Well, isn’t it funny, just when you get the hang of things and start taking them for granted, everyone else is just starting the journey.  To those of you who have just started, this is a look back on five years without shampoo.

The good news: I don’t even think about it anymore.  My hair is now a creature of habit and independence.  If it wants a rinse, it asks me from time to time (one every couple of weeks in the winter, more in the summer).  Otherwise, it pretty much leaves me alone.  That’s why this blog has transcended its original purpose: to tell you of the journey.  My journey is finished, but many of you are just beginning, so, lets have some volunteer editors who’d like to join the NoShampoo editorial team.  I can offer you a free t-shirt and a whole lot of fun, and who knows, as the concept grows, so will the rewards.

Now, let’s have a look back at what I’ve learned:

1. It was an adventure.

Yes there were ups and downs, times when my hair cried out in confusion.  But thanks to all you noShampooers, I always had the strength to carry on.

2. It was fun.

Those of you haven’t, take a look at the flickr noshampoo album.  It must have been fun

3. It was enlightening.

Any form of journey is by nature a learning experience.  From this plateau, I can see the clear blue sea off to the south, the mountains to the north, the green dragon, and the white tiger.  And most heartening of all, I see the great mass of you coming to join me.

4. Did I mention it was fun?

So, good luck to all of you out there and don’t forget, if you want to be the next sifu, write it in this here comment thread.   And remember, however your hair feels, you will be welcome with open arms.

The original noShampoo ad, is being shown in the Roschtigen Hund in Aurau Switzerland.

Here’s the press release :

The short films are rich, experimental and innovative.

The diversity of the work is impressive. Animated drawings, powerful audio-visual effusions, poetic-critical histories, sensual messages and gadgets distributed in 27 works show the latest work of art and film-makers from the region and beyond.

The program is available at www.blackboxonline.org

5. Finally get rid of those pesky unwanted friends.  

Do you ever feel like some of your relationships are only skin deep? Even significant others can sometimes give off that hollow thud when you tap them.  Well, go noshampoo and in 6 weeks, you’ll have put up a barrier that will separate the dodgy partner from the one that will stick around when times get tough. They’ll never know that in 6 months  you’ll be back to normal.

4. You can skip a whole aisle in the supermarket.

Supermarkets are getting more and more daunting. With an entire aisle devoted to shampoo (not to mention the entire aisle devoted to deodorant, shaving products, and conditioners) you’ll be happy in the knowledge that five or ten minutes less of your life will be devoted to something which is completely useless.  Spend that extra time with your family, if they can take it.

3. No need for Gel/Hairstyling

That’s right. The build up of oil in your head will lead to a life of funky hairstyles.  Here are my flickr photos devoted entirely to my noshampoo styles. And what’s even cooler is that brushing your hair actually makes it even funkier.

2. You have a new topic of converstion

Don’t you find that social gatherings are pretty stale affairs these days? You can’t even Bush Bash anymore. And then the conversations about kids/family/work dries up pretty fast.  This leaves you with little else to talk about, unless you are doing something really cool with your life…like using noshampoo! That’s right…you will be the funkiest most adventurous guy/girl at any social gathering.  And, no need to worry about starting meaningless relationships (see point 5).

1. Be a revolutionary!

Che Guevara, where are you?  These days, so little is worth getting excited about.  What is there to fight for anymore? If you have a poster of Che on your wall, then here’s the way you too can not only do something good for the world, but also actually look a little bit more like Che than you did before. Viva la revolucion!

My mom has joined the revolution.  She has dropped the shampoo and uses the occasional vinegar rinse.  Her hair looks thicker and healthier and isn’t flat at the back anymore.  She’s happy and so am I.

Join the revolution!

Having been without shampoo for several months, I decided to try out baking soda, thanks to advice I found at life less plastic

 My head was getting very itchy for some reason and I was scratching it a lot and didn’t like the wads of gunk under my fingernails.

So I tried using a couple teaspoons of baking soda.  In France, baking soda comes in small paper envelopes, and I haven’t found the big boxes as you have in the states yet.  I used one envelope which is about two teaspoons.

I just wet my hair and put the powder all over my head and then scrubbed away.  There was a very pleasant tingling sensation which I enjoyed quite a bit, so I left it to sit for a couple of minutes.  Then I rinsed and put some lemon juice on my hair (vinegar is smelly).  That was it.

There was no extra sebum, but there was still some natural oil left. I read about baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, on wikipedia and found information which does indicate its history as a kind of soap. For whatever reason, it behaves on the scalp as a kind of emulsifier, and so is probably the perfect solution.

However…

My head was still itchy, which was the only reason I washed in the first place! So I did another wash with baking soda and then, one morning, my wife spotted a nit in my hair! My girls all had lice from school, so I must have gotten it from them.

I had to use some lice medication and then shampoo to wash it out (it was an oily lotion).  So now my hair and scalp are dry as a desert I can’t wait for the oil to build up again.

So, my advice would be to treat baking soda as a kind of mild shampoo. I don’t see anything particularly different about it.  My advice is still: don’t bother using anything unless you have to, and then, perhaps once or twice a month, try the baking soda and lemon approach.

Well, the no shampoo revolution is still nascent, but I have been without shampoo for a year.  I moved to Marseille, France in December 07, and the cleaner air and beach may be partly responsible for my pretty normal looking hair.

Let’s see if I can find a representative pic…

Yes, that’s me.  

It was hard at the beginning.  I had to ‘decide’ not to use shampoo every time I took a bath.  Now I don’t even think about it.  I reckon that if everybody eliminated shampoo, that simple effort would single handedly save the planet.  It’s a big idea, I know, but hey, the revolution must start with the individual!

Comments please.  And order a t-shirt, they’re fantastic!

noShampoo started from a very personal belief: we all use too much shampoo. It is not good for our hair, and it is not good for the environment.