London - A beauty blogger who has not used shampoo for two years says her hair is healthier than ever.
Lucy Aitken Read, 32, ditched shampoos because she felt they contained too many chemicals.
She began following a method called “no-poo”, which involves using only water or natural substitutes to wash the hair. The movement is gaining momentum in beauty circles as fans insist the benefits outweigh the negatives.
Aitken Read (blog: lulastic.co.uk) said she is testament to this as her auburn hair is now far more lustrous than before.
“I have always wondered whether the urban legend that if you leave your hair long enough it will start to wash itself was true or not,” she said. “And when I became a mother I felt I should start looking more at what I was putting on and in my own and my children’s bodies.”
The rationale behind the method is that shampoo strips the hair of its natural oils, which prompts the scalp to generate more oils to replace them. This leaves the scalp greasy as it is overloaded with oil, so we then use more shampoo.
Advocates claim the hair’s natural balance returns by not using shampoo, and the hair keeps clean by itself. However, before the benefits begin, there is what Aitken Read calls “the tricky transition period” in which the scalp still over-produces oils. On the worst days of this “smelly stage” she wore a head scarf.
Of this stage, she now says: “I gave up shampoo without knowing anyone else who did it and really without knowing anything about it. I went cold turkey, and didn’t realise there were a billion options for achieving fresh smelling locks during transition.”
She has written a book called Happy Hair about her experience. In it she lists 30 alternatives to shampoo and conditioner.
“I use water on my hair every three to four days, and every ten to 14 days I might use an egg on it or some bicarbonate of soda,” she says.
Alternatives to shampoo listed on blog are:
1. Water!: “The key is in the massage- as you soak your hair, get your fingers stuck in, pushing away at your scalp and any particularly grease-o bits.”
2. Bicarbonate of Soda/ Baking Soda. “i make a little paste with a spoonful and a few drops of water and rub it into my scalp. I leave it for a few minutes before rinsing.”
3. Egg.: “I use the whole egg, whisked in a cup. I pour over my head and massage in. I leave for a few minutes and rinse well. “
4 Henna: :”This is my once-every-six-weeks deep treatment! I mix up about ten spoons of it with hot water to make a paste. Once cool I apply it all over and leave it for two hours. (Epic I know, I use a plastic bag and grips to keep it all in place.) It needs a SERIOUS rinse, and a good brush, but my hair after is brighter, cleaner, softer.”
5. Tea. “This relies very much on the massage bit too, and the result is the same as water except you get a nice smell! “
6. Lemon. “Squeeze the lemon straight on to your greasy roots, massage well and leave for a few moments. “
7. Tea Tree Oil.: “Added to the bicarb paste, the lemon or the water only wash, this makes a lovely difference. Tea tree oil is perfect for people with scalp issues, dandruff etc.”
8. A note on conditioner- Nearly all of these, bar the egg, need a rinse with Apple Cider Vinegar. I use a splash in half a cup of water and throw it over the ends of my hair, leave for a few minutes then rinse out. It’s a WINNER. - Daily Mail, IOL