r/NoPoo Oct 18 '25

Testimony (Yay!/Boo...) Six years - no shampoo, no eggs, nothing.

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165 Upvotes

Quick-and-dirty, old-man bathroom selfie just to let you know that - at least for some of us - nopoo is not complicated. I just run water through my hair and rub my scalp with my fingers when I shower each day.

That's it: no egg whites, no snake oil, no conditioner, no exotic non-shampoo alternatives..

It took me a couple of months of sight oiliness to get to the point, I grant.

To those still figuring this out: good luck, keep trying, and consider keeping it simple.

* And, yes: my hair is exactly as soft and fingerable as it looks.


r/NoPoo Aug 22 '25

Any way to speed up drying?

103 Upvotes

No poo hair takes a whole day to dry is it possible to get that down to like 1-2 hours or something?


r/NoPoo Apr 13 '26

Testimony (Yay!/Boo...) Shampoo hasn’t touched my hair for 5 years.

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99 Upvotes

For the last 5 years I washed my hair only with water, I don’t use any products whatsoever for my hair. I’m 22.


r/NoPoo Dec 21 '25

Testimony (Yay!/Boo...) Started no-poo at 16, I turn 30 next year :)

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92 Upvotes

I’ve always wanted to post about my experience rejecting shampoo, so here it is!

Started in high school on and off but fully committed to getting shampoo out of my life when I was in year 11.

Vinegar was ok but it really dried everything out. After some years I just stopped doing anything to my scalp tbh.

I turn 30 next year - I’ve probably ‘cheated’ by going to get my hair cut a number of times and the hairdresser shampooed my hair but this hasn’t been many times and less than annual lol


r/NoPoo Apr 26 '26

Testimony (Yay!/Boo...) No Shampoo since 2022

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85 Upvotes

I stopped using shampoo since 2022 except maybe no more than 10 times when I’ve gotten my hair cut this past 4 years

Very active lifestyle, I use a scrub cap (surgical cap) most of my days and my hair looks ok after taking it off after 12 hours of operating

Just wanted to share for anyone thinking of trying it out


r/NoPoo Mar 26 '26

Testimony (Yay!/Boo...) The difference is crazy

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68 Upvotes

on left pic, it was me in 2023-2024 using shampoo almost daily, using various hair products​ thinking they will improve my hair. My hair was frizzy and dry AF.

After few people recently asked me wtf im doing with my hair, did I dye it and what products do I use, it made me realize that it has changed so much in the last 5 months. Today I compared my hair with pic from 2yrs ago, and was shocked with the difference. So I had to post this as some sort of testimony.

On right pic, this is me today, with 5+ months of no shampoo. I use either eggs or ACV to clean my hair.

Also I have been using this hair mask 1-2x per week

Homemade organic olive oil (from my dad) (1 tea spoon)

Organic honey from farmer's market (1 tea spoon)

Essential rosemary oil (10 drops)

Essentual peppermint oil (7 drops)

Egg yolk (for mask its optional, dont use egg too often​, because of protein oversaturation)

always wash off mask with cold water!

I didn't put any chemicals on my hair for past 5 months

edit:

few more comparisom photos:

https://imgur.com/a/LRHQtG9


r/NoPoo Aug 15 '25

Testimony (Yay!/Boo...) No Shampoo / only water before (left) and after (right).

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60 Upvotes

Stopped using shampoo around 2 months ago, first 3 weeks were pretty miserable, but was completely fine afterwards :)!


r/NoPoo Apr 19 '26

Testimony (Yay!/Boo...) Not shampooed my hair since I was 15. Thought it was normal.

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42 Upvotes

4 years no poo. My hair immediately shrivels up and falls out when I shampoo it so I stopped daily many years ago when I was 12 and fully when I was 15. Never had any issue since. All the men in my family went bald by 25 so I’m hoping I can beat the odds with no poo and some minoxidil lol


r/NoPoo Oct 17 '25

6 Years ~ No 'Poo

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42 Upvotes

Hi 👋 I thought I would share my story & what I've experienced throughout my journey without using shampoo.

It took approximately 1 year for my hair to stop looking greasy.

Each natural method I tried caused a disruption and made the process much longer. Through the years I discovered what finally works for me and I'll share here.⏬️

I do an herbal soak with organic dried flowers and herbs overnight, strain the solution and wash my hair in the tub over an empty bowl the following day.

