I am often being asked how I care for my afro hair.

So it is by popular demand and request, that I write a little post, about how I have made it to water only washing – the simplest regime EVER.

For many years now, I have eliminated harsh chemicals from my beauty routine.

As I mentioned in Dr Bronner’s Magically Poetical Soap! I have been using one product mostly, for all my skin and hair needs.

Recently I took it one step further,  and eliminated all products completely from my hair care. This means no shampoo, conditioner, leave in conditioner, gel, creams, butters, oils or anything at all on my hair, except water.

This is all part of a no poo movement, of which there is a lot of information and advice about on the internet, including numerous You Tube videos, and tips for all hair types.

I used many different natural methods in the years leading up to water only washing.

These included:  bicarbonate of soda and apple cider vinegar washes,  herbal shampoos and various different food items (!) as conditioners. (honey, avocado, olive oil…)

All of these worked well in my aims of maintaining well nourished hair, without the synthetic and harsh chemicals prevalent in most regular beauty items.

However, it took a lot of time and money to maintain, and sometimes natural products such as the vinegar, were actually too harsh for my hair over time, and natural herbal shampoos were too gentle.

The main reason I started on natural only hair care, was to take care of my problem scalp. It was often itchy and irritated, no matter how much or how little I washed it, and non-natural chemicals made it worse.

So I decided about two months ago, to take the plunge and go water only.

Now, please do research extensively about this before you start. 

It is certainly not easy at the start and can take a while for your hair and scalp to regulate.

Basically, water only washing, centres around the idea, that your scalp will naturally produce the right amount of oils, to nourish your hair by itself.

It involves a process of washing your hair, with vigorous massage and brushing,  EVERY DAY or at least EVERY OTHER DAY to distribute these oils (sebum) throughout your hair and cleanse dirt.

Your hair will not look, feel or smell  dirty, once there is no product build up from conditioners and styling products.  You really are just washing each days dust away.

*Before you start water only, you must use a clarifying shampoo to get rid of any product build up that is already there. – Don’t skip this step.

There is an awkward stage where your hair may be very greasy or dry and brittle.  Of course you can shampoo at this point by using Dr Bronners Soap, or something else simple and natural, that will not strip your hair of all its oils. (Which is what the harsh chemicals in shampoos do.)

This is certainly an individual process, as we all have very different types of hair, types of water, and types of sebum. So again, research research research and don’t feel like you can never touch shampoo again. You certainly can! It’s all up to you.

 

(image from – thenonconformingprofessional.com)

There is something liberating about not using shampoo anymore.

It is cheaper for one, and it is freeing. It signifies a non reliance on a system that sometimes seems bent on controlling us, even through our scalps.

It’s about taking responsibility for what I allow into, and onto my body.

Thank you for reading!

Much love Txx