"No Poo" Movement Week 1

As of tomorrow, I will have completed my first week of not shampooing my hair at all.

Last Friday was the first day I decided to start this; I had not shampooed my hair since the Tuesday prior.  I was typically going 2-4 days without shampooing.  It has been six days since I've shampooed.  It's the longest I've gone, as far as I can remember.

It's tough going.  The roots are constantly greasy looking.  I don't know if I should stop using conditioner or not because my hair would be an absolute bitch to comb out without any type of detangler.

When I rinsed last Friday without washing, it was an ode to willpower.  The next day I felt so gross, I showered again before going out.  My hair still felt gross that day too.

I haven't rinsed/conditioned again since.  I think the next time I rinse it (tonight) I'm not going to use conditioner and see if that makes a difference.

There is a ton of stuff built up on my scalp.  It's gross.  But it doesn't itch at all.  That's once thing I've noticed.  The typical dry itchiness I have has gone away.  Makes sense; more oil on the scalp, calms the dry skin.  But it's building up and I don't know if there's anything I can do to make that go away.

I plan on giving this a shot for two months.  That was the longest transition period I read for some people.  So if by August I'm not comfortable for whatever reason, I'll go back to using Neutrogena T/SAL (for scalp build up) and L'Oreal's sulfate-free moisturizing conditioner regularly.

The whole point of doing this is to get rid of the frizzy halo I've had with my hair my entire life.  I also want to leave it naturally wavy/curly all the time (for the simple fact that it's faster than styling it, by two hours).  The problem with leaving it naturally wavy/curly is how frizzy it is.  It dries very slowly, one tiny thin layer at a time.  The top layer drives but is so close to the moisture of the wet hair beneath it that it frizzes up like crazy.  Even in the winter, it's frizzy.

So I read that the problem is this: the reason hair frizzes is because it's dry and desires moisture.  So it reaches out to whatever moisture it can find, thus causing frizz.  My hair causes it's own frizz with air-drying. As the layers dry, the topmost becomes frizzy due to the moisture left below it.  The bottom layers of my hair, once dry, have nice beach-bum like waves that are soft (although the ends are a bit poofy because my stylist doesn't know how to cut the bottom layer).  They are completely frizz free.  But that top layer ends up laying flat, dull, and most of the wave has straightened out of itself because of the pure amount of hair I have.  It weighs itself down and dries somewhat straight (in a very frizzy and poofy way).

I typically end up with what I call triangle-head.  I definitely need to get my hair cut, but I have to make sure that the bottom layer is cut thin enough so the ends of my hair air-dry nicely, as opposed to the poof-mess they're making right now.

I'm also hoping that, after a few weeks, my hair will air-dry nicely on it's own due to my stopping shampooing.  I will admit that the rest of the hair between the ends and the root feel quite nice.  Soft and shiny (but not oily or greasy).

Trying to keep it going.  Here's to un-frizzy hair!