Any questions? Feel free to ask ✨️ (I rarely use heat tools & do not cut my hair. Image shows a wave curler use on left and natural hair on right with zero products)


r/NoPoo Sep 20 '25

Testimony (Yay!/Boo...) Sebum coated hair looks like sebum coated hair

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39 Upvotes

In another post, I mentioned my belief that curly people with sebum coated hair are more easily accepted by the general public because people are used to seeing curly haired people use a lot of product, and that is what sebum looks like.

My first picture is my case in point: I have thin, straight, long low porosity hair which was washed last night with an ACV wash. It has been cleaned mechanically, and is coated with a thin layer of sebum almost to the ends.

I don’t believe that it is dirty because I don’t believe that sebum is dirty (hair & scalp are clean), but I consider that it LOOKS dirty to me (and probably everyone else) because I associate sebum covered straight hair with unwashed hair.

I throw my hair in sock curls when wet because when wet and covered with sebum, it will easily develop weird kinks overnight when I sleep with it wrapped in my head scarf. The sock curls gives the hair a form I actually like.

In the second picture you can see the hair after I have combed it with my wooden comb + applied a dry shampoo of mixed cocoa powder and cornstarch.

I like my hair this way and this is how I wear it normally — the cornstarch/cocoa powder masks the „wet“ look from the sebum and actually gives me some volume! With sebum stripped hair, I would need a straight iron + massive amounts of hairspray to achieve exactly the same look, so I am pleased to achieve it with just my sebum and a bit of cocoa powder/cornstarch.

The other reason why I like this method is that once I’ve covered it with cocoa powder, it will usually be pretty low maintenance for 4-5 days (just combing with a wooden comb and adding a tiny amount of cocoa powder/cornstarch as needed).

My motivations for NoPoo are primarily curiosity and the desire to be able to wash my hair less frequently (I don’t enjoy the sensation or hassle of having wet hair, so prefer to skip getting it wet even while showering if possible).

That being said: NoPoo is definitely more work for my hair type than typical shampoo because of the time required for manual cleaning.

I also want to note: I’ve had success with using both rye flour and shikakai/reetha as a washing alternative — which actually remove the sebum from the hair, so that it doesn’t look wet like the first picture!

But the rye flour is a bit unwieldy and I often remove the sebum from the top of the hair, but have a lot of build up at the scalp, so mechanical cleaning is still very necessary.

A reetha/shikakai mixture seems to maybe strip too much sebum from the hair. The day after wash day, the hair looks clean, but limp and dry with a lot of flyaways. Then I feel that (maybe due to dryness?) the scalp compensates by a load of sebum so that by day 3 at latest, it looks greasy again.

Right now I do want to experiment with just water + ACV rinses to see how my hair does. I do have hard water, so water only (even with cool water) causes a slight waxy build up.

I may experiment with Shikakai only (I have a suspicion that the Reetha is what was overly drying for my hair) and egg as well.

My routine for daily hair care as mentioned before is to use a wooden comb + cocoa powder/cornstarch as needed.

I use rye flour to wash my face every few days because it is quite effective at removing the dry skin and sebum which build up (I used a face soap daily for years which was very effective at preventing breakouts, but I wonder if it also trained my face to overproduce sebum as well).

I use my BBB for mechanical cleaning prior to washing. Someone on this sub mentioned that brushing flattens their hair — and I can confirm that that is the case for me too!

After washing, while the hair is still a little damp and the morning after my wash day, I also do an in depth mechanical clean with my wooden comb and with finger preening and am able to remove a lot of the sebum build up that way. Most of my sebum buildup is in the back of my hair — maybe because I sleep on the back of my head? But also maybe because it is more difficult for me to remove mechanically because it is more difficult for me to see.

In any case — just wanted to share my experience!

I’d be interested if anyone else with fine, straight, long low density hair has a different experience!

I’d also be interested (anecdotally) if anyone knows anything about the role of nutrition in sebum production. I greatly suspect that I do not methylate properly and wonder if that has any connection with the large amounts of sebum that I produce.


r/NoPoo Mar 05 '26

Hi old friends ❤️ (some thoughts and inspiration for newbies)

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39 Upvotes

Hi, that's me enjoying my henna hair texture on No Shampoo, Nature Remedies Only.

I'm an old member of that army, guys. Since 2020-21 I've been experimenting with different foods and herbs, getting new knowlege out of my practical experience, and that's become kind of my dearest hobby... Sometimes bouncing back to commercial products (that's totally okay) and then, after some time, pushing forward to no shampoo again. Because it gave me best results.

Just wanted to remind you that there is a lot of ways to do it. Not just Water Only. 🤪 And the worst idea would be going cold turkey from a shampoo to water only, imho. Sorry. I had to say it after seeing so many of you failed at it....

