Have you ever heard about people who don’t really wash their hair? Until I started researching about what to pack for our world trip I also had no idea. I came across some world travellers who didn’t bring shampoo to save weight, they basically used baking soda for everything. This is how I came across the No Poo Method.
What is the No Poo Method?
No Poo is short for no Shampoo and means that people are stepping away from washing their hair with shampoo. First I thought that this can’t work. The idea of using shampoo was so deeply ingrained in my brain. However, after reading more about the topic, I got curious and decided to try it out and so I stopped using all of my current hair care products.
I have curly hair so I always needed tonnes of conditioner and hair oil to have a chance to comb my hair. Despite all these products my hair was always dry and the ends broken. I think most people with curls know what I am talking about. My hair never had the chance to grow longer than on the picture, because the ends where so damaged that I had to cut them every second month. It never came up to my mind that all these hair care products were actually the cause of my damaged hair
How I went No Poo
All the amazing results of people online who tried the No Poo methods convinced me to go for it and so far I never regret the day I did. The first weeks are a bit strange because the hair is in a transitioning period and it needs time to get used to the new routine.
Week 1
The first 3 days I didn’t wash my hair at all. That was no problem my hair never really gets greasy, only tangled because the ends are damaged. From day 4 I started to wash my hair with water only every second day. After washing I applied a little bit coconut oil in the ends to prevent it from drying out.
How to Wash Your Hair with Water Only?
First you need to make your hair wet and then you start to massage your scalp with your fingers to stimulate the production of natural sebum. Afterwards you need to spread the “natural conditioner” to the ends of your hair through combing your hair with your fingers or a comb after you are done in the shower.
Week 2
From week 2 my hair became a bit greasy. Nobody else really noticed it but to me it looked bit weird. So from day 8 I started washing my hair with rye flour once a week. That sounds strange right, but it works perfectly and it doesn’t damage your hair and you can get it in bulk. Most No Pooers use baking soda and apple cider vinegar, but after researching that, I found that baking soda works but is not good for long-term use since it will dry out your hair even more. Maybe this is also different from hair to hair. For my dry curly hair this was definitely not an option.
Additionally I still continued washing my hair with water only every 2 days. After I started using the rye flour my hair was no longer greasy.
How to Wash Your Hair with Rye Flour?
It basically works like washing with shampoo. You take a cup and fill it with approx. 200ml water and one table spoon flour and mix it. Then you apply this mixture on your scalp and massage a bit. Afterwards rinse properly so you will not have any flour leftovers in your hair. Voila!
Week 3
In week 3 my hair started changing and it felt amazing. I got really nice defined curls and even more volume. It was also not so fizzy anymore. After washing I had no problems combing my hair without all the conditioners. Isn’t that crazy? I used all these products for years to help my hair to look better, but in the end they only made it worse and strained my already dry hair.
Week 6
From week 6 I noticed that my hair got used to the No Poo Method and I didn’t need the rye flour anymore. I also tried our argan oil instead of the coconut oil and found it makes my hair even nicer.
So from using 5 different hair products every time I washed my hair I swapped to only argan oil after 6 weeks. Depending on the properties of your hair, it may also be good to deep conditioning your hair from time to time. I love to make a conditioner with half a avocado and banana. During our travels I just put argan oil into my wet hair and let it sit for 30 minutes and wash it afterwards with water only.
My No Poo Method Results
I didn’t wash my hair with shampoo now for over 3 months and my hair feels much healthier than before. It became thicker, more shiny and the broken ends are enormously reduced
Another good effect is that I am not producing any plastic waste with this hair care routine and it saves money. But the best part is that it makes my backpack significantly lighter during our world trip.
Roland was very sceptical about my No Poo Method experiment in the beginning, but after seeing results he got curious and also tried it out. His hair is obviously totally different from mine. His relatively short hair is thick and shiny and there are no broken ends, but it gets greasy after 2-3 days. He is using the rye flour to wash his hair and that works great for him. He also doesn’t need any oil. As you can see, everybody’s hair is different and needs a slightly different No Poo Method routine. I am very happy that both of us are No Pooers now:)
Which hair products are you bringing on longer travels? Have you ever thought about trying the No Poo Method? Please also check our No Poo Q&A post to answer all open questions.
