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No Shampoo/No Water?

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reeko43

reeko43

Well-Known Member
I read on another forum that a woman hadn't washed her hair (natural) in six months and that it was in the best condition ever! She states her hair grows faster and the texture has changed (did not specify how). Not only does she not wash her hair, she doesn't use water on it either.

I have never heard of this. I did google and found an article where a woman didn't wash her hair in 11 years with great results. I also found other articles which discuss this stating shampoo strips the sebum from the hair and all you have to do is brush/comb massage the sebun down the length of your hair for healthy results.

I know that somewhere and at some time this was discussed on LHCF but I have not been able to find a thread.

Has anyone tried this? What were your results? Thoughts?
 
Uhm no. That's nasty! She can't tell me that she doesn't sweat and that her hair doesn't stink. I would rather be stuck at SL with a clean scalp, than have TBL hair that's dirty and stinks.
 
Well, those who've tried it claim that the hair is oily for some weeks but once the sebum finally covers the hair length that goes away and that there is no smell. I can't imagine how this would work because I work out/run alot and sweat in my hair a great deal. Just wondering if anyone tried this and if it worked for them.
 
I went to school with a girl who did this. (Boarding school so I can vouch for the fact that for 9 months, I was with her, I know she never washed her hair.) Her mom used to wash it for her at the end of the year. She never had lice and her hair didn't smell. She used oil/grease to clean her hair. Basically she'd apply oil/grease to her hair, and thread cotton wool into a metal pick comb and then rake the comb through her hair working on sections at a time. She'd repeat the process turning the cotton over and replacing it as needed until there was no dirt collecting on the cotton but only clear grease. She would repeat this after her hair was "clean" so her hair wasn't caked with oil/grease when she was done. But yes, she had to apply a lot for the "cleaning" process.

Her texture didn't change. She always had silky but coarse, very dark 4A hair and because it was stretched all year, her hair looked wavy...but I don't consider that a texture/pattern change. Her baby photos showed hair that looked like very silky and shiny and like doll hair--unlike any baby hair I had seen on other black babies, so it wasn't odd to me that her hair seemed smoother than mine.

In my school, we had to wear our hair out daily, unless you had hair long enough to wear in a maximum of 3 big plaits. That was a catch 22 situation for TWA natural 4B chicks like me who didn't know any better and would rake a pick comb through dry 4B hair. My hair stayed at 3-4 inches while my friend who could wear the low mani 3 plaits always had long, dark wavy hair.

I know I personally couldn't do it. I have a mad love for washing my hair and the massage that goes with it. But I have had that method of cleaning hair used on me when there was a shortage of water or I was ill--I can't remember the reason. It's good for temporary cleaning but I don't think I could do it regularly.

ETA: I forgot to add that for her scalp, the cotton would scrape over it as she combed through. Or she'd use a dry towel and wrap a finger over it and run it down the parts she'd make when getting ready to rake the comb/cotton through her hair, and wipe the grease/oil with it.
 
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Skin is your body's biggest eliminator of toxins. This includes your scalp. Couple that with the environment, a good frequent hair wash is essential to good hygiene, IMO.


Sent from my iPhone using LHCF
 
The closest I came to trying this is when I was a kid. My mom thought water would dry out my hair SO she only shampooed it when I was getting a relaxer so like every 2-3 months. I had a VERY itchy scalp and grease didn't help, I did have very long hair lhcf long. At about 16 transitioned from dandruff into seborrheic dermatitis. I'd blame food allergies and the constant use of grease. I feel if you have a VERY DRY SCALP (not hair but scalp) then shampooing often may not be necessary BUT me personally my scalp is OILY and problematic so if I don't shampoo or cowash at least once a week there will be flakes, sebum, etc. If sebum can get from your scalp to your ends then you should be able to rock a month or 2 without cleansing although now that I know better it just "sounds nasty and lazy" regardless of how okay it may be. I think people have good results because not washing your hair is the most extreme form of low manipulation in my opinion
 
