There are a variety of reasons going “no-'poo” is beneficial to the planet, including, but not limited to, the decrease in use of petroleum-based products entering our watershed and a reduction of plastic bottles in landfills. Even if you use eco-friendly shampoos, this whole no-'poo movement also might be better for your body and your health as proponents of the movement claim using shampoo strips your scalp of its natural oils.
I decided to give it a try. “One week couldn’t be that big of a deal,” I thought. I don’t wash my hair all that often to begin with, so I figured it would be like an extended version of what was already my hygiene and beauty routine.
Though I was able to make my hairstyle last through Saturday, by Sunday everything was a greasy, droopy mess. I attended a wedding shower with my hair pulled back into a ponytail, where everyone politely pretended not to notice that I looked like a homeless woman in a really fancy vintage reproduction dress. I held strong that day and spent the night researching what were my no-shampoo hair cleaning options.
Come Monday I had settled on a vinegar rinse to break down the grease at my scalp and freshen my hair. It worked...sort of. While it did cut down on the oily look of my roots, my hair still looked dull and simply not clean. That was the good part. The sections of my hair where I had used any kind of styling products were clumpy, with clusters of product and brittle.
I broke down and shampooed my hair that day. Three days later, I’m still trying to undo the insanity that is my hair from this experiment. In fact, it still smells like vinegar as I write this, even after multiple shampoos.
In all, I think there is possibility in this beauty practice, but it’s better suited to someone who does not style their hair with any products and has the kind of life where their hair can look really dirty for a few weeks until their oil production regulates itself. Which is, very decidedly, not who I am.
