Do you shampoo once a week?
The question itself sounds gross. I know it does. The moment I tell people that I do not shampoo at all. It sends people into a sense of frenzy.
I do not shampoo my hair. In fact, I stopped to shampoo my hair for last 2 years.
By shampoo, I mean the commercial shampoo by cosmetic giants. The fancy packaged bottled up liquid. The one that A-listed celebrities flaunt in glossy commercials.
I gave up on those expensive miraculous cures to the beautiful mane. The ones that promise to wipe out years of damages in a single wash.
They just seemed too good to true.
What happens when you shampoo more than once a week?
I am sure most of you shampoo more than once a week. I know many people who shampoo even once or twice a day!
Those who do shampoo a lot. They are also regular with other hair care products. That includes, but are not limited to :
conditioners
leave-in conditioners
hair serums
mousse
dry shampoo
scalp treatment products
and a lot of others that I am not updated on
With such excessive use of commercial hair care products. There is a lot more that you subject your hair to.
Under the garb of getting clean. You are taking a lot of risk on your body.
That is because of the ingredients that make up these products. Most of the hair products contain the following:
parabens
sulphate compounds
artificial silicone
chemical artificial fragrances
artificial colors
I can go on with the harmful effects of each of them. But that will take a mammoth amount of content. There are numerous dangerous shampoo ingredients.
So, for the sake of brevity. I summarize these ingredients in one word as TOXINS.
The more you use them. The more toxins you subject yourself to. It starts with the urge of cleaning hair. Then cleaning leads to dry hair and an itchy scalp.
Then you go after a conditioner. It tames the hair. But the scalp remains flaky. Within the time it starts oozing a lot of oil. Then you go do a lot of shampoo. And that is how the vicious cycle continues.
In the meanwhile, you get subjected to a sales driven offering. A new magical elixir that gets rid of all your hair woes in a single wash.
You tend to lure in. Why you would not. A successful celebrity endorses it.
So, you begin to use the latest cool sounding product. The lather it produces convinces you that all the wrong with your hair is also washed off.
All remains good for some time. But again you are back to your troubled hair days.
Why to Shampoo Once a week?
The simple reason is you do not require a shampoo. The scalp and hair do not need heavy duty cleaning. We believe that until and unless some shampoo smothers our scalp. Our mane remains dirty and full of filth.
The fact is, even if our hair is full of grime. There is not much need of abrasive cleaning to get rid of it.
Plain soft water alone can do the job of cleaning well.
Moreover, with overuse of shampoo. The hair desiccates to a ridiculous level. This causes them to look lifeless and straw like.
Of course, not to mention the condition of the scalp. The scalp goes into an utter state of confusion. The oils that it produces get wiped out. So, in a state of shock. It starts secreting more of oil.
This leads to more use of shampoo. Perhaps drying the hair more than the last wash. And for obvious reasons. This makes the scalp spit out more oil than usual.
This is the vicious cycle that perplexes most of us.
Most of us complain about dry hair and an over oiled scalp. And wonder what leads to this. What we do not realize is the reason for this is our obsession with cleanliness.
How to get into the mode of shampoo once a week habit
If you are reading this statement. Then I know what you must have gone through.
I have suffered hair loss, wild hair, and a confused scalp for a major part of my life.
I moved from one shampoo to another. Once hair specialist to another. All in the hope that someday some product will click. Much like the search for a soul mate.
But much like the matters of the heart. I jumped and moved out of products.
I do not even remember when. But someday I read an article on the benefits of abandoning shampoo. It talked about how hair flourishes in the absence of external commercial products. The products that are laden with toxic chemicals. They are rip offs in the garb of hair nourishing elixirs.
To deal with them. You need to get into the avoidance mode. That means limiting their usage. It sounds difficult. But believe me. It just sounds difficult.
Once you make up your mind to not shampoo often. You will not shampoo often.
Begin by reducing your usage in small baby steps. This is what I suggest :
- If you shampoo every day. Then, begin to shampoo every alternate day.
- If you shampoo every other day. Then, try to limit the usage to not more than twice a week.
- If you shampoo twice a week. Then just reduce to doing a shampoo once a week.
It is simple indeed.
What happens when you shampoo once a week
Congratulations. If you are anxious to know the outcome of the limited use of shampoo. I am sure you can survive to live with less of shampoo.
I would love to know your experience of abandoning overuse of shampoo. For me the benefits of washing hair less were prominent. For the records, the gains are as follows:
- In the initial weeks, your hair seems over dried. The scalp seems full of grease.
- After about 2-3 weeks. Your hair shows hope. They begin to look manageable. Their color also looks dark and rich. This phase comes after the transition phase. I call it the aftermath of shampoo apocalypse. This period depends on how much chemical disposition your hair has gone through. The more the exposure to chemicals. The more the transition phase lasts.
- Once your scalp and mane are both convinced of your no over shampoo ways. They then try to tackle the matters themselves. They become resilient and bounce back. This is when they learn to not get over dried.
- By about 6th month of no more than shampoo once a week ritual. You tend to forget that you ever shampooed a lot. The habit sets in.
- You look back and realize the merits of the change. You got more time and money with you. Going minimal cuts the clutter, chaos, and hair fall from your life.
In Conclusion :
Reducing your hair care regime benefits you. It loses your dependence on commercial products. Moreover, it gives you a lot of hair on your head.
The process to have healthy hair is a simple one. There is no need to complicate it. Acting on the decision to shampoo once a week works in your favor. You need to try it to enjoy it.
Want to explore the benefits of not using shampoo? Try with a simple hair detox by subscribing to the side-bar.
Image Source: Pixabay
So what “shampoo” do you use when you do “shampoo” once a week?
I make my own shampoo bars.