I know someone who had really bad acne and stopped washing her face for like 30 days and her skin cleared up for the first time in her life. I wouldn't do it, but I guess there is something to letting your body do its own thing. I guess you just have to get through that oily/uncomfortable transition stage first.
I knew girls at school who would only wash their hair when they went back home to the salon every couple of months because they wouldn't do it themselves, and there were no black salons in my college town. Their hair didn't stink (although I wasn't burying my nose in it either) so I don't know... I can't imagine though. The last time I shampooed my hair was on the 3rd and I am dyingggggg to clean it (I'm trying to cut down on shampooing and seeing if I can last 3-4 weeks without so I only have to use shampoo once a month).
 
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Some folks think dirt will grow hair. You can't tell them nothing!:rolleyes: It couldn't be me because I have to wash weekly. My scalp hates not being washed.:nono: Sometimes, I have to wash twice a week if I work out really hard.:lol:
 
I've hear about this but will never try it. I wont knock those that do if it works for them. However, I find it very interesting.
 
LaughingOctopus said:
Nonie

Do you think that oil/grease couldve been castor oil? It does have anti fungal properties...:look:
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LaughingOctopus No. I didn't know Castor oil was used on hair or skin until I joined the forum and then read it elsewhere online as a skin cleanser. I only knew Castor oil as a laxative when I was growing up.

I know for sure she used the green Dax. When I was growing up, the only "pure" oil I saw used on hair was coconut oil, and not the unrefined kind but just the regular kind you find in the hair aisle. I don't remember if she used coconut oil and when I write oil/grease, I don't mean she had a mixture. I just know that whatever you use, it has to something that will coat the hair well and make it easy for the cotton to glide over hair wiping it...otherwise you'll have pieces of cotton wool in your hair. I think Castor oil might be too thick/sticky. It has to be something that wipes off easily.
 
Nonie your friend doesn't seem that bad because she at least had some kind of maintenance system to clean her hair (thank gawd lol).

With tightly curled hair it's much more difficult for the sebum to travel down the hair shaft, so I'm not sure how this would work on our hair...I could MAYBE see it on straight hair though but I still feel like it's pretty nasty.
 
EllePixie said:
Nonie your friend doesn't seem that bad because she at least had some kind of maintenance system to clean her hair (thank gawd lol).

With tightly curled hair it's much more difficult for the sebum to travel down the hair shaft, so I'm not sure how this would work on our hair...I could MAYBE see it on straight hair though but I still feel like it's pretty nasty.
Click to expand...

EllePixie it can work on any hair, I think. My friend had kinky 4A hair only it was shiny. Her sebum didn't travel down or up her strands. She had to apply grease to her hair and a lot to provide the slipperiness necessary for cotton wool to glide over it w/ot getting left behind. The grease would come off with dirt.

I've had it done on my 4B hair just not as the only way to clean my hair in a long time or for a year. :blush: But as oil cleansers on the skin forum will tell you, oil removes oil, so.... It does indeed work better on stretched hair though. When I was growing up, I don't know any type 4 hair person who wore their hair shrunken or in WNGs. Braiding hair for the night was the norm, so stretched hair is really how you saw 4B hair. Unless it was a very short TWA. Even 2-3 inch hair was braided for the night.

I just love the smell of freshly washed/conditioned hair, so don't think I could do this as my regular thang. Now if there was a shortage of water, I'd not think twice about doing it. It'd be better than having funky or filthy hair.
 
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Nonie said:
EllePixie it can work on any hair, I think. My friend had kinky 4A hair only it was shiny. Her sebum didn't travel down or up her strands. She had to apply grease to her hair and a lot to provide the slipperiness necessary for cotton wool to glide over it w/ot getting left behind. The grease would come off with dirt.

I've had it done on my 4B hair just not as the only way to clean my hair in a long time or for a year. :blush: But as oil cleansers on the skin forum will tell you, oil removes oil, so....

