Why You Should Stop Using Shampoo

Two years ago, I stopped using shampoo and conditioner.

I primarily stopped by mistake, but now that I realize how detrimental shampoo was to the condition and look of my hair, I don't think I'll ever start again.

How to Stop Shampooing

It's quite easy to stop using shampoo—you simply do it. You don't need specialized items, herbal treatments, shamans to bless your hair, or any of that. I know it's alluring to believe you need. Simply cease using it.

The phase of adaption is the difficult part. Your hair may take a week or more to adapt, depending on how long it is, how healthy your diet is, how well you sleep, how naturally oily it is, and other health-related aspects.

Your hair becomes oily, flat, greasy, smells horrible, your scalp itches, and you generally don't look very appealing at that period. This is the main reason why people lose up. Around the first week, you'll start to feel uncomfortable, think "Nelis must have been wrong," and go back to the shower to chemically torture your hair into submission.

The adjustment phase will pass, though, and your hair will get to the point where you just need to rinse it with water once every two to three days to keep it looking good.

And if you get through that stage, you'll likely experience some of the side affects that I've experienced and those my friends who have been adapted have also mentioned:

Effects of Stopping Shampooing

Healthier hair

Your hair becomes healthier, and that is the main benefit. If dryness or brittleness is a concern for you, it is less dry and brittle and retains a more vibrant color for longer than shampoo-adapted hair.

It's been so long since I stopped that I can easily spend 2-4 days without washing hair without seeing a significant change in how it looks. Once hair had been 20 to 24 hours since I had shampooed it, it would start to appear greasy and grow oily.

Now, the only drawback of leaving it unwashed for a few days is that my scalp itches. But if I'm regularly washing, neither my hair nor my scalp ever get dry or seem greasy.

Easier Styling

Even while I still use product to style my hair, I only use about a fourth of what I formerly did. In comparison to when I was shampooing it, I can maneuver it into the same form more simply, and it will maintain that shape for a longer period of time.

More Volume

It seems that most individuals who stop using shampoo also notice an increase in the volume of their hair. This, in my opinion, is due to the fact that using conditioner in particular may make your hair flat and soft, and that when you stop using it, your hair naturally thickens up again.

My hair got simpler to style in part because of this. It was less flat, which made working with it simpler.

Your Health Is Revealed by Your Hair

Here's a huge one: your hair will betray your health after you stop washing and conditioning it. Your hair will show if you eat badly, get little sleep, quit working out, or get stressed. Your scalp will get drier, it will become darker, and it will become more unclean with you.

It is logical. We use shampoo to control our hair to project health and youth since it is a key communication tool for possible partners about how healthy or unwell we are. If you want to maintain your hair looking beautiful after you stop washing, you really need to keep your health somewhat in check.

This doesn't mean that the moment you eat bad food or sleep for six hours you'll look like a mess; in fact, when I do those things, my hair still looks fine. However, if I continue to do those things consistently for a week or longer, I'll start to notice that my hair is beginning to change to reflect my poor lifestyle choices.

Neutral Odor

The fact that your hair smells like, well, hair is one affect that isn't good or bad. Even if it no longer has a pleasant, fruity scent, as long as you rinse it, it still doesn't smell terrible. But if it important to you, you might smell it with a tiny bit of essential oil.

It Seems to Be Easier for Guys

The majority of the males I've spoken with had no trouble making the shift. In 2-3 weeks, their hair usually grows back, at which point they are set to go and haven't used shampoo since.

The changeover seems to provide more difficulties for women. Women readers have told me a lot more "tried it, didn't work" anecdotes; most of them claim that their hair becomes very oily within a week or two, making them quit up.

Most likely, this is brought on by women just having more hair. You might seem more greasy the more hair you have since the more hair you have, the more it will need to grow out, and the more oil it may create. If you have hair beyond your shoulders, it can take you more than a month, if not months, to get used to it.

So how do ladies go about doing this? Cutting your hair shorter, adapting at the reduced length, and letting the healthier, adapted hair grow out are two options. Another is to persevere and wait for things to change (with lots of putting your hair in a bun in the meantime). I've heard that using dry shampoo, Moroccan oil, or a combination of the two may assist to replenish the health of your hair while you wait through the change.