What started as an exciting experiment 2 years ago. Today has become my everyday passion.
Years ago I had no idea what is like to no shampoo. Or rather what is no poo all about?
I had never thought that I would become a staunch minimalist. After hoarding unnecessary stuff for decades. The time was right to dump all that was superfluous. All that I collected over the years was a clutter.
I am glad that I viewed my life with a fresh pair of eyes. I did realize that more than half of the stuff I own was unnecessary. It was in no way put to use in the recent past.
It just rotted or lived a life of solitude. Much like the way mine was/ is. Rubbing elbows with others all the time. But no meaningful interaction with anyone around. Rather no interaction at all.
The heaps of clothes, shoes, cosmetics, accessories, and craft supplies gave me migraines. Add to them piles of books, gadgets, notebooks, and pens.
I am sure with the vast amount of junk that I hoard. I got all the needed resources to start a scrap shop. As they say, charity begins at home. So, disposing of my own unwanted and unused stuff would be the best way forward.
Going no Chemicals/ Cosmetics/ Shampoo
While I was en route getting rid of the actual clutter from my house. I somehow began to notice how much of crap I had put on myself too.
Loads of unnecessary amounts of chemicals had already become a part of me. My body was always poured some or the other stuff from a bottle. It was nothing short of spoon feeding.
Shampoos. Conditioners. Body lotions. Body butters. Skin rejuvenating cream. Skin rejuvenating serum. Sunscreens. Sunscreens with varying protective factors. Skin brightening creams. Body Scrub. Milder face scrub. Night creams. Anti-wrinkle night cream. Anti-pollution creams. Hair mousse. Anti-frizz serum. Leave -in conditioners. Hair gels. Clarifying shampoos. Clarifying shampoos + conditioners. Colloidal water. Micel water………
Now further moving on to facts. I do not own a single commercial cosmetic product.
Under the term commercial cosmetic product umbrella. The stuff includes the following :
Shampoo
Conditioner
Soap
Face creams
Toothpaste
The points 1 – 4 may seem easy to give up for someone cross with vanity. But abandoning the pointer #5 seems gross. Gross. Unhealthy. Dirty. Yuck.
I know. That is how it seems when you get to know about it for the first time. I have been there. And now I do it.
I apologize if I have missed out on some junk that gives hope to a million others like me. Millions like me who at one point of time wanted to look good.
Good. Or may look better than what I thought I looked. Better because I have grown up with a strong inferiority complex. I was not as fair as my sister. Not beautiful like my friends. Never had a sense of dressing, the way others had.
I could go blah blah blah on what pushed me into a trail of jumping from one cosmetic to another. But as both of us know. Digging into the past only gives you archives. Whatever be the reasons then. The good thing is that today none of them exist. I am rather too happy in my own skin. I am in my mid-30s. But still, pass off as someone 10 years junior to my biological age.
The post may contain affiliate links. That means if you purchase any of the products mentioned in this article through routing via the links in this post. Then, I may end up receiving a certain monetary percentage from the sale. Though the one who purchases through the link does not end up paying anything extra apart from the mentioned MRP on the product. Full disclosures on the Affiliate Page.
What is No poo hair
I will keep the nitty-gritty of going sans cosmetics in a bigger detail some other day. But I can start off with what started it all.
It started with going NO POO. That is the term for a strict NO to commercial shampoo. The one that has ingredients like – SLS, parabens, artificial coloring, and fragrances.
You also get shampoos in stores that seem harmless on their labels. They boast of organic and ingredients sourced from nature. They lack harmful chemicals. But do include castile soap and other organic certified cleaning ingredients. The term for such shampoos is LOW POO. They are good no poo alternatives.
The popularity of cosmetics low in heavy chemicals has picked up. Hence, no wonder there are plenty of labels out there today.
But there are many eccentric like me who would stay away from all things commercial. I use low poo when I travel. But at other times, it is plain water or some clay/flour.
Also, the no poo results prove that everything is going fine.
Hence, I am a complete no poo addict. I have even written a book on this.
Benefits of No Poo Shampoo
It is not that I have gone more insane. My levels of insanity are at appropriate limits. I get them verified every year. (Yeah I do)
Neither it is that I cannot afford cosmetics. In fact, I still have about 10 bottles of shampoo and other hair care somewhere in my attic.
I never bought them. They were the ones I got as freebies for writing reviews for them. You will not believe that about 1/4th of the existing count of bottles I have used in the past. Another 2/4th I have distributed to my friends. The remainder of the stuff I am figuring out how to dispose of.
With the exile from commercial hair care stuff. I am left off with my own hair. My own actual hair. The hair that is all by themselves. Not loaded with excessive gunk. The gunk that I never asked for. The one I knew nothing about. It just came as a freebie with the cleaning abilities of the shampoo. Well, they were not shampoos, to begin with. They were tools disguised and sold as shampoos. Tools to make me get used to them. To get into their habit. The habit of using them often. Then use their associated counterparts in succession. So that a trail starts off. The trail that gets vicious with each interaction with them.
Enough.
The time was and is always right to embrace simplicity. I am glad that it struck me.
Today the hair on my head is my hair and hair only. My scalp breathes. The feeling is one of living free and independent. Not a single thought about carrying a truckload of plastic bottles.
The only regret. Wish I had de-cluttered and figured what is no poo a lot earlier!
Have you ever ditched the shampoo? Can you share how to go no poo?
Image Source: Pixabay
Leave a Reply