I HATE shampoo.... But......

[jackiehunter212]

My hair just looks bad without some form of cleansing, and it seems shampoo (as opposed to conditioner only, egg masks, and other natural means) is the only thing to get my whole head looking clean. I hate shampoo though because it ALWAYS (whether it be a natural brand or not) dries out my scalp and hair (I have hyper-sensitive skin and am prone to getting rashes from cosmetics, shampoos usually being the main offender)

I have mildly thick/wavy hair that is very tempermental. Any guidance on going "no-poo" and alleviating dirtiness/greasiness?

[spidermom]

Have you tried diluting the shampoo? I do that almost every time I wash. I saved an empty shampoo bottle and put warm water in it, then a squirt of shampoo, shake well, squirt all over scalp. (no measuring)

[Artsy]

I get rushes from shampoo on my skin, and I have tried all of the cleaning methods except WO. Right now I am using kids shampoo and it works fine without giving me a rush, and is not weighting down my hair. I am researching WO at the moment anyway.

[monsterna]

Depends on what's in your shampoo. Does it have SLS or other drying/stripping ingredients?

[Anje]

Have you tried a non-sulfate shampoo or shampoo bars (which are really cold-process soap) yet?

Give it a few weeks when trying any new cleansing method, unless something goes horribly wrong, like you start shedding heavily or get a rash or something. It usually takes a little while to get your sebum production adjusted, and you might have to wash a bit more frequently in the beginning just to make up for the fact that you're using a milder/less stripping cleanser.

[Aveyronnaise]

Have you tried diluting the shampoo? I do that almost every time I wash. I saved an empty shampoo bottle and put warm water in it, then a squirt of shampoo, shake well, squirt all over scalp. (no measuring)
This ^^big time I would never have thought something so super simple would have helped so very much. It saves the scalp a bit and gives such a through wash for thickies with otter fur hair.

[Madora]

If none of the suggestions here work, then try consulting a trichologist (hair doctor) about your problem.

Diluting the shampoo is a great idea. I do it too (a tablespoon of shampoo diluted in 8 oz of warm water.

I actually shampoo twice...the first time is to remove the surface dirt from the hair..the second time to massage the shampoo into the scalp itself.

After each shampoo I rinse with warm then cool water.

Hope you find a shampoo that works for you! Hair should be cleansed..otherwise, buildup ensues and it is only harder to get clean.

Also, you do not need a lot of lather to get your hair clean!

[monsterna]

If none of the suggestions here work, then try consulting a trichologist (hair doctor) about your problem.

Diluting the shampoo is a great idea. I do it too (a tablespoon of shampoo diluted in 8 oz of warm water.

I actually shampoo twice...the first time is to remove the surface dirt from the hair..the second time to massage the shampoo into the scalp itself.

After each shampoo I rinse with warm then cool water.

Hope you find a shampoo that works for you! Hair should be cleansed..otherwise, buildup ensues and it is only harder to get clean.

Also, you do not need a lot of lather to get your hair clean!

Hmm, I might start shampooing twice and seeing how that goes. Except my shampoo is like $15 and I don't want to waste it, haha. It's a sulphate-, protein-, and cone-free shampoo that I love.

But yeah. Getting side of sulphates works well.

[jaine]

What shampoos have you tried so far - could you give us some examples of brands you've tried that irritated your skin?

I have insanely sensitive skin. Two shampoo brands that have never caused issues for me are California Baby, and John Masters Organics. But I carefully selected these because of their ingredients.

To me, a non-irritating shampoo ingredient list looks like this:

- water or aloe
- some sort of non-irritating surfactant (for me this is something with "polyglucose" or "glucoside" in the name, but never "sulfate" ... and "betaine" is suspicious to me but it doesn't seem to bother me in the John Masters shampoo that I use)
- maybe some oils and or/essential oils
- maybe something to adjust the ph like citric acid
- ...and nothing else!!!! No "fragrance" ingredient, no parabens, no preservatives, nada. Especially if it doesn't sound edible :)

[MissAlida]

I just tried washing with baking soda yesterday and it gave great results: clean scalp, soft, shiny lenght, no tangles, no frizz. I mixed 1 tbs baking soda with a little water to obtain a paste, applied it on detangled, wet hair, massaged it in, then rinsed with water. Afterwards diluted 1 tbs of vinegar(I used the one made of wine, but you can use ACV too) in 1 cup (250 ml) water, poured it on my hair, masaged it in, rinsed with cold water... My hair is as happy as can be, I am going to do this 2 times a week, and hopefully no shampoo has to touch my hair from this day on:D. I also use a diluted conditioner in a spray bottle, if my ends get dry, since I am on the wurly side, that happens sometimes. It has cones and stuff, but the baking soda will remove it anyways. Good luck.

[terpentyna]

I dilute my shampoo even though my scalp gets relatively oily, because straight shampoo will dry out my scalp big time.

