Ok, so I know that body hacking and personal hygiene are not my usual topics of choice, but hear me out. My entire life I’ve had dandruff, up till a few months ago. That’s almost 30 years of dandruff shampoo, medicated shampoo, frequent showers, you name it. Up till a few months ago.
You see, that’s when I got into no-poo (wiki link). It’s not a constipation product, it’s a movement of folks who have stopped using commercial shampoo. So for the past few months, I have washed my hair daily with warm water only. No shampoo, no dandruff shampoo, no conditioner, no medicated shampoo. By all accounts there has been no noticeable change in the appearance or texture of my hair.
Well that’s not fully true. I lost the dandruff. Completely. First time in my life I’ve felt really comfortable wearing black shirts. I don’t want to come straight out and say shampoo is a corporate scam designed to keep people purchasing an unnecessary product for the duration of their lives, but if the shoe fits….
Hey Hunter, I’ve been doing this for a few months since I saw some articles about it on BoingBoing. I’m fair skinned/reddish haired and I think this has been good for my skin and hair (I just rinse off with warm water – no soap). I have no dandruff to speak of and I’ve only noticed a slight bit of an oily texture in my hair. I keep it fairly short, though, so I don’t know what this would look like if I let it grow out much. I like it though. If I blow dry it, it seems to have a bit more body. And it saves on shampoo too. About the only time I use soap/shampoo is if I’m actually dirty, or if I’m getting my hair cut. I’d rather avoid the conversation about “yes, I still wash my hair, but I don’t use shampoo” conversation with the joe down at Fantastic Sam’s.
Great blog. I got on with I was hacking a Zipit. Lots of fun.
Hey thanks Bob! It’s pretty crazy how many things we take for granted as a part of life that turn out to be just suggestion. I think that’s kind of the essence of hacking. I’ve heard a beer rinse is good for your hair when it gets too far our there, but I can’t bring myself to pour out beer
happy hacking!
If you use a product in on your hair on your skin or ingest something, it is important to know what it might do to you. As for hair and skin products pH balance which is divergent from person to person is very important.
Knowledge before action. Take very little at face value.
I have seborrheic dermatitis. I am on day 15 of my one month “no shampoo” experiment. My skin is worse than ever just like I expected. My scalp and face is itchy and dry. I have flakes the size of rice grains and dimes. I spend hours scratching off skin although I shouldn’t. A few hours later after I finish, my skin is dry, crusty, and scabby and I start scratching again. I have used dandruff shampoos for 25 years so I assume my body is adjusting to the change.
I also think my hair smells like gasoline and skunks now, but my girlfriend says it smells fine.
The most effective treatment I have ever found for my seborrheic dermatitis is living in warm tropical climates and swimming in the ocean.
I am stubborn, however, so I plan to continue my experiment, though. I hope my dandruff disappears, but right now I am skeptical.
I have finished my 30 day “no shampoo” experiment. I must say this experiment
wasn’t enjoyable. My hair became a blizzard when I ran my hand through it.
The flakes in my hair became nearly the size of cornflakes. My head was constantly itchy and I could
barely have sex, read, or sleep. I felt like a disgusting scumball.
A few days ago, however, I noticed my scalp starting to improve. My dandruff did not disappear, but became
more patchy. Since I was finished with the experiment and discovered that I have dandruff whether I use or don’t use shampoo, I decided to start using shampoo again. Basically I found that if I don’t use shampoo, I save money and have dandruff. If I use shampoo, I spend money and have dandruff,
but I feel cleaner and have more self-esteem.
My skin is sensitive to cold temperatures, but I personally wouldn’t advise anyone to give up on shampoo. Companies make shampoo because it’s better than nothing. I learned my lesson. This past month was torture for me.
Sorry to hear that your experimental was only a partial success. It sounds like things improved some, but there were some pretty significant mental and physical drawbacks. This is good information for others in similar situations. I hope that the overall experience was positive, if trying, just to find out more about how shampoo works/doesn’t work for you. Best of luck!
I am a CNA as in a nurse. I’m not going to argue over the effectiveness of shampoos and such. but the cure for dandruff for those who are able. Is nothing more then taking fish oil supplements. If you don’t believe me, ask any animal vet. what to give a cat or dog if they are (snowy – have lots of dry dandruff skin), the supplement is nothing more then fish oil. We are nothing more then animals and there for the same and similar things will have the same or similar effects (NOT ALL THE TIME) but more often then not.
I would urge use of shampoos body cleaners etc… but to each his/her own…
On a side note if you have never taken fish oil before, taking 1-2 caps a day every day you may notice a mental boost in awareness with in 1-2 weeks of use. Dandruff may slow or stop with in a few days. And the effects will soon ware off with in a few days of discontinued use.
When it comes to humans you’ll never get a straight answer, and the reason is $$$$ wont you buy my product, or sneaky buy my snake oil instead people… Every one always tries to sell the band-aid quick fix. Because the quick fix fails or becomes exhausted and needs to be replenished often.
you’ll notice in all the post’s the common responce is more oily skin air what ever.. taking fish oil will increase your body oil production. soaps/shapoos remove it from where you dont want it, (the DEAD AND DRY surfaces only) skin/hair..
ENJOY…..
Sounds like I need to start adding fish oil into my daily supplements!
I would love to see some post’s + or – in regards to what I have stated. or experience post’s
Can’t comment here, haven’t had any dandruff since I quit using shampoo.
Sounds like you had a relatively mild case that was the result of low sebum on the scalp. However the inherent fallacy of thinking X is a cure for Y. Is assuming that there is a single cause. For example some dandruff is caused by a fungus which breeds in sebum. So not shampooing might make that worse.
Hey Jon,
I had no idea there were numerous causes of dandruff! That’s good info! Thanks for the heads up