Sure as eggs is eggs

I have wanted to go no-poo for aaaaaages. I've tried many alternatives, but never anything that really worked. I could kid myself it worked but I knew it looked unwashed. I've tried conditioner only. I've tried baking soda and vinegar. I've tried black tea and lemon. I've tried water only. I've most recently been using soap, followed by a vinegar rinse. I went a year without washing my hair not so long ago. I've never felt happy with how my hair looked, and always ended up caving to the shampoo.

I recently decided to try again. I went water only for a week, and was unhappy but unsurprised to find a waxy build-up in my hair. I've had this before. It never really goes.  

Then I found inspiration online. For the last two weeks, I have been washing my hair with eggs. Yes, eggs. You read that right.

My hair is clean clean clean - as clean as it would be after shampoo, but also soft and thick and bouncy, where shampoo left it feeling thin and stripped. My scalp, after a brief dandruff shower, seems to have settled down more than it has in years. The egg has totally cleaned off the waxy deposit, and the oily build-up, and my hair is CLEAN!

Egg wash is endlessly versatile, and I'm experimenting. Some washes work better than others. This is the basic recipe/method I'm using at the moment:

Eggwash for hair

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp olive oil

2tbsp cold water

Mix it all up together, apply to dry hair, massage into scalp and along the length, leave for 10 minutes or so, wash out in lukewarm water (to avoid scrambling the egg), and then follow with a final rinse of cold water.

I've seen recipes online which use only egg white, or only the yolk, or which include yoghurt, beer, vinegar, essential oils and myriad other ingredients which I have yet to explore. The first time I did this, I used one egg on its own - not as effective as the wash above but still quite good.

I haven't worked out the cost yet - I imagine it is probably more expensive than commercial shampoo, but it is so lovely on my hair! I'm using it twice a week so far, but I am hoping that I can stretch out the gap between hair washes as my scalp adjusts. I should really have waited a few months to see if it is still working but I am so excited to have finally found an option leaving my hair feeling beautifully clean and nourished that I just had to share it!

No-poo update: Month Five

Is it really only five months? It feels a lot longer.

I am now washing my hair twice a week with just water, followed with a dilute lemon juice rinse. I have found that if I don't use an acid rinse, my hair is dull and difficult to manage.

I sometimes neglect the mid-week wash and only wash it on the weekends, which leaves it looking a little greasy. If I wash thoroughly twice a week it looks totally normal - perhaps the way most people's hair looks on the day after washing it, not quite squeaky clean but not noticeably oily. I have also found that I can't rush the water wash - I need to spend a good five minutes massaging my scalp and hair under the water stream.

At this point, I don't have any expectation of going back to shampoo. I have reached a manageable routine and plan to stick to it for the foreseeable future - although at some point I would like to start stretching washes to once a week. The only problem I have at the moment is increased dandruff, but this isn't serious enough to really bother me. It also takes longer to completely dry - several hours, and it remains a bit straggly for about 12 hours until it gets fully dry. The colour also looks darker overall, with my natural highlights enhanced (not visible in the picture, they only become apparent once fully dry)

The picture shows my hair after washing but not yet fully dry, which is why it looks a little straggly.

No-poo update: Month Two

I'm now just coming up to the end of the second month and the beginning of the third month of no-poo - of this attempt at it, anyway!

After washing hair but before brushing

It's working!

I have been experimenting with no-poo methods again. The summer is a good time to do this - with fewer conferences and everyone on holidays, I can go to work with greasy hair and not worry. And I have finally, FINALLY reached a stable, clean-looking no poo solution.

Water.

Of bandwagons and baking soda

I so want to go no poo. I so want to do it. I want to walk into a room and have someone go, wow your hair looks nice, and feel smug about my no-poo-ness. I have been trying to master this for years. There is generally a 2-6 week transition period, while your hair gets used to the no-poo. I once went three whole months without washing my hair in anything but water, and it was still yucky. I have switched over to other methods (baking soda and vinegar rinses, conditioner only, good old fashioned soap) countless times and always end up back on the shampoo.

No poo: Week three and a half

So three and a half weeks in to the no-poo experiment - it's beginning to look a bit greasy (but then I did last wash it two days ago). I've been trying to get as little baking soda as possible on the length to avoid stripping them out, but I think that's making my scalp greasier quicker, too, as the oil accumulates on the hairbrush.

No poo: Week Two

So, today is officially two weeks of no shampoo! What do you think? Myself, I think it looks remarkably clean - much like it did with shampoo - but it feels softer, and my chronic dandruff has entirely disappeared!! *Dance of joy*

It is still a little bit flyaway, so I put some coconut oil on the ends (AMAZING stuff. Plus I swear it brings out the copper notes more) but obviously did not want to put oil on my scalp... But overall, it looks clean and healthy, shiny and smooth, and not at all like I haven't used shampoo for two weeks.

Another thing I've noticed. When I use shampoo, my hair becomes very slippy and tends to escape whatever bun or updo I have attempted. When I don't wash it at all, it stays like a rock. With baking soda, it stays almost as effectively as if I hadn't washed it at all!

No poo

I have wanted to go 'no poo' for over four years now. In that time I have experimented with many things - conditioner only, bars of shampoo, and baking soda. I even went three months using only water to wash my hair. I always cave and end up using shampoo. Usually someone else's.