{{MoS|date=January 2023}} {{Short description|Keeping hair clean without commercial shampoo}}
Hair washing without commercial shampoo, sometimes called '''no poo''',<ref name=MC>{{cite magazine |first=Penny |last=Goldstone |url=https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/beauty/hair/no-poo-method-698751 |title=I've been trying the no poo method during the lockdown |magazine=Marie Claire |date=May 22, 2020}}</ref><ref name="MelissaDahl2009MSNBC"/> includes water-only hair washing or hair washing with non-shampoo products, such as baking soda or vinegar. Advocates argue that commercial shampoo is an unnecessary expense, creates an artificial cleansing cycle, and may contain harmful ingredients.
==Rationale== Synthetic shampoos were introduced in the 1930s.<ref name="P&G"/> Daily shampooing became the norm in the US in the 1970s and 1980s,<ref name="MelissaDahl2009MSNBC" /> but hair washing is determined by cultural norms and individual preferences, with some people washing daily, some fortnightly, and some not at all.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Jennifer |last1=Marsh |author2=John Gray |author3=Antonella Tosti |title=Healthy Hair |chapter=Cosmetic Products and Hair Health |publisher=Springer |year=2015 |isbn=978-3-319-18385-5|page=117 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-18386-2_7}}.</ref> From a clinical point of view, "the main purpose for a shampoo is to cleanse the scalp", not to "beautify the hair".<ref>{{cite book |first=Zoe Diana |last=Draelos |contribution=Hair Cosmetics |title=Hair Growth and Disorders |editor1-first=Ulrike |editor1-last=Blume-Peytavi |editor2=Antonella Tosti |editor3=Ralph M. Trüeb |publisher=Springer |year=2008 |page=500 |doi=10.1007/978-3-540-46911-7_25|isbn=978-3-540-46908-7 }}</ref>
Proponents of hair washing without shampoo believe that commercial products are unnecessary, and therefore an unnecessary expense.<ref name=MC/><ref name="The Columbian April 2009" /> Following a 2007 radio interview with Matthew Parris (a ''Times'' columnist "who hadn't shampooed for more than a decade"), Australian radio presenter Richard Glover challenged his audience to try going without shampoo for six weeks. 86 percent of more than 500 participants reported that "their hair was either better or the same" following the challenge.<ref name="NYTimes2008Grossman" />
Some proponents argue that by removing the natural oils (sebum) produced by the scalp, commercial shampoo creates a vicious cycle of increased oil production and more frequent hair washing,<ref name="MelissaDahl2009MSNBC" /><ref name="AllisonAubrey2009npr" /> which can take up to six weeks to break.<ref name=MC/><ref name="MelissaDahl2009MSNBC" /> Other proponents avoid shampoos because they believe some of the ingredients to be harmful. Sulfates like sodium lauryl sulfate can be irritants;<ref>{{Cite journal|pmid = 16679819|year = 2006|last1 = Marrakchi|first1 = S.|last2 = Maibach|first2 = H. I.|title = Sodium lauryl sulfate-induced irritation in the human face: Regional and age-related differences|journal = Skin Pharmacology and Physiology|volume = 19|issue = 3|pages = 177–80|doi = 10.1159/000093112|s2cid = 35890797}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=7 Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate |date=December 1983 |journal= International Journal of Toxicology |volume= 2 |issue= 7 |pages= 127–181 |doi= 10.3109/10915818309142005 |s2cid=34123578 |issn= 1091-5818}}</ref> sulfate-free shampoos are also marketed based on this concern.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/fashion/30Skin.html |title=Sulfate-Free Products Have Some in a Lather |first= Catherine |last= Saint Louis |date=September 29, 2010 |work=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201123900/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/fashion/30Skin.html |archive-date=February 1, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> There are also pollution concerns with the fungicides in dandruff shampoo.<ref>{{cite podcast |last=Biello |first=David |date=December 1, 2013 |title=Dandruff Shampoo Could Mess Up Waterways | url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/dandruff-shampoo-could-mess-up-wate-13-12-01/ |series=60-Second Earth |language=en-US |publisher=Scientific American |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326083615/https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/dandruff-shampoo-could-mess-up-wate-13-12-01/ |archive-date=March 26, 2023 |access-date=December 18, 2013}}</ref>
==Methods== The purest form of shampoo avoidance is to use only water to wash hair.<ref name="The Columbian April 2009"/> Alternatively, the hair can be washed with baking soda, followed by an acidic rinse such as diluted apple vinegar.<ref name=MC/><ref name="MelissaDahl2009MSNBC" /><ref name="AllisonAubrey2009npr" /><ref>{{cite web | title=Apple Cider Vinegar Uses, Benefits, Claims | url= http://www.webmd.com/diet/apple-cider-vinegar/ | website=WebMD}}</ref> Essential oils can be used to give the hair a pleasant aroma.<ref name=MC/> Japanese traditional hair cleansing is with seaweed powder.{{cn|date=April 2023}}
==See also== * Curly Girl Method * Hair care * Hygiene hypothesis
==References== {{Reflist|30em|refs= <ref name="MelissaDahl2009MSNBC">{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/ditching-shampoo-dirty-little-beauty-secret-flna1C9464849 |title=Ditching shampoo a dirty little beauty secret |first= Melissa |last= Dahl |date=April 23, 2009 |publisher= NBC News |accessdate=March 23, 2012}}</ref> <ref name="AllisonAubrey2009npr">{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102062969 |title=When It Comes To Shampoo, Less Is More |first= Allison |last= Aubrey |date=March 19, 2009 |publisher= NPR |accessdate=March 23, 2012}}</ref> <ref name="P&G">{{cite web | title =From Pert: Do You Wash and Go? | work =Company Science Behind the Brands | publisher =Procter and Gamble | url =http://www.pg.com/science/pbi_pert.jhtml | accessdate =March 24, 2012 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070216104007/http://www.pg.com/science/pbi_pert.jhtml |archivedate = February 16, 2007}}</ref> <ref name="NYTimes2008Grossman">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/fashion/21SKINOne.html |title=Of Course I Washed My Hair Last Year (I'm Almost Certain) |first= Anna Jane |last= Grossman |date=February 21, 2008 |work=The New York Times |accessdate=March 23, 2012}}</ref> <ref name="The Columbian April 2009">{{cite news |title=A clean break from shampoo |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-21741394.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328212001/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-21741394.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 28, 2015 |work=The Columbian |location= Vancouver, Washington |last=Middlewood |first=Erin |date=April 12, 2009 |accessdate=August 13, 2012 }}</ref> }}
Category:Hairdressing Category:Shampoos Category:Human hair Category:Scalp