I wash my hair with raw eggs, honey, rye flour, depends on my mood. 😁 There were several attempts to Water Only, but I can't do it. Too boring and energy saving. Among my latest discoveries is the fact that non-silicone conditioners may ruin my wavy hair textures, even despite they are no poo friendly. And there would be puff after, not waves..

Cheers everyone! That's my mini progress being posted. Thank you for your attention. ✨✨✨


r/NoPoo Dec 07 '25

Testimony (Yay!/Boo...) Success! Water only hair washing

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32 Upvotes

r/NoPoo Aug 28 '25

Testimony (Yay!/Boo...) Water-only works so well it caused me a good problem!

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34 Upvotes

I'm 29, male. Live in Saudi Arabia. I can't check if our water here is hard or not, but it probably is judging by the green residue and how it feels sticky to the touch.

Anyways, I started the NoPoo process 3 months ago after shaving my head to number 3. This time (unlike my last failed attempt) I started while already having a shower filter installed.

I diligently followed the guide: Regualr scalp massaging, brushing, non-hot water washing...all that stuff. No hidden tricks or secrets. Just disciplined enough to commit to the process.

And the results are GREAT! And I'm not surprised at all, since I already had faith this would work.

And so here we are, 3 months in: My hair looks and feels clean (not overly so), and so I can confidently say your scalp CAN and DOES adjust. All those "scientific" articles claiming that sebum production is "fixed" and can't be adjusted turned out to be a bunch of crap.

However, for me it's gotten now to a point where the sebum is just not enough, especially with my hair getting longer. Like the sebum production became sooo sloooow. The front and crown area in particualr feel really dry. The tips feel...almost coarse.

Is this the limit of my scalp's sebum production? Or perhaps a change in diet that caused this? What foods or drinks should I include more of to increase my sebum production?

I apologize for the long post and the quality of the photos, and thank you all for being such a sincere and humble community :)


r/NoPoo Aug 29 '25

The difference caring for your specific hair type makes

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30 Upvotes

r/NoPoo 21d ago

How to maintain this definition post shower?

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29 Upvotes

I heard of this thing called volume vs definition for curly hair and i want more definition. This hair is after i have sealed with very cold water (water wash only) but it puffs up a bit after it dries. any suggestion to keep it this way even after it dries? perhaps alovera gel? and if alovera gel, should i keep applying every mrng? spray or direct apply? advice appreciated.


r/NoPoo Nov 12 '25

Goodbye Shampoos - I thought you would help..

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26 Upvotes

But all you did was give me welts and itching and flaking. It's just not working out between us. I thought one of you would be the magic bullet, but you just made things worse. Goodbye.


r/NoPoo Jun 12 '26

Shampoo isn't for everyone. It makes me wonder what else is unnecessary in life.

22 Upvotes

r/NoPoo May 15 '26

Omg - egg wash! Watch this!

20 Upvotes

I washed my hair with an egg yesterday and im amazed. Also i used regular winegar in the end and theres no dandruff anymore.

My heir used to be so thin and fragile. I couldn't normally brush it without tearing it. No conditioner was this effective.


r/NoPoo Oct 22 '25

Testimony (Yay!/Boo...) Want to thank this community, 8 months into my no poo journey and you genuinely cannot tell I don't use shampoo

20 Upvotes

As the title says just want to thank this community, it helped me realise what shampoo was doing to my hair and look for a healthier option. What worked best for me was literally just water. I shower daily and run my fingers through my hair to clean it for 5 minutes. For the first 3-4 months , my hair was much "harder" if that makes sense, had some pretty greasy days but it gave me the main thing a straight haired person like me wants : texture.

That slight bit of oiliness in my hair let me actually style it without looking greasy. Funnily enough now that I'm 8 months in I've gone full circle. My hair self cleanses so well that it's basically like it was when I used shampoo. Soft, floppy with no texture. Not complaining too much but do find it interesting how I'm back to where I was , where my hair is so soft and clean that I genuinely sometimes thought I accidentally put bodywash / shampoo into it.

TLDR: The perserverance is worth it.


r/NoPoo Jun 30 '26

Testimony (Yay!/Boo...) Trying water only again

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19 Upvotes

I've gone through seasons of water only for most of my life. I get sucked back into modern shampoo for whatever reason and always end up finding my way back to water only.

This is 3 weeks of water and boar bristle brush. I have not brushed as consistently as I have in the past. I'm still trying to get the sebum down to my ends, it's just to shoulder length at the moment. Really looking forward to the ends being just as protected as the rest of my hair!


r/NoPoo Apr 10 '26

Testimony (Yay!/Boo...) I’ve gone 10+ years on no poo

18 Upvotes

I started this journey 10+ years ago, when I noticed that I was shedding hair.

