W/O (water only) Dangers...

[rainkloud]

i have been rather bored with my hair lately and was reading the w/o thread, considering trying it out, but decided to dig deep and research a little bit beforehand, and i just wanted to point out a few things i learned.
just some clips and quotes..

"Overproduction of sebum on the scalp may result in undernourished roots. This is because the hair follicles clogged by sebum are literally "drowning" in the oil, thereby weakening both the scalp and the hair strands.

When too much sebum builds up on the scalp, it eventually hardens and hinders the growth of healthy hair. Essentially, hair that falls out (a natural occurrence for men and women alike) is not replaced as it normally would be due to the clogged follicles. The end result is thinning hair and eventual hair loss.."

"Dead skin cells and sebum oil are one of the main reasons of hair loss as they are food of bacteria. And bacteria destroy hair roots and scalp."

"..dead skin cells, scalp oil, and hair product residue that combine to form deposits that clog hair follicles. Bacteria thrive under such conditions compromising the scalp's health and ability to produce hair. This results in hair loss, bald spots, and thinning hair."

"Sebum is also a highly acidic substance which dries on the scalp and causes dandruff. When it is excessively discharged, it clogs and chokes the follicles, preventing draining and gradually causing the cuticle, which holds the hair shaft in place, to be eaten away. It eventually separates from the hair follicle and loosens until the hair shaft falls out. However, because the sebum continues its excessive flow, the damage does not stop with the loss of the individual hair shafts. The scalp can become a bacteria infested mass that will finally destroy the roots. When this occurs, the follicles can no longer support hair growth."




alrighty.......you get the drift....
:)
be carefull out there!

[Calista]

Well, for one WO is done to combat excessive production of sebum. And with WO you do a lot of massaging, scritching etc. to keep your scalp clean. So if you are conscientious there is no danger of clogged pores or hairloss. :flowers:

[birthmarkie]

But most of those things are a result of overproduction of sebum. W/O helps in cutting down the overproduction of sebum.

ETA: Calista and I basically posted the same thing. And yeah, in order for W/O to work you do have to keep your scalp relatively clean through various techniques.

[rainkloud]

oh, i hear you, and if this technique works for you, more power to you...just after reading the thread it seems that Alot of girls have Alot of grease and oil they are complaining about, and it had me wondering.

[strawberryfine]

I've had some of these same worries also. Thanks for posting.

[TheSpottedCow]

Personally, I don't think I agree with that. The sebum comes out of our heads naturally. Humans were on earth for a pretty long time before we had shampoo or washed our hair.

[birthmarkie]

oh, i hear you, and if this technique works for you, more power to you...just after reading the thread it seems that Alot of girls have Alot of grease and oil they are complaining about, and it had me wondering.

It doesn't seem like many of the people on the WO thread have done straight WO for a month. Getting the "greasies" or the "oilies" doesn't mean anything except that you have to try harder to make it work, or give up.

[spidermom]

Personally, I don't think I agree with that. The sebum comes out of our heads naturally. Humans were on earth for a pretty long time before we had shampoo or washed our hair.

Humans indeed were on the earth for a long time before shampoo or even soap. Back in the most primitive times, the life span was about 25 years. 100 years ago, the life span was only 50 years. I don't know if any study has ever been done about the scalp conditions that people suffered from way back when. Let's don't rhapsodize about the "good old days"; they weren't.

Now I'm not trying to say that I think life expectancy has increased because of shampoo/washing the hair, but I suspect that improvements in personal hygiene and living space hygiene overall has contributed a great deal.

[wolf girl]

I've been doing WO for six months. I used my BBB and scalp massages to distrbute the oils and never had the "greasies" problem. Now, I only "wash" my hair once a week. It's never greasy and the only reason I wash it once a week is a mental thing. It really doesn't even need that.

[TheSpottedCow]

That's true spidermom. I should mention I'm not doing the WO thing... I shampoo my hair. I agree that there were many conditions people suffered in the past because of poor hygiene. I just don't think sebum will likely cause hairloss or thinning. Upon thinking about it though, perhaps the dirt and outside bacteria introduced to the scalp that is not cleaned off would cause problems, that could result in thinning hair.

[toodramatik]

Personally, I don't think I agree with that. The sebum comes out of our heads naturally. Humans were on earth for a pretty long time before we had shampoo or washed our hair.