I just love the smell of freshly washed/conditioned hair, so don't think I could do this as my regular thang. Now if there was a shortage of water, I'd not think twice about doing it. It'd be better than having funky hair.
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I didn't mean her method wouldn't work, I meant leaving the hair alone and not washing it like the OP implied. Hers seems thorough and it could work on various types of hair. Two separate thoughts, that I am obviously not good at distinguishing between sometimes, lol.
 
EllePixie said:
I didn't mean her method wouldn't work, I meant leaving the hair alone and not washing it like the OP implied. Hers seems thorough and it could work on various types of hair. Two separate thoughts, that I am obviously not good at distinguishing between sometimes, lol.
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EllePixie Aah...:yep: Gotcha.
 
Intriguing but I couldn't see myself trying it. You have to figure that before the 1920s or so, people didn't always have access to plentiful water or expensive shampoos, conditioners, perfumes, etc. So as Nonie pointed out, there are methods to caring for your hair without regularly washing it - without being smelly or "disgusting".
 
EllePixie said:
Totally OT: @Nonie I picked my fro out today and thought of you!
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I thanked this^^ post then unthanked it because you have a nerve to say this and not insert a link. :rolleyes: That sort of teasing is beyond cruel. You coulda turned "my 'fro out today" into a link to the pic and KIM. *pouts and glares EllePixie --or rather Ellepix-miss-ie-ing.
 
EllePixie said:
:bighug: Aw shucks.

Ooooh sorry OP, did not mean to derail your thread.
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Yeah, sorry OP. It's Ellepixie's fault. :angel:

@EllePixie, watch... you gonn' confuse folks into thinking one gets such an awesome huge afro from not washing their hair. :giggle: Or in a few months, someone will write, well, Elle doesn't wash her hair for 6 months and she has such beautiful hair. I remember when she posted the afro she gets from this regimen in a post on this topic. :lachen:
 
EllePixie said:
Ooooh sorry OP, did not mean to derail your thread.
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LOL, that's ok, it was worth it to be able to see that gorgeous fro!!!

Reading up about this did get me thinking. When the weather gets cooler, I may cowash or water rinse weekly and shampoo only every one to two months. I do see the how shampoo can throw the scalp's balance off. I just can't see myself omitting water from my hair regime. It just smacks of poor hygiene. But if it works for some I say go for it.
 
reeko43 said:
LOL, that's ok, it was worth it to be able to see that gorgeous fro!!!

Reading up about this did get me thinking. When the weather gets cooler, I may cowash or water rinse weekly and shampoo only every one to two months. I do see the how shampoo can throw the scalp's balance off. I just can't see myself omitting water from my hair regime. It just smacks of poor hygiene. But if it works for some I say go for it.
Click to expand...

Thank ya!

You could also get a cleansing conditioner and use that weekly rather than shampoo. LOL @ "smacks of poor hygiene."
 
mzteaze said:
Intriguing but I couldn't see myself trying it. You have to figure that before the 1920s or so, people didn't always have access to plentiful water or expensive shampoos, conditioners, perfumes, etc. So as Nonie pointed out, there are methods to caring for your hair without regularly washing it - without being smelly or "disgusting".
Click to expand...

.... Yeah, but they didn't have half the chemical or synthetic crap to deal with as we do today in our environment, hair products, food, etc.


Sent from my iPhone using LHCF
 
I think there is a very big difference between not washing with shampoo and dry cleaning your hair to not doing anything at all. So I have not read everything but I think some people are getting it confused about the dry cleaning. I do think it is nasty to not clean in some kind of way at all and like another member said I get sores in my scalp if I do not clean on a regular basis. I don't think I could do the dry cleaning because I can't even use oil and grease on my hair. I can put it in for a prepoo but have to wash it out the next day.

Oh and forgot to add that when I hear washing I don't think of shampoo because you can wash your hair without shampoo.
 
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