/r/NoPoo

Photograph via snooOG

A place to discuss natural haircare and alternatives to shampoo.

A place to discuss natural hair care and alternatives to shampoo

Get Started Here: No-poo Quick Start Guide

Be sure to check out the rest of the wiki also. There is a ton of helpful information in it!

No-poo Wiki


Searching

There has been a huge amount of helpful advice given over the years. Use the text search function with the simplest phrases to try and find some of it.

Post flairs on this sub are relatively new, but are being used to help organize posts based on topic. Use the Search by flair widget to see what has been tagged as something you might find helpful.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions like getting a haircut, working out, swimming, etc

Reports are just that: people reporting on things they have tried and their results.

Tools is for discussions of tools like brushes, combs, filters, etc

Product is for discussions of product like co-washes, shampoo bars, manufactured nopoo products, etc


Everyone is welcome!

Feel free to describe your hair in your user flair. Example: Ringlets, Superfine, Sebum/Water Only Include as much info as you want about your hair: curl pattern, length, density, porosity, oily, dry, colored, permed, keratin treated, natural, etc.

Guide for determining hair type

Porosity Quiz


PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Some basic tips on going No Poo:

  • No-Poo has a variety of meanings, but they all refer to eliminating the use of sulfates & harsh chemicals (commonly found in modern, commercial shampoos) that strip our hair & scalp of its natural oils, which causes dry, frizzy, damage-susceptible hair & makes our scalp's oil production go into overdrive.

  • There are many ways to go shampoo-free & still get clean-looking, nice-smelling hair! Every method can do something different for your hair. This is a learning process; don't get discouraged if one method doesn't give you the perfect results right away. There is a method that works for every hair type, it just takes a bit of tweaking to find it. That's what this sub is for!

  • Before you put anything new on your hair/skin, make sure you use the recommended ingredient amounts & ratios, and follow the directions (to avoid drying out hair, irritations, etc.). Try new ingredients or products in small amounts first, especially if you have any skin sensitivities or are trying something completely different from usual.

Common Terminology:

  • WO: Water Only
  • BBB: Boar Bristle Brush
  • ACV: Apple Cider Vinegar
  • BS: Baking Soda
  • Co Washing: Conditioner Only Washing
  • CGM: Curly Girl Method

Helpful Links:

Other reddits to check out:

/r/NoPoo

426,661 Subscribers

2

New to NoPoo

So, at the beginning of 2025 I decided to stop washing my hair, except with water. One thing I’ve noticed a month in is that my hair looks like I’ve put gel in it and has a firm texture to it when it dries. Let me be clear, I did absolutely no research before making this decision 😂. Is this a normal occurrence?

0 Comments
2025/02/02
14:47 UTC

1

how do i remove hair oil without shampoo and smthg like baking soda or dish soap ?

1 Comment
2025/02/01
23:46 UTC

9

It’s been like 4 days nopoo and my hair has never been so happy!

High porosity medium density hair. Just water, boar bristle brush, and sleeping with a bonnet to keep it off my greasy ass face. Not even my bangs are greasy this is crazy to me.

I normally washed my hair every single day because it would get SO GREASY and flat. Never thought my hair just needed its own oils and some good brushing!

1 Comment
2025/02/01
03:04 UTC

3

Sea salt spray ingredients

I have Berlaney sea salt spray, and I wanted to know if this is a good or bad sea salt spray. Heres the ingredients:

water, glycerine, propylene, glycol, glyceryl acrylate/acrylic acid copolymer,morus alba leaf extract, glycyrrhiza uralensis extract, hexylene glycol, cocos nucifera extract, thiamine, allantion, sodium hyaluronate, magnesium sulfate, silicia, VP/VA Copolymer, and polyvinyl pyrrolidone.

1 Comment
2025/02/01
02:10 UTC

3

Product

Would I be able to use a leave in conditioner while doing no poo or would it create a product buildup?

1 Comment
2025/01/31
22:45 UTC

2

Curly hair hard to detangle

Hi friends! I have long curly/wavy hair and have been no-poo on and off for ~5 years. For the past 6mo I have been washing my hair with a soapnut solution about once a week. I follow it with a honey and citric acid conditioning rinse.

I’m loving the way my hair feels and how healthy it is. The only problem is detangling it! I’m finding my hair really hard to detangle when I get out of the shower. I feel like I have to use more force than I want to brush my hair and I’m worrying that it might cause damage long term.

