I am a minimalist hair care wearer. Is this a good thing? Honestly, I'm not quite sold... not quite yet. I'm definitely in a transitionary period. Trying to shampoo less, I tried a stint of the No 'Poo Method and received a failing grade (though I did give myself an A for effort), and I am too nervous to expand to any other options outside of an apple cider vinegar rinse. Regardless I forge on.
Researching in to it all I have come across these 5 reasons of why you need to stop washing your hair.
Please, please, if you have any links or resources for where I can find more information, leave them in the comments section.
5 Reasons Why You Need to Stop Washing Your Hair
- Chemicals!! So without getting too technical I would just like to summarize this study and say: the chemicals that are in shampoo and conditioner deposit themselves in your pores, are absorbed into your bloodstream, milling about healthy cells and then head to your liver which has to attempt to purge them along with the other toxins you are continually bombarding yourself with (like those in food and in the air). These chemicals can contribute to breast cancer, liver disease, asthma, and kidney abnormalities, among other ailments. Don't even try to give me the "everything causes cancer" excuse. Either you care about your health now or you care about it when you no longer have it. You decide.
- Moisture. Hair is designed to condition itself, that is good. Shampoo is designed to strip the dirt from your scalp and your hair cuticles, that is good, but it is also bad. Your hair has natural oils that are the best product money can't buy. It's like the breast milk of hair care - all natural and practically priceless. Stop letting them drip down the drain!
- Creativity. Hair styling is best done with dirty hair. I am always one to be adventurous, so skip the normal do you wear everyday and try something different! You might love the results, or it might just be a hat/headband day. (CONFESSION: I have naturally curly hair but a tip that you might want to try is curling 2nd day hair; instead of freshly washed and dried hair).
- If you color your hair you might just find less washing also equals dying your hair less often. No need to explain that one, right? Less dying equals more money in the bank - now that's being minimalist.
- Less heat and less grease. Washing less means blow drying less. Which any girl from 7th grade on knows how damaging our irons are. Less washing also means less greasy hair. Ridiculous you say? Nope, greasy hair becomes that way because of hair products. Don't believe me? Look at this gal or this mom. Or if you know a man with flowing locks you can ask him, they usually don't shampoo. Lucky them.
Not washing your hair doesn't always mean you can't get it wet - every so often skip the shampoo and just rinse. Furthermore, try using baby powder or dry shampoo. Think i'm being funny, there are, in fact, chemical free options for dry shampoo. But if you disagree please enlighten me. Lastly, try switching to shampoo and conditioners that don't contain parabens, SLS, and the like - I dare ya. (Easy to find! Search here or here).
Not convinced? Check out this in-depth article or this video. But really change your habits only if you want to!
