Great article, as always! About seven years ago I started making my own soap and cosmetics. Once I understood saponification, it became clear to me that removing all of the oils produced by my body, only to reintroduce non-native oils in the form of creams and conditioners, was madness. I stopped using shampoo and never looked back; I brush and scrub instead, trusting in the power of almighty water to do its job. My beard is a different sort of ecosystem, so I use a bit of argan oil to keep it from getting itchy. I also like neem for various purposes, including scalp care.
It's amazing to me that we create problems for ourselves only to be sold solutions at a premium. The human body is such a wonder; it's important to understand our natural systems before we start messing with them in the name of progress.
Couldn't agree more! "Removing all of the oils produced by the body, only to reintroduce non-native oils in the form of creams and conditioners" is a very profitable inefficiency. I know a lot of men who no longer use shampoo - it is easier with shorter hair. And you're absolutely right - there are so many ways to groom oneself without using surfactants.
You're absolutely right - it is much more nuanced with adults and depends on all sorts of factors - water hardness, length of your hair, etc. But as you say - it's a much easier decision with children. I'm sure when mine become teenagers that things will change again and they'll find a self-care method that works for them. :)
I loved this!! I’ve been no-poo for almost 4 years now. I wash my hair with rhassoul clay and rinse with a diluted apple cider vinegar rinse. Done. So simple, and both have been used in hair care and hygiene for millennia.
Absolutely! We tend to use detergents and surfactants as cleaning agents in our culture now, but there are lots of different ways to clean things, some of which are much less damaging to bystander systems than others.
I haven't tried the rhassoul clay - is it a powder?
Okay, one thing I've always been curious about when looking into no shampoo methods, is what do you do when your hair get something external on it that needs to be cleansed? I'm thinking mostly of chlorine from pools. I've gone a month or two before without shampooing my hair, and it did seem to settle into somewhat of a balance, but every time I head to shampoo it, I felt like I ended up having to start over then, and it didn't seem practical in our modern world that contains chemicals. Just curious if you've ran into an answer about this since you looked into it!
Great question. You need a surfactant (I.e. Shampoo) to get oily substances or of your hair. And as you rightly point out, there are many substances that we're now exposed to that we were never used to. Chlorine is an interesting example. It damages hair and skin, and there are many ways to try to reduce the damage. However, I think regular swimming in chlorinated water is like using shampoo regularly in that the scalp system is likely to be pretty disrupted, so you're probably better
Shampooing frequently to remove the chlorine. Not shampooing isn't always the right option. 😊
Since chlorine is water soluble, I'd wash chlorine out with water. Personally I think that the extra oils of unshampooed hair protect from chlorine but your mileage may vary.
Thank you fot this. I get a lot of flack from family for not washing my kids' hair-- two boys with shoulder length blonde locks that are so beautiful...and untouched by soap at 2 and 4(bodies for the moast part, too) People always comment on their hair.
I also wash and condition my waist length hair once every 3 weeks or so...but I think I'm inspired to push it a bit longer!
Its really has just become synonymous with being "dirty," and that's so curious. My husband always presses his hair to my head and happily sighs that I smell like me, and we both do the same with our boys. I can't imagine sniffing them and smelling, what, lavender? Baby powder? The Strawberry kiwi L'Oreal Kids of my youth?
My husband does the same to me! And I do it to my children! Many people talk about the new baby smell and how it's so special, but I still love the way my kids smell.
What encouraged you not to start washing their hair?
I used to have super greasy hair and dandruff, and no dandruff shampoo would help. If I went longer than a day without shampoo, my hair would be greasy and gross. It would be greasy even when I woke up in the morning.
But I stopped shampoo completely about 7 years ago, and now my dandruff is gone and my hair isn’t greasy anymore even if I go 48 hours or longer without a shower.
I still wash my hair. I just put it under the shower and scrub with my fingers. I don’t use soap or shampoo though.
There was a multi week period where it wasn’t much fun where my head adjusted, but it wasn’t that hard of an adjustment. Just take more showers and wash the grease out with plain water and you’ll be fine.
Interesting. I always assumed shampooing was essential to get rid of sweat on uktr scalp. But you're right my 5 year old daughter hates having her hair washed, she had beautiful non greasy hair even when it's not washed. And I've been letting her go longer and longer in between hair washes. I just have to encourage her to brush her hair more.