And we smelt really bad to mark territory, too.

[jessie58]

I was going to say pretty much the same thing that others posted here. WO when done properly usually involves massaging, scritching and for some people combing or brushing. These things are very helpful for cleaning the scalp and moving the sebum down the hair.

The above conditions sound more like hair that has not been cared for properly or some people who might have certain scalp conditions that are exacerbated by WO.

[Riot Crrl]

It may be an important distinction that not everyone on that thread (from what little I have browsed of it) seems to be taking the purist route with it. Some folks seem to be using it to stretch washes, etc.

That's basically what I do, and have always done for many years. I used to shampoo every 2-3 days, and just rinse with water in between (and plaster more conditioner on). Now I co-wash every 2-3 days, and rinse with water in between (and plaster more conditioner on).

[Lamb]

I was going to say pretty much the same thing that others posted here. WO when done properly usually involves massaging, scritching and for some people combing or brushing. These things are very helpful for cleaning the scalp and moving the sebum down the hair.

The above conditions sound more like hair that has not been cared for properly or some people who might have certain scalp conditions that are exacerbated by WO.

I agree - however, I also think that the success of WO depends not only on correct technique or hairtype/scalp sensitivity, but also on what I just call the "texture" of an individual's sebum. I have a theory that not only are our scalps and hair different, but we also produce sebum which differs in its "hardness", which is why gentler cleansing methods such as WO or CO don't work for everyone, regardless of how perfect their technique is.

[jessie58]

I agree - however, I also think that the success of WO depends not only on correct technique or hairtype/scalp sensitivity, but also on what I just call the "texture" of an individual's sebum. I have a theory that not only are our scalps and hair different, but we also produce sebum which differs in its "hardness", which is why gentler cleansing methods such as WO or CO don't work for everyone, regardless of how perfect their technique is.

This is true too, I remember that there were a couple of people with hard sebum difficulties but they seemed to be in the minority.

[frizzinator]

Actually anything that prevents air from reaching the scalp such as sebum, oil or scalp flakes, will cause thinning and hair loss. Scritching is really important to remove sebum from the scalp, and a stiff bbb (with bristles long enough to reach to the scalp) helps remove scalp flakes.


I haven't used water for 9 months. I scritch, massage and preen every day. My photo album consists of current photos (none are older than 7 months) of the best my hair has ever looked, due to not using water or anything else.

[magicatt]

I have a theory that not only are our scalps and hair different, but we also produce sebum which differs in its "hardness", which is why gentler cleansing methods such as WO or CO don't work for everyone, regardless of how perfect their technique is.

Which would make perfect sense as there are different textures of ear wax.

[Dianyla]

Speaking on behalf of trolleypup... the most dangerous thing likely to happen to him as a result of WO washing is that his personal smell will be so intensely attractive that he might get pounced upon! :lol:

[trolleypup]

Speaking on behalf of trolleypup... the most dangerous thing likely to happen to him as a result of WO washing is that his personal smell will be so intensely attractive that he might get pounced upon! :lol:
*goes and washes hair*

Seriously, two years of WO, hair hasn't fallen out. I'll note that with WO, my scalp has less buildup and is happier/less prone to itchies, etc. than when I was using products. Also, when I went to WO, my shed rate dropped for a while (mostly during the transition period), but eventually returned to "normal."

WO every 3-4 days, strong spray that distinctly penetrates to the scalp.

[Dianyla]

*goes and washes hair*
*sigh*

*pounces anyway* :lol:

[Siamese]

alrighty.......you get the drift....
:)
be carefull out there!

Please also 'be careful' about where this information originates from and what exactly your point is.

rainkloud your quoted assertions indicate no direct (or independent), scientific correlation with WO determined as a detrimental means of managing hair. None at all. In fact, there is no mention of WO at all on those sites. They discuss the under/overproduction of sebum and clogged hair follicles. These can be issues for any person whether they choose WO or other.

After searching the quotes, each of their associated websites also go on to then extol the virtues of their products in resolving the dreaded sebum problem. Independent, scientific studies on the effects of WO would lend far more credibility to the thread than quoting from companies selling 'the cure' to what appears to be a common issue for a percentage of the populace.

In the absence of those studies, all we have is anecdotal.