No Shampoo Timeline

It's been over a year and a half since I stopped using shampoo. The top row of images is over the past few days. And the bottom are from when I first stopped using shampoo (no product/styling for any of them). The first pictures (right) in each row were take the day after I washed my hair and the next two are the third and fourth days after washing it.

February 23rd 2013: Nine months shampoo free!

So, I've been shampoo free for 6 months and I wouldn't have it any other way. I was prompted to write this update because I tried a new product. For the past months, I've been using DevaCurl and although I enjoy it, I thought there might be something better out there. So I finally tried the Wen cleansing conditioner. I've heard a lot of great things about it, it seems really popular, and I know a lot of people who don't consider themselves "no-poo" who use it.

Before I stopped using shampoo I had dandruff, but since then I've had no problems with it. Until I used Wen. This is really unfortunate because I love how thick the product is, you can really feel it as it goes through your hair, unlike the DevaCurl that you have to realy scrub and massage and hope it's in there because you can't feel much. Also, it made my hair look and feel great: smooth, moisturized, shiny, not greasy. I was really happy. But within two days of cleansing my hair with it, I have A LOT of dandruff, worse than it ever was before.

June 2nd 2012: Nineteen shampoo-less days!

May 22nd 2012: Eighth day shampoo-less

May 20th 2012: Sixth day without shampoo

May 19th 2012: Fifth day no-shampoo

May 18th 2012 Fourth day with no shampoo (just woke up from a nap= puffy, sleepy face) About the same as yesterday.

I just ordered an all natural conditioner (Burt's Bees "Very Volumizing") which I hear comes in handy after a few weeks when things get really gnarly (and smelly... not looking forward to that)

This is a blog chronicling my no-shampoo adventure. I've been reading a lot of first-hand stories from people who have stopped using shampoo (or what we conventional think shampoo is) and finding themselves with more healthy, bouncy, shiny, flake-free, and more manageable hair. This is the main reason why I'm trying it.

But a lot of people also go "no-poo" [I hate that term, haha] because of all the chemicals in shampoo and other hair products that can be harmful to humans, animals, and the environment. Many people also stop using shampoo because of the consumerism associated with shampoo [one product leads you to buy another/ we are taught that we need all these products in our lives/ we buy more and more, constantly searching for the holy grail of products].

Some Info About My Hair:

Color: red

Dye? no. I used to dye/bleach my hair A LOT but it's been my natural color for about 5 years now

Texture: wavy

Length: mid-back

Thickness: medium-moderate

Shampoo before stopping: Aussie "Moist" Shampoo /Palmers Olive Oil Formula Replenishing Conditioner

Any other products: N/A

Heat: Occasionally, I curl my hair (probably once/twice a month on average)

Dandruff? Yes. I was using Head and Shoulders for a while and that seemed to work but about 4 months after switching to the Aussie, it's back. 

Moisture: My hair can get really dry when I use too much shampoo/ not enought conditioner but it gets really oily if I don't wash it at least, every other day.

Other Info: My hair is really limp most of the time, my roots have very little boost and my hair is generally much flatter than I'd like it to be.

NOTE: I didn't take the route that most do when stopping using shampoo. Most people replace shampoo with baking soda and apple cider vinegar. Instead, I decided to only wash my hair with water for the first 11 days and then begin using a shampoo-less cleansing product once a week. I don't really know why I did it this way but it seems to be working well so I'm hanging on to it. If I were to start this journey all over again, I probably would have gone the home remedy path but I don't believe one method or another is better/worse.