Me on the other hand, i like the feeling of washed hair unfortunately. If i don't wash my hair for more than 2 days it feels greasy and i get scalp pimples. Do you really think the solution is to let it stay unwashed even longer?? Maybe it's time to try my dry shampoo again
There's nothing wrong with having a regime that works for you. 😊 If you get pimples after a few days, then the transition period is likely to be pretty hard and may not be worth it. For your daughter, though, it might be worth holding off shampoo until she really needs it, and maybe that's when her hair starts getting oilier at puberty. 😊 There's nothing intrinsically bad about sweat on the scalp, but if the barrier is damaged, it can make it itchy.
I also just adore sniffing the heads of my beloveds. I always think "Remember this" every time, as I'm sure they won't always want me sniffing them.
I'm not sure exactly why I chose a soapless life ( for bodies, not dishes!) When I was pregnant, I was incredibly scent sensitive, even to essential oils. My husband and I both had to stop wearing deodorant or I'd get violent headaches and vomitting. Everything we used needed to be unscented. I don't even put babies in water for the first two weeks after birth, and no soaps on them just became an extension of what we'd gotten used to, I suppose? They still haven't had soaps on anything other than hands after helping with raw meats(I still wipe bums after toileting so they don't have poop hands or anything) Folks think we're nasty, but my kids are robustly healthy. Never a skin issue or even a rash when they were in cloth diapers.
Oh such an evocative image! Really interesting how your pregnancy experiences drove how you're bringing up your children. And yes, soaps clearly are essential for hygiene, but we've forgotten that hygiene and cleanliness are not the same. 😊
My daughter has always hated having her hair washed. We often go months between washes. Good to know we are doing the right thing! Encouraged to just keep brushing it and cleaning the food and dirt out of it as needed with water. Thank you!
Great article, as always! About seven years ago I started making my own soap and cosmetics. Once I understood saponification, it became clear to me that removing all of the oils produced by my body, only to reintroduce non-native oils in the form of creams and conditioners, was madness. I stopped using shampoo and never looked back; I brush and scrub instead, trusting in the power of almighty water to do its job. My beard is a different sort of ecosystem, so I use a bit of argan oil to keep it from getting itchy. I also like neem for various purposes, including scalp care.
It's amazing to me that we create problems for ourselves only to be sold solutions at a premium. The human body is such a wonder; it's important to understand our natural systems before we start messing with them in the name of progress.
Couldn't agree more! "Removing all of the oils produced by the body, only to reintroduce non-native oils in the form of creams and conditioners" is a very profitable inefficiency. I know a lot of men who no longer use shampoo - it is easier with shorter hair. And you're absolutely right - there are so many ways to groom oneself without using surfactants.
Love this. I rarely wash my kids hair - it never looks like it needs it and when I have I use a natural based shampoo.
I tried going non shampoo myself but couldn’t handle the greasiness - then I learnt about washing in vinegar so I might try again.
You're absolutely right - it is much more nuanced with adults and depends on all sorts of factors - water hardness, length of your hair, etc. But as you say - it's a much easier decision with children. I'm sure when mine become teenagers that things will change again and they'll find a self-care method that works for them. :)
I loved this!! I’ve been no-poo for almost 4 years now. I wash my hair with rhassoul clay and rinse with a diluted apple cider vinegar rinse. Done. So simple, and both have been used in hair care and hygiene for millennia.
Absolutely! We tend to use detergents and surfactants as cleaning agents in our culture now, but there are lots of different ways to clean things, some of which are much less damaging to bystander systems than others.
I haven't tried the rhassoul clay - is it a powder?
Okay, one thing I've always been curious about when looking into no shampoo methods, is what do you do when your hair get something external on it that needs to be cleansed? I'm thinking mostly of chlorine from pools. I've gone a month or two before without shampooing my hair, and it did seem to settle into somewhat of a balance, but every time I head to shampoo it, I felt like I ended up having to start over then, and it didn't seem practical in our modern world that contains chemicals. Just curious if you've ran into an answer about this since you looked into it!
