The most common reaction I get when I tell people that I don’t use shampoo is “Your hair looks great! Can I touch it?”. The second most common is “I could *never* do that, my hair is too greasy. I have to wash it every day!”

When I was in college in the sorority (yup, I was a sorority girl. Ask me nicely and I’ll tell you which house), I was the same way! I showered and washed my hair EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. It got too greasy to not wash daily, and this was before I discovered dry shampoo. It wasn’t until after college that I discovered this amazing stuff that allowed me to only wash my hair every other day.

Fast forward to a few years later and now I ‘wash’ my hair about once a week using baking soda and apple cider vinegar (also called No ‘Poo) and the dreaded grease is gone!

So, what happened?

It’s easy. The shampoo we have all been using for years has all kinds of chemicals in them that strip your hair of natural oils. When you wash your hair every day, your hair produces more oil in anticipation of being stripped again tomorrow. When you don’t wash your hair the next day, your hair is oily.

How Did You Successfully Go No ‘Poo

The answer is to gradually go No ‘Poo. If you are washing your hair daily, and then switch over to No ‘Poo and only washing your hair sporadically, you are going to hate it and think that the No ‘Poo is making your hair thin, oily and limp.

Between the sorority and today, I gradually started to wash my hair less and was using conventional shampoo every 3 days or so. Once I discovered No ‘Poo it was easy for my hair to adapt to the lack of chemicals and washing so often.

Monika’s Recommendation to Going No ‘Poo

If you currently wash your hair every day, but are intrigued by the idea of getting rid of so many chemicals in your daily routine, I would recommend gradually weaning yourself off of shampoo and start washing every other day, then every three days instead of going cold turkey. This may take a few weeks or months, but it will be worth it in the long run.

Tips to Managing Greasy Hair

What happens if your hair does get a little greasy? It is bound to happen and it definitely happens to me. To help mitigate the oil, be sure you are brushing it nightly. I’m not talking Marcia Brady count your strokes, but brush the ‘grease’ from the root to the tip.

When my hair is a bit too greasy I also use arrowroot powder at my roots. Sprinkle some on, rub it in and comb with your hands before using a brush to fully brush it in. If you have darker hair, add cocoa powder to the mixture to make it darker. Spill too much onto your scalp? Brush it in and worst case, add some water to make your hair not look so ashy and gray.

Are you intrigued? Are you considering going no ‘poo? Send me your questions! I’m happy to chat, answer questions or offer support! Tweet me at @MonikaRun or leave a comment below!