The Lowdown on the No Shampoo "Adjustment Period"

I recently stopped using shampoo in favor of more natural methods of hair cleansing. On all the blog posts I've read about making the switch, it talks about an "adjustment period" when your hair may be greasy, sticky, or stiff. I thought I was prepared for these things, but once I entered the adjustment period, I felt like some things were underemphasized or skipped entirely. So on this blog post, I am going to break down into detailed sections exactly what I experienced during my adjustment period. The method I used changed a few times because I was desperate for a way to make my hair less gross, but I used a pH balanced shampoo, plain raw honey, and finally, a bentonite clay mixture, which worked best for me. I'm a little over 4 weeks in.

-Hair Will Be Greasy
"Big deal," you think, "I've gone a few days without showering before." No. Your hair will become so greasy, you could stick it to the wall in shapes, like Wikki Stix. The plus side to this: my updos were unshakeable. I could have walked through a hurricane and remained perfectly coifed. Be prepared to wear your hair up for at least the first 3-4 weeks. Down is not an option. I think the sticky and stiff part is implied under this heading.

 

These pictures were taken in my super greasy stage. I had worn that bun all day long and even laid down with the baby a few times. It was like having an entire jar of pomade in my hair.

-All Brushes Will Be Disgusting
My brushes had to washed after every single brushing. White residue from my scalp coated every bristle and on the sides of the brush there was a build up of grease and dead skin cells. It was pretty gross. I thought maybe I was more disgusting than other people that no one else mentioned it in their posts, but I hope by writing this I can save someone else from thinking they are extra disgusting!

-Breakouts on the Scalp
Pretty self-explanatory, but they cleared up within four weeks.

-Itchy Scalp
Terribly itchy all over my scalp. And it was gross because itching my scalp would leave a nasty, pasty residue under my fingernails. Yuck.

-SMELLY
This could partly be because dirty scalp is one of those smells that really bother me, but my hair was stinky. This went away fairly quickly. I would say by three weeks.

I have been as honest as I can be about the adjustment period. It might seem like I am trying to discourage others from making the switch, but I just want to tell people exactly what it is like so they don't give up because they think they must be doing it wrong if their hair gets nastier than they thought it would. I almost gave up a few times- no one mentioned the breakouts and I was afraid my hair was just too gross for it to work. I thought maybe the no 'poo life wasn't for me. I'm glad I stuck it out now, but it was very tempting to give up. I would still consider myself in the adjustment period, but the things that bothered me the most are improving and I know they will eventually be resolved. This last picture was taken tonight. My dye job is growing out (another consequence of deciding to go all natural with my hair), I didn't blow dry it, and only brushed it after it was dry. Basically, my hair is a disaster, but you can see it's no longer waxy and limp.

None of these things were bad enough that I couldn't handle it for a few weeks. With some creative hair styling it was hardly noticed by others (or at least people were polite and pretended not to notice). It was all worth it to me and if you think you could survive these things, I would encourage you to give it a try.