What does no poo mean! Luckily it’s not what you think.
I went no poo on April 12 2020. There’s a clue there. We had just gone into lockdown & I grabbed my chance as no one was going to see me for 8 weeks + & that’s what I needed. No poo is when you stop using products on your hair. ie. No shampoo. My school friend Andrea & I attempted this when we were 14. Although it didn’t have that name then. We’d read you needed to do it for about two weeks. Going to school every day like that felt like a lifetime and I didn’t succeed!
Why would you do this.
There are a few chemicals in products out there that can damage the hair & skin and so the theory is if you remove these products you will break the cycle and get the natural oils (sebum) back doing what it’s supposed to do. OMG it worked. BUT it took 3 months. This is what they call the transition stage which is awful! Oh and my husband decided to do it with me and his dandruff stopped dead in 2 weeks!
What products is it best to avoid & why?
To be “low poo” (you can now imagine roughly what that means) Means you do wash you hair with some shampoos, conditioners & products as long as you stay away from 3 main products. They are Sulphates, Silicones & Parabens (And all the similar names they hide behind)
Sulphates - Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES)- are in Shampoos (soaps, body wash & most cleaning products) and strip the hair of everything including your hairs natural oil & PH balance. Creating a fake clean and guess what you then need a conditioner!!
They are made from petroleum & palm oil. So not even good for the environment and another reason to avoid. If you have sensitive skin & eyes, roseacha, eczema or contact dermatitis avoid for a while and see what happens.
Silicones - theses are in Conditioners and give the ‘effect’ of a silky & shine finish & lets you ‘believe’ the product is working. Obviously needed after the stripping from the product we have used before. Also note they are in face products (because it’s cheap.) But if you are layering with another product it won’t penetrate as the silicone will create a waterproof barrier. They are also hard to remove from hair and face.
Parabens - these preserve the life of the product from mould. But they are also known to be endocrine disrupters and can mimic estrogen as they enter the body via the scalp. Basically messing with our hormones. And why you are seeing Paraben free on so many products nowadays.
What happens when you stop washing your hair with these chemicals.
Firstly as I said it takes a while. Much longer than I expected & certainly not the 2 weeks we learned in the early nineties and you go through a horrible transition period when the sebum goes haywire and overproduces or something and you become a greaseball. Hence the reason for doing it in lockdown! And by the way curly hair is a pain. It’s so dry never shiny etc etc. Then as the chemicals that have stripped the hair and then coated it have eventually gone, the sebum does it’s thing and goes down the whole hair shaft protecting it like it should naturally.
Benefits I experienced.
-My hair did not need cutting for a whole year. The sebum seemed to glue the usual split ends together or stopped the hair from drying & splitting in the first place. I normally have to have it cut every 6 weeks!
-I no longer had frizz at the crown.
-Each curl formed it’s own proper curl pattern
-Don’t need to comb it ever in over two years. Zero tangles
-No need to use products like mousse & gel
COMPLEMENTS.. COMPLEMENTS.. COMPLEMENTS
- Saved ££££
No plastic waste
What did I use?
For two years I was pretty much water only (WO as it’s known!) Except for having my hair coloured once a year where they use their own products. But in the #nopoo facebook group I joined see my previous post, there are hundreds of natural ingredients you can try for adding moisture or adding protein like a rice water rinse. You name it I’ve tried it. The trouble is it takes a few weeks for the hair to respond before you try the next thing. And the big problem with that is living in London we have hard water which creates a build up of calcium and yet again coats the hair shaft, creating the same problem as sulphates & Silicones.
So just after two years in I have now gone back to “low poo” which is shampooing without the above nasties. It’s ok, but for me the vicious circle has started again and sometimes have to use a mild hair cream to stop frizz. My hair is still much better than where it used to be before lockdown, - the expense, products, not having to have it cut is huge for me or wash it every few days. I can ‘stretch’ it as it’s known between washes. But it’s not quite that dream of the water only curls. My husband is still water only BTW!!
I’d never before had anyone ask what products I used when I actually used products, and when I went product free I would be asked in shops and in the street! LOL!
I envy how India & most of Asia have it right. All made from natural fruit & plant ingredients & yep I’ve tried a few of these living in Tooting. But most darken the hair.
The gentle products I use now with no nasties
@sogooditsnoughty clarifying shampoo maybe once every 2 weeks or more
@curlsmith_official weightless air dry cream leave in conditioner which I use as a styling product as it acts as a light frizz tamer.
And a spritz of purified water as it has a better ph than tap water for our hair. or you can use boiled rain water. Soooo good for the hair.
Other products I’ve tried for curly hair that are good and pass the no poo test
Update 18 April 2024.
I have been introduced to a new brand to me called The Windle Lab by my curly girl hair specialist. It is absolutely amazing. I love it. Will have to do a separate post about their products. But I couldn’t leave this blog without mentioning them.
All I’ll take on holiday. My water spritz, the air cream & my scalp stimulator. These are great to get the sebum activated.
This is the Facebook group if you are ready to have your mind blown on the attention to detail on how to look after your hair. But be warned once you go down this hole you’ll never come back! And yes my curls made it to the cover.
