Why I Don’t Use Shampoo

I haven’t been using shampoo for a year now and I love it.

What’s more, my hair is healthier than ever and it’s not stinky or too greasy. Why and how have I done this? Read on.

For well over a year now I have been living a primal lifestyle. Pursuing a healthier, happier, easier and more natural life is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’ve always believed that the stuff in toiletries and cosmetics isn’t good for you, and most of the claims made about the products are false (I used to work in the testing department at a major UK toiletries and cosmetics manufacturer and long story short, the claims on the packets are worded very carefully to fit very limited trial results). Anyway, in pursuit of a natural life I’ve always sided with organic products. Then I read an article about going poo-less and decided to give it a try (don’t dismiss anything unless you try it).

Here’s how it works: stop using anything on your hair except water. That’s it.Beautifully simple.

A bit more detail on how: I just wash my hair in warm to hot water every other day. Sometimes more (after a workout or if it’s sticking up in the morning) or sometimes less (if I have several days without any business meetings or intensive workouts). Sometimes I will do a a few rinses with water of varying temperatures as some people think makes a difference.

The results: in a word brilliant. There are many advantages to going poo-less but the main thing is that my hair is clean and healthy, and it kind of just looks after itself.

Here’s a list of things that make going poo-less awesome:

• Hair in better condition — once you take away the products that strip away everything natural about your hair it regulates yourself. Not too greasy, not too dry. Like goldilocks porridge — it is just right.
• Simplicity — less to do in the shower, no eye irritation, less to carry.
• Cheaper — I don’t need to buy shampoo. With my penchant for organic products, that saves quite a bit over the year.
• Natural — putting any synthetically produced product on your body isn’t natural. Your body is going to have to react in some way. With hair this is often drying out and over producing oil to compensate.
• No hair gel required — as I now have short hair (I used to have longer hair) I can style it without gel. No it’s not greasy (if it was it wouldn’t look right) and not too dry (so that there is no moisture to provide hold). This is one less product to buy, and one less product to put against my skin and hair.
• No more dandruff — I think at one point, with long hair and living in a hot climate and using cheap shampoo (in Argentina) I developed dandruff. The chemicals in the shampoo we drying my hair out. Now, I don’t have any dandruff.

So a year on (and it began with a two week experiment — which are the only bad weeks while your body starts to regulate the oil production in your hair) and I’m loving being poo-less.

I also switched to natural soap from shower gel for my other washing resulting in healthier skin.

This is an example of how a) self body experimentation and b) choosing tochallenge conventional wisdom can reap dividends for your personal life.

End notes: I think that being primal means I have healthier skin and hair anyway. Also, your results may very — but you don’t know unless you try.

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Chris Stott writes at cjstott.com, where he explores online business, digital marketing & productivity to help you get stuff done and grow your business online. For useful ideas on improving yourself and your business, join his free newsletter.