I brush style my curly hair so I have to brush it when it’s wet. I use a flaxseed gel that I make and some aloe to style my hair.

Does anyone else have this problem? How do you work around it? Is there anything I can put in my hair to add slip without messing up my no-poo routine?

(preferably simple ingredients or things I can make, I make all my own skincare/hair care and prefer to not use commercial products)

5 Comments
2025/01/31
03:31 UTC

1

Moved house and now have greasy hair

Hi, I’ve recently moved from the countryside to London. I have been washing my hair with just water every day or every other day and would have no problem. When I go back to the countryside there’s no problem and my hair will look and feel fine without washing for a day or so.

However since moving to London my hair will take a shiny greasy texture after a few hours. The only thing that’s changed is the water and city, is there anything I can do? Any products that could help? I’m keen not to use something that steps my hair completely. Thanks!

12 Comments
2025/01/30
22:42 UTC

6

Convenient egg wash alternatives?

I've been successfully doing nopoo for a number of years, using ACV (recently kombucha vinegar) every 7-10 days. I keep this mixture (water, kombucha, lemon grass oil) in a spray bottle in the shower, which is convenient.

My wife pointed out that my hair was less shiny than it used to be, and I tried an egg wash (egg yolk) and it really helped. However, I find using egg yolk quite involved to do regularly. Any suggestions for more convenient approaches? Preferably something that I can simply add to my ACV mixture :)

2 Comments
2025/01/30
16:56 UTC

2

Questions about regular chlorine exposure (most days a week) and nopoo

Hi everybody. First of all I know chlorine is a frequently discussed topic and people tend to ask that you use the search button to get answers - but there were a few nuances to the questions I wanted to ask which I thought warranted a post.

Here's what I already know from searches, and talking to people on r/nopoo ...

- Wet your hair before/after swimming

- Wear a swimming cap

- Some people use ascorbic acid to counter chlorine in the hair

- Some people use ACV washes

So my questions are:

1. Even if you immediately remove the chlorine from your hair via the use of immediate rinses + ascorbic acid/ACV; was the damage "already done" to your hair, just by getting the chlorine in it initially? Has my natural oil already been stripped - in the same way as accidentally using some shampoo while on nopoo - causing that whole damaging cycle to re-occur anyway?

2. Is using ascorbic acid every time going to be damaging in its own right? In the following article, I saw the person write that ascorbic acid can "strip the hair of its natural oils". The person who wrote it is not part of nopoo and they continue to use shampoo, so I might be the wrong person to follow their ascorbic acid routine? https://nakedhazel.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/how-to-completely-rinse-chlorine-out-of-your-hair-and-skin/

3. If ascorbic acid is too oil-stripping, would daily ACV washes be a better choice? Or would you get the exact same problem with ACV, purely because you're doing it most days? Also, does ACV even fully remove the chlorine?

4. Can ANY AMOUNT of mechanical cleaning + water only, eventually remove chlorine by themselves, without resorting to any of these acid washes? Or is it just unrealistic to try that?

Thanks for taking the time to read

6 Comments
2025/01/30
15:05 UTC

3

Does this help stick straight hair

I have some of the straightest hair ever, i want to give it some texture but dont know what to do. Ive heard people advertise NoPoo and their over priced products. Just want some input

4 Comments
2025/01/29
05:36 UTC

2

Low porosity Ayurveda plants

Hi. I have low hair porosity, hair type 1b/1c. I hate how thin they are and I want to thicken them without drying/ breaking them. Henna is not great for low porosity, and fenugreek either. Protein is not good. Do you know something that would work amazingly that I could use 2 times a week mixed with for example marshmallow powder and honey 🍯 ? Also, is Aleppo soap is too stripping for my scalp?

3 Comments
2025/01/29
00:19 UTC

4

Hair getting straighter after getting sick

Been doing no shampoo for about 4 months, and its been going well.

A couple days ago though i got sick and during the first day i had put on product's and was so sick that i didnt feel like going to the shower so i just left it off thinking nothing was going to happen since ive done it a couple times with nothing happening. Next day when i woke up and took a shower and noticed that my hair didnt hold up so well as it did before and it didnt have the same type of wave in there.

After a couple days after every shower with only water this has still been happening and i dont know why.

Was this caused by me being sick or just over washing my hair with water?