12 Comments
Hi Karolin , thanks for the blog post it gives me renewed motivation to start no-poo. Well I’m actually pretty much no poo: I was my hair every 7-10 days with natural shampoos or herbal powders. I tried W.O about 2 years ago for a few months, but I found it harder to manage than anything. I live in India and I don’t have a hot shower, I found it quite draining to warm water everytime and also, like you, I hav curly hair (mine being more wavy, with bigger curls) and brushing everyday isn’t for me unless I wanna look like a lion :P. During that water only period, I also went for my first vipassana meditation and that’s when I gave up : after 3 days I felt like my hair was so stinky that I could only think about this..I hated being so bothered by my hair, I wanted it to be low maintenance, good for my hair and the planet, not a shallow drama issue :p So I asked for shampoo, and not the best, probably once of those toxic indian shampoos ahah but I took what I was given. I felt super frustrated and almost “cheated” with WO because in this process of using this toxic shampoo I lost SO MUCH hair. After this, I started washing my hair only once in a while, and not brushing. My hair grew thick and beautiful again. 2 years into this now, I’m quite satisfied but I want to need less. I buy shampoo every 6 months but I want to free myself from this especially because I travel a lot and do so by bicycle..When on the road, showers are scarce and carrying extra weight for shampoo isn’t a priority. This is why, I’m thinking about WO again (sorry for the long post)and was wondering: how often do you wash your hair and do you necessarilly use hot water? Do you think I could go with the same rate of washing (once a week?) with WO? Thanks in advance for your reply 🙂 Have a nice trip
Thanks so much for posting this and linking to it in the fb group. I’m going to give this a try. You mentioned that you used rye flour as baking soda can dry your hair out, is that the same reason you avoided ACV as well or is there another reason?
Your hair looks fantastic! -so could you give more details of your drying/styling routine? Do you add the coconut/argan oil to wet hair or is it distributed/absorbed better when it’s dry? What’s the best way you’ve found to actually apply the oil? For drying do you plop/ diffuse dry a little a first/dry from completely wet/hood dry etc.? Thanks.
Wonderful post! I’m struggling with lice though. I’m no poo for about 2yrs now
Oh poor you, I guess its good to ask for advice from your GP so you will solve the problem quickly. Wish you all the best Karo & Roland
Hi Stephanie, Thank you so much for your feedback. I think you can use ACV it will make your hair smooth. I don’t use because the organ oil is doing this job for me.
My styling routine is very easy just comb it then let your hair fall forward and shake it a bit. Afterwards I will take very little argan oil and massage it in to the ends or half way up. It depends on how the hair condition is. Then I just let it dry or use the hair dryer, then it becomes super fluffy like on the picture. If I just let it dry the curls are more defined, but the hair is not as fluffy. Hope that helps and sorry for the late answer. Let me know how it is going with your hair. All the best, Karo
What happens after you go swimming in chlorine which would trip your lovely naturally balanced oilin your hair?
Hi Kat, so far I didn’t have any problems after going swimming. My hair is the same after swimming. Check out the Q&A post for the most frequently asked questions about my no poo routine.
Best Karo
I’ve been doing some research on trying this idea of going no-poo… but I’m a little sceptical. My hair stylist told me once , that the hair scalp is the same as your face and you need to wash it Everyday . The thing is , without soap, can the oil and dirt be removed from the scalp? Secondly, I’m so used and I feel good when my hair smells great after a shampoo shower , so I’m wondering how does the hair smells without it ? I’m open to ideas , please feel free to share your opinion. Thank you 😊
I understand your concerns I felt the same in the beginning, but the I tried it and it works perfectly for me. Your hair needs some time to adjust to the new routine afterwards it will regulate the sebum production so it will just produce less oil etc. Water can clean your scalp no need for shampoo. The hair doesn’t smell at all. I you want to have some nice fragrances you could use some nice essential oils. I am also still looking for one I like so at the moment is don’t use anything. Hope that helps. All the best Karo
Could you post a link to the Q&A post you refer to – I may be having a brain fade but can’t see it anywhere.
Sorry – above comment appeared under your comment by mistake instead of Karolin’s
It is right there in the text it is underlined at the very end, but you can also just click the logo of our travel tip. It is the first post on the site at the moment.