The 'No Poo' Experience!
So I have been debating doing this for a while, as a hairstylist I always get asked to recommend products, appliances, quick & easy hair ups etc.. and so I thought I would start a little blog which I am hoping people may find useful. Of course the majority of things I will talk about and recommend are based on personal experience, the key thing to remember when it comes to hair is that it is just like skin, and that every single person is different, so what may be your best friends 'go to product' may leave your hair feeling a big limp and lifeless. The haircare market is huge and constantly growing so I can fully understand why sometimes people get so overwhelmed, confused and instead of trying something new, retreat back to what they know.
So the first thing I wanted to talk about is the method of washing your hair, but without shampoo! Yes I know, sounds pretty daunting doesn't it and to be honest when I first heard of the 'No Poo' method I felt slightly disgusted by it. People where claiming it was the healthiest their hair had felt in years, that not only had the condition improved but also styling was easier too. Personally I instantly imagined people walking around with greasy roots, hair with no body to it, and that awful smell you start to get when your scalp just needs a good scrub. I didn't jump straight into it as I wasn't 100% sure I was even going to try it, so firstly I spent a couple of weeks researching the process and what products I would need to use as a replacement, Google & Pinterest have lots of different views and opinions on this topic. I noticed that homemade cleansers are extremely popular as they are very cheap to make but since I am new to the whole experience I thought it best that I stick to products off the shelf. The cleansing conditioners are to be used in place of both your shampoo and your conditioner, I am a massive believer in using a good quality conditioning treatment on your hair after washing and the prospect of giving this up made me feel a little uneasy and I saw potential that this little experiment could leave my hair feeling dry and damaged.
Prices for the cleansers can range from as little £6 to £40+, after browsing online for awhile I eventually decided on the 'Grow Gorgeous 11-in-1 Cleansing Conditioner' from Boots priced at £17.99 (I do love to collect those advantage card points) and by the time my product arrived I was just pretty eager to get started and see what the fuss was about.
The Process -
Step 1 - I rinsed my hair with warm water leaving no dry areas
Step 2 - Squeezing a little more than the size of a 50 pence piece onto my hands I rubbed it into my scalp and along my hair line, and then the same amount again to make sure it was evenly spread it across my scalp. (I didn't rub any of the cleanser into the mid length and ends of my hair)
Step 3 - After leaving it on for 3-5 minutes I rinsed my hair thoroughly with warm water till clean and then wrapped it in a towel.
The first thing I noticed about this product was how fresh it smelt, when applying it didn't foam up which I did find strange as I have always associated clean hair with foaming shampoo, not to mention I have always shampooed my hair twice and then used a conditioning treatment so I wasn't convinced just one rinse wouldn't clean it properly. Once rinsed and towel dried I brushed my hair through as I always do before drying, Normally I would always use some form of heat protection or oil on my hair before drying but as I wanted to see the raw results of this product I just plugged in my drier and started blow drying.
As much as I didn't think I was going to like this method of shampooing...... I can honestly say it instantly won me over. The Volume of my hair was amazing, it felt soft but not too soft, no grease in sight, smelt fresher than some of the high quality shampoo's & treatments I was use to using. I didn't want to speak to soon so I continued using it over a month to see if my opinion changed but my hair only felt better and better. As I do enjoy swimming I was a little concerned as I felt the chlorine dried out my blonde and on those occasions I felt better going back to using shampoo and a treatment.
Its now been 2 Months since I tried the 'No Poo' method for the first time, I have also tried the Matrix Biolage Cleansing Conditioner but I didn't feel it cleaned my hair as well as the Grow Gorgeous product and I didn't get as long between washes. There are many more out there I aimed to try and there's the possibility that after a while I may want to revert back to washing as normal, but for now I am proud to say I am a 'No Poo' convert (except for those days I have been swimming). I spend less time washing my hair, less time styling, I feel like my hair has more volume than ever and I can get at least 3 days out of my hair before it needs to be cleansed again. You can still use dry shampoo between washes and before drying I still apply heat protecting products I just no longer feel like I need to use as many volumising products as did before for day to day wear.
Link to the product -
If the 'No Poo' method is something you have been thinking of trying then I would definitely recommend it, cleansers are available for specific hair types and at all different price ranges. If you are feeling bold enough you could even attempt to make your own! For those of you who are not convinced and are happy with your standard method of shampooing keep an eye out for my upcoming blogs, I will be talking about some of my favourite conditioning treatments to use on both myself and my clients!
Thank you for taking the time to read my first blog :)
