How often do you wash your hair? Every day? Once a week?
What about once a month, or never?
There’s a new beauty trend, aptly called the “no poo” movement. It means what it sounds like—you never wash your hair with commercial shampoo.
Followers of this believe you should only wash your hair with water, or use natural ingredients like vinegar, raw eggs, porridge, and chalk.
People like Gwyneth Paltrow and Jessica Simpson follow this movement. One website explains it this way:
“Hair contains natural oil called sebum in its follicles, which is essential for keeping itself conditioned and healthy. Frequent washing, combined with some of the harsh chemicals in shampoo, strips away those oils leaving your hair in bad shape.”
The website, called Nopoomethod, says that alternatives like baking soda and apple cider vinegar, can help clean your hair without getting rid of the hair’s natural oils.
Some celebrities don’t take this as far as no shampoo at all. Kim Kardashian, Shailene Woodley, and Adele all put off washing their hair for weeks, even months. When they do wash their hair, however, they use shampoo.
However, though the website claims this method could be for everyone, but trichologist Carol Walker says that it may not be equal for everyone.
“If they have a healthy scalp, go ahead, try it, it won’t damage your hair,” she said. “If you are susceptible to spotty skin, leaving your hair to go oily can lead to spots on the scalp and around the hairline and can re-infect spots or eczema. This can then cause a secondary infection.”
So if you do want to try this, consider your skin type, or talk to your doctor first. Walker did also say that the recommended alternatives (vinegar, eggs, etc.) have been used to clean hair naturally for years.
