Yesterday I spent an hour writing a No ‘Poo update post, complete with detailed reports and graphs and pie charts and photos…
Don’t worry, though: I tweeted my way through the grief.
“What a waste of time that was,” I decided, so today, I’m going to give a *brief* update with fewer photos, because you just never know what post is going to be a complete bust. I hated wasting that hour of my life last night. I absolutely loathed it.
So. Briefly: I am not washing my hair with shampoo anymore, for forever, or until I can’t stand it any longer. You can read the background to this experiment here and here, Day One results here, and Days Two and Three results here, if you’re so inclined. But I wouldn’t blame you if reading the fine details of my hair care regimen isn’t high on your list of priorities. I can think of two million things more important, as a matter of fact. Heck, why am I even here?
No ‘Poo Day Four:
Nothing changed from Days Two and Three. My hair smelled fine, felt fine, looked fine. It even tasted fine. [I just wanted to see if you were paying attention—I didn’t actually taste my hair.] Amen.
No ‘Poo Day Five:
Day Five was the first day my confidence in this experiment actually began to waver. After I showered and scrubbed my hair with water for the fifth day in a row, I got out and towel dried/blow dried it, and found myself with rather greasy locks.
Method: Same as always.
Woes: Much greasier-feeling hair than usual. Even though it looked fine, it felt heavy and limp. The extra greasy feeling seemed to weigh down my bangs. Without the benefit of chemical-laden hairspray (I do miss it), I became quite frustrated with it. My hair went into a ponytail for the first time since I started the experiment.
And I was none too happy about my failure.
Touch Test: Greasy. Greasy to the max. So greasy, that after I ran my fingers through it, they felt moisturised, like I had used lotion on them. It was not pleasant.
Whiff Test: Poor Kyle and his mother and the secretary from his work (hi, Shannon!) all swore it smelled like normal hair.
Day Five Verdict: The half-full bottle of Herbal Essences™ was looking pretty seductive. Ditto the can of hairspray sitting on the bathroom counter. But I stood my ground. I am strong.
No ‘Poo Day Six:
Method: Like usual, I scrubbed my hair with just water and my bare hands in the shower. I got out, towel dried/blow dried, brushed thoroughly with a boar bristle brush, and began to style. I wanted to see how well my un-shampooed, unconditioned, and un-hairsprayed hair would hold a curl. In another life, without all my PRODUCTS (read: life-sucking chemicals), my hair would have been flat within an hour. But guess what? It actually held up pretty well…
This photo was taken as soon as my hair was styled in the morning. While it didn’t stay exactly this fresh and lovely throughout the day, by bedtime, there was still a definite curl to my hair. I was shocked at its resilience.
Woes: My Day Six hair was as greasy as Day Five, but not any moreso. I was actually getting used to the feeling. I started to realise that “greasy” does not necessarily equal “gross.” In fact, a better word for the texture of my Day Six hair is “waxy.” It felt like I had styled it with pomade the night before, and slept on it without washing it—in other words, it felt exactly the same as the morning after a high school formal dance. I suspect that the waxy feeling contributed to the curls’ resilience. Homemade pomade. Sweet.
Unfortunately, the natural pomade in my hair didn’t help my bangs become any more manageable. Bangs are a mistake; at least, they have been very troublesome for me without the use of hairspray. In the end, I had to pin them up weirdly. I know they were ugly, but trust me: it was the only way I could live with myself that day.
Touch Test: Waxy.
Whiff Test: Either everybody is lying to my face, or my hair really truly doesn’t smell bad. People just keep saying, “It smells like hair.” I take that to mean, “It doesn’t smell lovely like it would if you were using Herbal Essences™ and BioSilk Silk Therapy™ and VaVaVoom™ Volumiser and leave-in conditioner and a spritz of dollar-store hairspray, but it certainly doesn’t reek.” That’s my interpretation. Who knows, though? Mabye I’m just in denial.
I’ve been a few days stranded in the mountains now, and the best thing about being stranded on the No ‘Poo diet? I don’t miss the shampoo I didn’t pack. Awesome.
Now if only that bonus would extend to my sorely miscalculated ONE pair of spare underoos…
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