Daily shampooing can help you get rid of excess oil and grease you accumulated throughout the day. In the past, it was believed that shampooing hair once a month was enough to keep it clean and free of excess oil and dirt.
Today, there are gentler formulas that allow you to shampoo daily. Although this is the norm for many, studies now indicate that daily shampooing does more harm than good.
In fact, the harsh chemicals in the shampoo have been shown to strip away the natural sebum the body creates to take care of your hair, leaving it dry, exposed, and in bad shape.
After shampooing, all the natural nourishing oil is gone and the sebaceous glands are triggered to produce even more sebum, often leading to a “grease-ball” feel that prompts you to shampoo once again.
Without breaking out of this cycle, your hair will soon be in bad shape and achieving that sexy feminine mane can be a daunting challenge.
Fortunately, a new “no poo” method has been on the rise to provide an alternative way of cleaning your hair without stripping it of all the essential oils.
What is The No Poo Method?
As aforementioned, the no poo method is an alternative to daily shampooing. This method eliminates the use of all types of commercially available shampoos and recommends using simpler, gentler ingredients such as baking soda and apple cider vinegar hair cleaners.
The natural oil released by sebaceous glands is supposed to keep your hair conditioned and healthy. However, you will accumulate excel oil buildup from daily life, styling, and exercising.
You need to clean this buildup away for good hygiene and also to keep your hair and scalp healthy.
Shampoos offer an ideal way to eliminate everything and leave your hair clean and free of any foreign oil. Unfortunately, the chemicals within the shampoo also remove the natural sebum and leave your hair in poor shape.
What’s more, stripping all the oil stimulates the oil glands to produce more and cause undesirable greasy buildup that will get you back to shampooing, thus establishing an unhelpful cycle.
No poo is simply a way to break off this cycle and start washing away the excess oil buildup without stripping away all the natural oil that conditions your hair.
Benefits
The benefits of using the no poo method over shampoo are quite obvious and straightforward.
Firstly, no poo reduces the number of chemicals you use per day and leads to a cleaner, healthier environment.
Secondly, you get to retain the naturally produced oil hair conditioner. This will reduce your need for additional oils, conditioners, and moisturizers.
The no poo method has also been shown to aid dandruff treatment and reduce itchiness and scalp flakes.
This method uses natural ingredients like fenugreek seeds, coconut oil, olive oil, white vinegar, lemon juice, tea tree oil, and the Indian Lilac, among others.
Using warm water, soap, and these natural ingredients is the best way to deal with dandruff and rejuvenate hair properties.
Using gentle alternatives will also reduce the strain on your sebaceous glands to produce just enough oils since most of them are retained. No poo is a movement and not necessarily a product on offer.
It has a large forum and community where you can post questions and ask for help with regards to any challenge you experience while trying out this new hair cleaning method.
There is also a blogging community which updates information about how to best take advantage of no poo and other alternatives to shampooing.
The No Poo Method Downsides
Although the no poo method has several benefits for the hair and body, there are a few concerns worth noting.
Most users who pick this method have reported incredible results and their hair look naturally beautiful.
Indeed, those who opt for the no poo hair cleaning techniques do not go back to using shampoos.
Nonetheless, you should be prepared to deal with a few concerns. For instance, baking soda is classified as an alkaline irritant and vinegar also has a basic pH.
The first rule of shampooing is to ensure the cleaning water and formula has a balanced pH. It is important to choose the right proportions to avoid stripping your hair’s natural oils, otherwise the method won’t be any better than shampooing.
Another concern comes with preparing your home made hair cleaning solutions. Unlike shampoos which you buy and use without any added preparation other than mixing, you will need to purchase the no poo supplies and ingredients and then prepare your own hair cleaner.
You can prepare large volumes for future use, but it is recommendable to make just enough for your current needs. This means you will need to make the cleaner regularly.
How it works
The no poo method works very simply and needs no scientific explanation. No poo simply translates to no-shampoos.
There are various ways to clean your hair without using shampoos and they all fall under the no poo category.
However, this method includes the use of specific types of homemade shampoos such as apple cider vinegar.
It focuses on natural alternatives to the chemicals used in shampoos and aims at preserving the natural oil produced by the sebaceous glands.
It is important to note that methods including baking soda should not be used daily like shampoos.
Once or twice a month is enough to clean off excess oil buildup and prevent breakages. These methods are designed to help improve scalp health, sooth irritation, and prevent the negative side effects of shampooing.
If your scalp is sensitive to the ingredients suggested in the no poo methods, you can always find other substitutes that you are comfortable with.
The No Poo Method Summary
When it comes to cleaning hair, making decisions can be quite overwhelming, especially since there are numerous products, offers, and suggestions. Most offers will be promoted as the best in the market, but this is not always true.
It is very crucial to take enough time and review each recommendation before exposing your hair and skin to such products.
No poo offers a natural alternative to shampoos and gives you a change to rejuvenate your hair’s natural properties.
Nevertheless, you should take sufficient precautions when using any ingredients and do your research before trying out a given method. Fortunately, no poo has a community to answer all your questions.
