and I recommend you avoid it if you can, but some of us aren’t willing to give up that much yet. ;) And since I’m not willing to forego ever protecting my hair from heat tools on No Poo, I had to find a silicone-free alternative that works.
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No More Shampoo??
Tonight I tweeted that I stopped using shampoo on my hair. It’s been 4 weeks, and I’m having the greatest experience with it so far. I’d like to discuss this in more than 140 characters since I got many replies and questions about it, and maybe someone else out there can benefit from hearing my experience.
To be honest, hearing someone say they stopped using shampoo sounds really gross. It sounds like bad hygiene.
And you may be wondering, “Isn’t your hair oily, gross, and smelly?!”
Nope. In fact, it’s the opposite. (I’m shocked, too.)
I heard about the no-shampoo movement from others online. There are a bunch of YouTube videos, beauty blogs, and online communities full of people dedicated to stop using commercial shampoos. Many people go “no poo” for various reasons: they are vegan, they want to train their hair to stop producing as many oils, they want to cure a scalp condition, they want to limit the amount of harsh chemicals going down the drain and into the earth, or they want to avoid harsh chemicals affecting their bodies in unintentional, negative ways. These are all valid reasons, and I respect all of them. However, none of these reasons are why I decided to stop using shampoo.
I decided to stop using shampoo because I wanted truly healthy hair. All of the commercial products that promised they would give me healthy, hydrated, luscious hair just didn’t work, and I learned why: Shampoo is completely unnecessary and ultimately hinders the health of our hair. So I was willing to put down my expensive hair products and try something a little different to reach my healthy hair goal.
At the time of this post, it’s been 4 weeks since I stopped using shampoo, and to my surprise, I have CLEAN, nice smelling, completely low-maintenance, truly healthy hair for the first time in my life. And I’ll never go back. Here’s why:
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