No ‘poo for you!

Apparently, shampoo is evil.

I know it may have never crossed your mind, but rumors have been spreading that chemicals in shampoo like methylisothiazolinone and diethanolamine could give you terrifying health problems, like nerve damage and Alzheimer’s disease. Is this true?

Not entirely.

“Perhaps if you were drinking the shampoo or soaking in a bath of shampoo for hours, the chemicals would have an effect,” says skin specialist Nevine Tawadros. Your dollop of shampoo to wash your hair doesn’t seem to be enough to affect you.

So why quit?

The “no 'poo” movement is gathering steam. Whether it’s because eating natural food is logically followed by using natural ingredients to wash your hair or because it sounds cute, people all over the world are ditching their bottles of Pantene and substituting them with baking soda and vinegar.

It’s not an easy transition. Stages of weaning your scalp off shampoo include feeling dirty, having greasy hair and getting comments from others that you look unwashed.

Life without shampoo means eventually reaching the real potential of beauty and shine for your hair. Foaming agents like sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS, for short), can irritate your scalp and hair so your hair doesn’t actually look as healthy as it could.

But just quitting for the principal of 'poo-less-ness may not be worth it.

“I tried to join the ‘no 'poo’ movement but I missed the smell of my shampoo in my hair, and I couldn’t stand the grease,” says Sylvia Michaels, 45, who returned to shampoo after only six days of trying.

There are other reasons to quit, though. A small percentage of people actually have allergic reactions to shampoo. Shampoo contains gluten, and people with extreme gluten intolerance may get allergic reactions after using shampoo.

Shampoo also strips your hair of its natural oils, which makes your scalp overproduce more oil to compensate. Of course, after you stop shampooing, it takes some time for your scalp to recalibrate and reduce oil production.

“I reached my peak in grease on day four. I wore a hat.” Hana Fahim continued life without shampoo though, and now is happy with the results.

“Many people choose to wean themselves off shampoo with vinegar and baking soda but I went cold turkey to washing my hair with water only,” says Fahim, who lives in the US and believes the practice is more accepted there. “When I want to style my hair for an event, my hairdresser is equipped with natural products for styling that contain no chemicals” — and when Fahim gets home, she just rinses it out.

Usually the process of getting rid of shampoo starts with baking soda and vinegar. Baking soda lessens the grease in your hair and foams appropriately for a feeling of normal shampoo. Vinegar does the work of conditioner, softening and making your hair easier to comb.

“The baking soda and vinegar combination was too extreme for me,” says Amany Selim, 34, a Mada Masr reporter. “Baking soda and vinegar for your feet is magical and removes dead skin, but for my hair, I’ve decided to use natural olive oil shampoos.”

Once you are ready, the actual goal is to wash you hair with water only, keeping it less greasy with lots of brushing with a ridiculously clean brush.