No Poo… No Problem!

“No Poo
Yes…I have not used shampoo since Christmas when I had my hair shaved off by a very unhappy hairdresser (she didn’t want to do it) as I discovered that firstly, my hair had gone white under the hair dye and, secondly, every part of my face that my dyed hair touched was burning. After my last hair dying (dyeing misspelt at the time but probably near the mark as it was killing my hair!) session at the hairdressers I actually wedged my head in my medical adviser’s consulting room sink trying desperately to get rid of the burning pain! My hair regularly used to fall out in clumps and I developed big bald patches where my scalp shone through.

Shampoo ( both the smell and the feel of it on my scalp)  makes me feel nauseous and hurts my scalp and, again, my shampooed hair then hurts my face and ears everywhere it touches.

Now, I wash my hair everyday in the shower or bath. At least every other day I use epsom salts in my bath and dip my hair in that.

My hair is short, white and getting thicker all the time. It no longer falls out. It feels, looks and smells clean and my hairdresser says she is amazed at the silky feel of it.”

–  The Reluctant Raw Foodist

I wrote this about my “no poo” adventure back in 2010. At the time I had been “no poo” for about 6 months.

On reflection I had been losing my hair for some time before –  see photos below. Sorry in advance about the photos. They are all snaps and I haven’t tried to touch them up  not that I know how to Photoshop!! 🙂 ). I wanted you to see the real me so to speak! LOL!

Pre No poo – Hair definitely thinning. Snapshot taken after a glass of wine! ( Used to drink alcohol back then) I think that is why I look dopey! LOL

No Poo  – How it worked for me…

Well, dear Readers, back in 2009, I was desperate. My scalp and face were driving me crazy with pain. It was as though each hair follicle was on fire. I felt sick and dizzy and my ears hurt. My outer ears were sore and I could not bear them to be touched by anything. I could not wear my earrings. The pain dragon was out in full force and had set my head on fire!

Hair definitely thinning and I was always looking to part it in a different place to hide the bald spots! Suddenly really going grey under my hair dye too. My hairdresser noticed that my hair was greyer each time I went to see her!

So I had my head completely shaved! I was bald apart from a millimetre of hair as I could not bear the clippers to touch my scalp!. I had a ‘number one’ as I could not bear a zero. You could see all the places that I had no hair. I had alopecia as well as general hair loss. I looked moth-eaten to say the least!

Going “no poo” after this, I didn’t have the problem experienced by others with greasy hair simply because I had no hair! I used water and epsom salts on my hair and my body and I still do to this day!

Head recently shaved and looking like death warmed up! I was really sick back then! Eyebrows and other body hair were thinning too! I had just started no poo as well as my raw vegan diet and I thought the alopecia holes were filling in! It was great to see!

No Poo Alternatives?

If you are still going to use shampoo then I recommend you read a book such as  – NO MORE DIRTY LOOKS: The Truth About Your Beauty Products and the Ultimate Guide to Safe and Clean Cosmetics,  written by journalists Siobhan O’Connor and Alexandra Spunt. A real eye opener! Their website of the same name is here. This book was a fab find for me as I needed to understand what my body was reacting to!

It is worth knowing just what you are using on your skin. You may be very surprised and disgusted that you are unknowingly being exposed to some toxic chemicals.

No More Dirty Looks is available for USA readers here and for UK readers here.

No Poo for a year and getting better! I kept my hair short for quite a while as it felt better that way. I believe that gradually, my highly nutritious anti inflammatory diet and no poo reversed my hair loss!

More thoughts on No Poo..

Do I love “No Poo”? Yes I do. Have I tried using a shampoo again since 2009? Yes, once, while in Italy, to wash some massage oil out of my hair. Did I regret it? Yes, my scalp felt weird and itchy for days after, but, worse than that, I got an ear infection almost immediately! Would I use shampoo again? Not likely! Do I think my diet also contributes to my hair recovery? Yes I do. I continually eat an anti inflammatory high raw vegan diet and I believe it did clinched for me!  More about this soon!

🙂