I think shampoo and conditioner are both a waste of money

[Jotto999]

I have decided that shampoo and conditioner are a waste of money.

I did research and found out that shampoo works by removing all the oil from your hair, even though your hair needs it (that's why your hair follicles secrete it). If you stop using shampoo for a long period of time, your hair adjusts and becomes self-sufficient without shampoo.

I have shoulder-length hair, and I had to use shampoo, conditioner and comb it thoroughly to make it look okay. Now all I do is rinse it with water and give it a light combing, I've been doing just this for months. My hair has never looked better, and it feels different. Fuller, and it gets way less static. It's overall just far better behaved and looks great.

So yeah, if you can put up with the first few months, your hair will adjust and in the long run will be 100% better off without using shampoo or conditioner. This should be especially easy for people with short hair.

Sources
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/281560/why_you_should_stop_using_shampoo_completely.html?cat=69
http://www.ehow.com/how_4600936_stop-using-shampoo.html
http://www.happyseeking.com/2009/05/why-you-dont-really-need-shampoo.html
http://www.livescience.com/health/090609-no-poo-shampoo.html
http://www.amitymama.com/articles/homekeeping/why-you-should-go-shampoo-free This link seems to be broken, might be just me

Here is how shampoo works:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shampoo#How_shampoo_works

 

[borrofburi]

Please provide peer reviewed study. I.e. sources.

 

[Jotto999]

Please provide peer reviewed study. I.e. sources.

Sorry, edited to include some pages I read.

 

[Aught3]

I only use shampoo occasionally and don't have any problems, but my hair is fairly short.

 

[ImprobableJoe]

Yes, maybe... but what if you LIKE shampoo?

Plus, I think it depends on the texture and thickness of your hair, and where you live. My hair is very thick and very curly, and it sort of traps sweat and dirt and whatever. Since I live in Florida, I'm breaking a sweat every time I leave the house for a big chunk of the year. So if I let my hair grow a bit, I really need to shampoo it every day or two or else my head starts to smell bad.

 

[borrofburi]

Your sources aren't terribly great, one because they are mostly just bloggers or people writing their opinions down (i.e. no research, no science backing them). It is incorrect to say that your scalp secretes oils to protect your hair, hair is dead cell your body could care less. More likely (but again I have no science backing this), your scalp secretes oils to keep your scalp healthy, and that hair gets oils is a side effect, but one that was sexually selected for.

It is ok evidence that shampoo didn't exist before the 1930s, but I guarantee you soap didn't exist before xxxx, but that's not an argument for us to stop using soap.

The wikipedia article mentions that cleaning hair is necessary because the oils in your hair trap dirt and other bad things, so washing your hair is necessary to some extent and that the trade off is oils versus dirt. This seems balanced, but again needs scientific backing.

 

[Sick Of Sickness]

Yeah, man.

Toilet paper is bullshit too. I mean, your anus is just secreting natural waste. And wiping it away is really bad for you. Plus you are helping kill bacteria, which is LIFE created by GOD!

So I just stopped using toilet paper too. Plus, its really bad for trees, and if you use it, you are supporting deforestation. In times like today, we need to respect the environment.

 

[ImprobableJoe]

Yeah, man.

Toilet paper is bullshit too. I mean, your anus is just secreting natural waste. And wiping it away is really bad for you. Plus you are helping kill bacteria, which is LIFE created by GOD!

So I just stopped using toilet paper too. Plus, its really bad for trees, and if you use it, you are supporting deforestation. In times like today, we need to respect the environment.

Good thing you're already asexual, because... well, fill in your own joke. :lol:

 

[Gnomesmusher]

Even if I could tolerate the rankness my hair would inevitably accumulate from not washing, my girlfriend would never go near me again. So I think I can live with paying a few bucks a month for the shampoo.

 

[Sick Of Sickness]

Okay seriouly...you sweat, you go to the beach, dust and dirt get into your hair. Saltwater is bad for your hair.

While shampoo takes out essential oils, they come back! It also washes out all the crap that SHOULDNT be on your body. And conditioner puts the oils and whatnot back into your hair.

Your reasoning is weak

 

[borrofburi]

Your reasoning is weak because it misses the point. The point is that we had no shampoo for quite a long time and we got along fairly well. The precise issue is how well we got along without shampoo, and how much damage shampoo does. The argument is that the dirt does not accumulate terribly quickly, that shampoo does more harm than good and costs money too.

Your argument, sick of sickness, is "oh yah, well dirt accumulates!", but it doesn't address the core points. Few of these "anti-shampoo" people are for never washing your hair, just once every so often or after you do a particularly dirt-in-the-hair causing activity (like go to the beach or go for a long run and sweat a lot).

 

[Marcus]

Standards change. There was a time when most people lived perfectly happy lives without using shampoo, antiperspirants or soap. It was also socially acceptable to smell like you didn't use these products.

Before they banned smoking in pubs in the UK, every time I went to the pub as a non-smoker I hated the fact that my hair reeked of smoke in the morning. When I used to smoke, I'm sure my hair smelled of smoke every morning, but I just didn't notice. Similarly, we're now (as a society) hooked on those cleaning products, because people who smell like they don't use them are the exception rather than the norm, so we notice it much more than our ancestors would have.

 

[CowInSpace]

Boycott shampoo, demand real poo......

On a note actually related to the topic, I have very oily/greasy hair and without at least using shampoo or soap it goes lank very quickly (I wash it at least every two days). I have been in the position of not washing it for nearly a month and a half (to test the 'it cleans itself naturally' claim). It seems that I'm not lucky enough to get that, it just stays lank and oily. So if you can get away with it ditch the expense, and leave the shelves stocked for your less fortunate bretheren.

 

[patduckles]

i got the best solution shave your head and just wash it like the rest of your body.

i might do it. hmmm...

 

[ImprobableJoe]

i got the best solution shave your head and just wash it like the rest of your body.

i might do it. hmmm...

Yes, sure, but in the spirit of the thread, you need to abandon modern convenience. So, instead of shaving cream and razor, you must use wet mud and a sharpened rock. Good luck!

 

[Marcus]

i got the best solution shave your head and just wash it like the rest of your body.

i might do it. hmmm...

Yes, sure, but in the spirit of the thread, you need to abandon modern convenience. So, instead of shaving cream and razor, you must use wet mud and a sharpened rock. Good luck!

Don't be ridiculous, there's no need for the rock. Just let the mud dry and tear it off - you'll get a longer lasting slaphead, as well.

 

[GoodKat]

My hair turns into a grease pit that you could fry chicken in if I go more than 2 days without washing it.

 

[stratos]

Why not go all the way, and stop using modern toothpaste and just go back to using baking soda, much cheaper as well.

 

[Eidolon]

I just use bar soap to wash my hair, just because Im too lazy to pick up the shampoo bottle and the bar soap is already in my hand. But soap is soap, so it doesn't matter if its solid or liquid it does the same thing.