Great question. You need a surfactant (I.e. Shampoo) to get oily substances or of your hair. And as you rightly point out, there are many substances that we're now exposed to that we were never used to. Chlorine is an interesting example. It damages hair and skin, and there are many ways to try to reduce the damage. However, I think regular swimming in chlorinated water is like using shampoo regularly in that the scalp system is likely to be pretty disrupted, so you're probably better
Shampooing frequently to remove the chlorine. Not shampooing isn't always the right option. 😊
Since chlorine is water soluble, I'd wash chlorine out with water. Personally I think that the extra oils of unshampooed hair protect from chlorine but your mileage may vary.
Thank you fot this. I get a lot of flack from family for not washing my kids' hair-- two boys with shoulder length blonde locks that are so beautiful...and untouched by soap at 2 and 4(bodies for the moast part, too) People always comment on their hair.
I also wash and condition my waist length hair once every 3 weeks or so...but I think I'm inspired to push it a bit longer!
Its really has just become synonymous with being "dirty," and that's so curious. My husband always presses his hair to my head and happily sighs that I smell like me, and we both do the same with our boys. I can't imagine sniffing them and smelling, what, lavender? Baby powder? The Strawberry kiwi L'Oreal Kids of my youth?
My husband does the same to me! And I do it to my children! Many people talk about the new baby smell and how it's so special, but I still love the way my kids smell.
What encouraged you not to start washing their hair?
I used to have super greasy hair and dandruff, and no dandruff shampoo would help. If I went longer than a day without shampoo, my hair would be greasy and gross. It would be greasy even when I woke up in the morning.
But I stopped shampoo completely about 7 years ago, and now my dandruff is gone and my hair isn’t greasy anymore even if I go 48 hours or longer without a shower.
I still wash my hair. I just put it under the shower and scrub with my fingers. I don’t use soap or shampoo though.
There was a multi week period where it wasn’t much fun where my head adjusted, but it wasn’t that hard of an adjustment. Just take more showers and wash the grease out with plain water and you’ll be fine.
Interesting. I always assumed shampooing was essential to get rid of sweat on uktr scalp. But you're right my 5 year old daughter hates having her hair washed, she had beautiful non greasy hair even when it's not washed. And I've been letting her go longer and longer in between hair washes. I just have to encourage her to brush her hair more.
Me on the other hand, i like the feeling of washed hair unfortunately. If i don't wash my hair for more than 2 days it feels greasy and i get scalp pimples. Do you really think the solution is to let it stay unwashed even longer?? Maybe it's time to try my dry shampoo again
There's nothing wrong with having a regime that works for you. 😊 If you get pimples after a few days, then the transition period is likely to be pretty hard and may not be worth it. For your daughter, though, it might be worth holding off shampoo until she really needs it, and maybe that's when her hair starts getting oilier at puberty. 😊 There's nothing intrinsically bad about sweat on the scalp, but if the barrier is damaged, it can make it itchy.
One of the rare articles on substack that actually changed my mind and made me change my daily habits for my daughter at least, thank you!! ♥️♥️♥️
I also just adore sniffing the heads of my beloveds. I always think "Remember this" every time, as I'm sure they won't always want me sniffing them.
I'm not sure exactly why I chose a soapless life ( for bodies, not dishes!) When I was pregnant, I was incredibly scent sensitive, even to essential oils. My husband and I both had to stop wearing deodorant or I'd get violent headaches and vomitting. Everything we used needed to be unscented. I don't even put babies in water for the first two weeks after birth, and no soaps on them just became an extension of what we'd gotten used to, I suppose? They still haven't had soaps on anything other than hands after helping with raw meats(I still wipe bums after toileting so they don't have poop hands or anything) Folks think we're nasty, but my kids are robustly healthy. Never a skin issue or even a rash when they were in cloth diapers.
Oh such an evocative image! Really interesting how your pregnancy experiences drove how you're bringing up your children. And yes, soaps clearly are essential for hygiene, but we've forgotten that hygiene and cleanliness are not the same. 😊
My daughter has always hated having her hair washed. We often go months between washes. Good to know we are doing the right thing! Encouraged to just keep brushing it and cleaning the food and dirt out of it as needed with water. Thank you!
I so vividly remember hating weekly hair washing! Your daughter must be very grateful that you have a flexible approach. :)