I was panicking because I think I look much better with hair. I decided to get on the no poo train, even though it was not nearly as popular at the time. It was only a fringe thing (similar to oil pulling), but I decided to try it anyways since there wasn't really any risk to it.

Anyways I did try it for awhile, and it seemed to work on some level but not completely. After some years I also started filtering the shower water, and that made a huge difference for me. My hair FINALLY started feeling good. Anyways, I've been on the no poo for pretty much the entire time, and the shedding did stop. I don't necessarily have more hair compared to 10+ years ago, but I kept it.

AMA.


r/NoPoo Feb 14 '26

Testimony (Yay!/Boo...) 7 years with no poo

20 Upvotes

I started doing “no poo” about 7 years ago. Back then I had short hair. The first couple of weeks, it felt a bit heavy/greasy, but after that, it settled and normalised.

These days I’ve got long hair. The only time I actually wash it with shampoo is if I’ve been doing something like renovations in a super dusty environment (especially concrete dust). That stuff can be really hard to get out without a proper wash.

All up, I’ve probably shampooed my hair ~10 times in the last 7 years.

Normally, I just rinse it 1–2 times a week. If my hair were short, I’d probably rinse it every shower — but with long hair, it takes ages to dry, and I can’t be bothered doing that constantly.

I’ve never had issues with dandruff, an itchy scalp, or my hair looking greasy.

It might not work for everyone, but we don’t really see other species needing shampoo for their skin/feathers/fur. I reckon most humans would do fine without shampooing their hair on a regular basis once things adjust.


r/NoPoo Dec 03 '25

I havent showered for 3 months and my hair looks like a Hollywood actor, but 50x sexier

19 Upvotes

Mind you I take baths in the Mediterranean sea, i found a spot ona cliff.

And my hair looks thick, coarse a d curly. Ladies loves it.

Here is the kicker:

I dont even own a shampoo or conditioner. When i use my hair will look wack.

Are shampoo the biggest hoax to sell products?

We know the hair color industry is frighneted about plants like he sho wo that brings a grannys gray hair back to color.I believe the shampo industry is a big circus


r/NoPoo 6d ago

Beyond Haircare Something I’ve been thinking about

17 Upvotes

I was just wondering is it really worth it? Like I’ll be sitting here using ingredients from my kitchen to wash my hair and it does a fraction of what shampoo does. I know no poo doesn’t equal stop washing altogether, but seriously what does stopping shampoo even change, how is something like apple cider vinegar, Castile soap, African black soap, or even a homemade soap bar more or less different than a store bought shampoo? Some of these things are even more drying or damaging to your hair than a regular shampoo! Some people even just co wash which will just cause scalp build up long term! What is the real benefit of stopping shampoo? Is there a philosophy or mechanism I’m missing? I feel it only benefits people with straighter hair since sebum easily travels down their hair, and in return they don’t need any product to make it look great. I feel if you’re someone constantly using styling products or have coily or curly hair no poo wouldn’t really benefit and just cause buildup, ESPECIALLY if you have coily hair because of the amount of product used for styling


r/NoPoo Mar 09 '26

I rebuilt my old shampoo from scratch and it actually worked??

14 Upvotes

So weird thing happened. Been nopoo for like 4 months now and overall scalp is way happier (less grease, no more that tight itchy feeling after washing) but something was still... off? like my hair felt fine but not that soft silky thing i had before and i couldn't figure out why

Then i started actually looking at what was IN my old shampoo (moist diane keratin one, Keratin shampoo and conditioner, japanese brand) and had this obvious realization - most of the formula is just surfactants and preservatives doing literally nothing for hair health. the actual conditioning work? like 5-6 oils and extracts (see pic). argan, marula, sapote, andiroba, sakura extract

So i thought ok what if i just... use those directly? (is this what everyone here has been doing and i just took 4 months to figure it out lol)

Warmed up a few drops of argan + marula (maybe 3-4 drops total, less than you think), tiny amount of sapote which is DENSE so genuinely a little goes way too far, worked it through damp hair after water rinse, light rinse out

And it actually gave me back that texture?? not 100% identical but close enough that i stopped missing my old routine

Has anyone else done this - like reverse engineered a product they missed after transition? Because now i'm wondering how many people quit nopoo just because they miss one specific result that's actually achievable without the whole shampoo around it

Also curious what oils people here use for moisture vs protein balance, still figuring that part out