[jackiehunter212]

What shampoos have you tried so far - could you give us some examples of brands you've tried that irritated your skin?

I have insanely sensitive skin. Two shampoo brands that have never caused issues for me are California Baby, and John Masters Organics. But I carefully selected these because of their ingredients.

To me, a non-irritating shampoo ingredient list looks like this:

- water or aloe
- some sort of non-irritating surfactant (for me this is something with "polyglucose" or "glucoside" in the name, but never "sulfate" ... and "betaine" is suspicious to me but it doesn't seem to bother me in the John Masters shampoo that I use)
- maybe some oils and or/essential oils
- maybe something to adjust the ph like citric acid
- ...and nothing else!!!! No "fragrance" ingredient, no parabens, no preservatives, nada. Especially if it doesn't sound edible :)

I thought I would post my response to this (thank you all for being SO thorough and helpful!) about my sensitivities:
I have gotten rashes from the following brands:
-Pantene
-Tresemme (which also gave me HORRIBLE HORRIBLE cystic back acne)
-Head and Shoulders
-Jason Natural
-Biolage
-Aussie (their conditioners, like Tresemme's, though seem to work well with my hair if only applied to ends)
-Giovanni
-Suave
-Herbal Essences

Basically, the only brand of shampoo I have used that haven't given me a rash is Avalon Organics (as listed above, even some natural brands cause reactions). This is why I think going "no-poo" would be a very prudent choice


Also, whoever posted about diluting shampoo I would like to say that is a genius idea!!

[Dina L.]

jackiehunter212, what about some baby shampoo that is sulfate- and cone free? (also diluted)

[goldenmoments]

Did you tinker with the type of conditioner you used for CO? If you use a conditioner that is less moisturizing or a clarifying one you might get better results. I use V05 kiwi lime clarifying conditioner once in a while in addition to a more moisturizing conditioner.

And as Anje said, it takes a while to adjust to a new product sometimes. - I might add particularly modifying methods takes time too: did you leave the co in before ringing, massage scalp well, and rinse very well? These are all thinking I would consider before skipping co for good.

Best wishes in finding a hair happiness!

[goldenmoments]

Sorry, I just reread some more. I might add:

Are you rinsing well enough the shampoo and conditioner?
Any residue might be your problem- certainly could explain the back acne! I wash my body and face after finishing my hair.

Have you tried massaging a little oil into your scalp before shampooing to protect it from too harsh of a cleaning....

If your scalp is so sensitive you really should be seeing a dermatologist. Sometimes you just need a jumpstart on getting rid of inflammation before anything will work.

[goldenmoments]

BTW, natural is often worse. A lot of natural ingredients used in beauty and hair products are irritant! Fruit extracts anyone! The only reason some of them are still in business is a lot of people do not have sensitive skin. Heck, a lot of people can't tell the difference when their hair is treated with sulphate shampoo, or don't mind blow drying daily, straighteners.....realize the regulations on these products is almost nonexistent.
Natural =\= for sensitive. It's merely marketing all to often.

It's funny to think on this forum we worry about slates in our hair....what about on our skin?! It's almost impossible to find a cleansed without chemicals that we've mentioned to avoid on this forum! Crazy right.

[jaine]

I thought I would post my response to this (thank you all for being SO thorough and helpful!) about my sensitivities:
I have gotten rashes from the following brands:
-Pantene
-Tresemme (which also gave me HORRIBLE HORRIBLE cystic back acne)
-Head and Shoulders
-Jason Natural
-Biolage
-Aussie (their conditioners, like Tresemme's, though seem to work well with my hair if only applied to ends)
-Giovanni
-Suave
-Herbal Essences

Basically, the only brand of shampoo I have used that haven't given me a rash is Avalon Organics (as listed above, even some natural brands cause reactions). This is why I think going "no-poo" would be a very prudent choice


Also, whoever posted about diluting shampoo I would like to say that is a genius idea!!

The fact that Avalon Organics didn't irritate your skin is helpful info ... you could sit down with all ingredient lists in front of you, and make a list of any ingredients that show up in the other products but don't show up in Avalon Organics. Those ingredients should go on your "suspect" list.

But some ingredients could mean literally anything from brand to brand, like "Fragrance," so I would keep "Fragrance" on the list of suspects even if it's also listed in Avalon Organics shampoo.

Some natural brands have stricter ingredient standards than others ... there are many so-called "natural" brands that still include preservatives, parabens, and non-essential oil fragrances ... I'm thinking of Burt's Bees, Jason, Beauty Without Cruelty, Giovanni, Trader Joe's, etc... I still get skin irritation from those.

I have much better luck with a small group of high-end natural brands that have extremely strict ingredient standards (John Masters Organics, Sevi, California Baby). But everyone is different ... your suspect ingredients might be different from mine. Plus you might not want to pay extra for shampoo. Switching to a different kind of cleansing method would probably be cheaper than trying to find a shampoo with very strict ingredient standards.