Woman hasn’t shampooed in a year says hair is healthier
One might feel odd at the thought of not using shampoo and conditioner on your hair for a year, but this woman did it and claims her hair is the healthiest it has ever been.
Kayleigh Conway, from Bedfordshire, UK swapped shampoo and conditioner with ‘natural alternatives’ for washing her hair - such as eggs and baking soda - and settled on using clay and vinegar, which she says made her tresses thicker and less greasy.
The 28-year-old blogger writes in her'back to basics' lifestyle blog called Blue Jeans White Tee,that she now washes her hair every four days in the products, which is also going easy on her pockets.
Kayleigh advocates on not splurging much on salon-quality shampoo and conditioner and swears by using natural products that made her hair - which used to be greasy and require straightening every morning - doesn't need to be styled.
Kayleigh told FEMAIL: 'My hair is actually the healthiest it’s ever been. It’s shinier, seems to grow faster and has a lot more volume.
'It's now so easy to manage that I just get up, brush my hair and go.'
Kayleigh, who works in marketing, decided to stop using shampoo and conditioner in March 2015 after hearing about the 'no 'poo' movement, where people stop using the products for money-saving and environmental reasons.
She said: 'I first heard about “no ‘poo” after coming across an article by another no ‘poo blogger, and in the same evening I looked up some more articles and just decided to go for it.
'I just thought to myself “I wonder if this is actually true, I could do it and see if it really works – why not?”
After researching why not using the products can leave your hair looking better, Kayleigh decided to opt for some natural options to try such as vinegar, to condition, and baking soda, to clean the hair.
But the results were greasy to begin with and her fiance, Graeme Thomas, 28, was confused as to why she was doing it.
Kayleigh said: 'I’m not going to lie, it was pretty minging. As my hair was “detoxing” the chemicals from shampoo and conditioner it went beyond greasy and went quite waxy and stringy – even ponytails couldn’t save it.'
Kayleigh experimented with coconut milk and aloe vera jelly but again was left with greasy hair that just wouldn't dry.
She even tried putting cornflour into her hair to dry and stop the grease and tried using egg in her hair.
Kayleigh eventually worked out the best method was to use vinegar to condition her hair first, then Rhassoul clay, which is often an ingredient in face masks, to clean her scalp of sebum, which causes greasy hair.
She said: 'I was trying different ingredients to try and scrub the gunk out including oatmeal and rye flour, but as soon as I started using the Rhassoul clay about seven weeks in everything fell into place.
'I probably could have got through the detox phase quicker if I had done some Rhassoul clay masks from the start.'
Kayleigh now uses a mixture of the clay, which costs £12.99 (BD 7) and vinegar, at £1.70 (BD 0.90) for 350ml, together, that lasts for three months, compared to spending £15 (BD 8) each on salon-quality shampoo and conditioner.
She said: 'I towel dry my hair, comb any tangles out and let it air dry, and if I have a special occasion I might straighten the ends, so now styling takes up about five minutes of my time if that.'
Kayleigh still washes her hair every four days but spends less time on styling and has documented the changes on her blog.
Previously she would straighten her hair every morning to tame the 'poofiness' but now she says she doesn't need to and has only used straighteners around five times since starting, usually just brushing her hair in the morning.
Kayleigh said: 'Now I can feel what my hair feels like – it’s thicker and just as shiny as before, and without all the silicones coating my strands I can now do whatever I want with my freshly-washed hair.
'All of this has allowed me to push my alarm further and further back in the morning, meaning I’m getting a full night’s sleep most nights and feeling 10 times better for it.'
Previously she would get up at 6.30am two or three times a week to wash and then style her hair in the morning.
And she plans to carry on her new routine.
She said: 'I really love it, this whole experience has taught me to love my hair in its natural state.
'I rarely use heat on it so there’s a little poof day-to-day, but I’ve been growing it out so that it’s heavy enough to weigh itself down.'
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