1 Comment
2025/01/28
21:52 UTC

10

No poo not working with my hair

I started no poo 8 months ago, I have growing my hair out for a couple months and been washing with just water and using a scalp scrubber I wash my hair with water every 2-3 days and this is my result. There are some white specs if U zoom in and I can't seem to get rid of them. Pls help any suggestions will be appreciated thanks

18 Comments
2025/01/28
20:12 UTC

2

Should I use hair wax??

I’m looking for buying hair wax for office purpose. I’ve been searching for that and I kinda liked Set Wet’s Glaze & Clay Wax. But I want to know that is it really true that using hair wax leads to hair loss and hair graying? And how to take the care of hairs after using hair wax as I’m looking for using hair wax mostly 2-3 times a week. Any more suggestions/opinions apart from query are also appreciated :)

4 Comments
2025/01/28
14:49 UTC

2

Question about nopoo method

Since were not using shampoo how do you clean your hair from germs after going outside? Def not soap because it dries the hair or something

2 Comments
2025/01/28
10:03 UTC

26

been nopoo for around half a year now

my main cleaning method is mechanical - disentangling with a wide tooth wood comb, then brushing it out with a narrow tooth comb to get out dust, old hair etc. and spread oils from my scalp to the tips of my hair.

i also use tea rinses (chamomile and peppermint) with sea salt mixed in, as well as occasionally an egg yolk wash for conditioning. for the tea rinses i used distilled water to avoid hard water buildup in my hair.

21 Comments
2025/01/27
22:40 UTC

2

My hair doesn't produce oils anymore

I started no poo six or so months ago because I realised that I was using shampoo very often (nearly everyday) because my hair would just get really oily in about a day of not using shampoo. I saw this no poo thing online and I thought I'd give it a try. Apparently there was a period where your hair would just be really oily and for me that lasted about 2 weeks, after that my hair was clean and had the perfect amount of oils to give it that hold and volume without it looking dirty and it stayed like that everyday. Untill about a week or so ago I realised that my hair didn't seem to have those oils anymore and it looked like I had just shampooed my hair. It had no volume or texture in my hair and it just felt really dry. It stayed like that for about a week untill I eventually tried using shampoo again. After this my hair just seems to stay in that flat dry state without my scalp replenishing those oils. It is getting really irritating to style and just never looks good anymore. What should I do?

29 Comments
2025/01/26
21:21 UTC

3

home water softener ???

How can I tell the shower water is hard water or soft water? If the former I heard it is better to switch to softener because of the chemicals , clogged pipes, even hair loss, also causes dry and itchy skin

why is water softener better for those who have it and what would you recommend? did you notice a huge difference?

3 Comments
2025/01/26
15:15 UTC

2

Moved to LA, now have dry scalp and waxy hair

WO for the last 3 years, moved to LA 6 months ago and now I get non stop dry scalp and waxy hair. I always have white flecks and my hair has completely lost its texture and waviness (used to be 2a, now it’s like 1a). Clarifying washes make my scalp and hair even dryer, I’ve tried ACV and Aloe Vera but they are very temporary solutions.

I visited my hometown in Southeast Asia again recently and saw an insane difference. My hair became soft and wavy again and I loved it. Noticed the same thing when I visited San Francisco a couple months ago.

Any other LA folks here that experience this and figured out solutions? I’m getting super frustrated as I constantly oscillate between super dry or super greasy since moving here. I’m assuming it’s a hard water issue right?

Saving up for a water stick but I probably won’t be able to afford it till fall rolls around. Would love any advice from y’all.

9 Comments
2025/01/25
18:08 UTC

0

Scalp question?

Not sure what to title this but oh well. I've been doing no hair products for almost 2 years now only water and I've never had a problem with smell, oil, dandruff or any other problems. However I have noticed my scalp isn't skin color its very pale. I've tried to see about this but couldn't really find anything but from what I know that's not a typical healthy scalp. Even though it's like that I don't have dandruff or if I do it's not noticeable. Another thing I've noticed is recently just the crown of my head the little swirl is a little like stuck or something?? Not sure how to explain but I've never had that problem and was curious what may cause it if anything. I don't really want to change what I'm doing because no products has significantly increased my hair thickness, texture and just overall health which I don't want to go away but maybe that's something I would have to consider now?

In short I guess I'm just curious if my scalp has an issue or is this is somewhat normal and what I can do to fix it if it isn't.

5 Comments
2025/01/24
10:04 UTC

3

Red scalp

I started doing rhassoul clay washes about six weeks ago. My scalp seemed much better with this than previously. I typically find moisturizing shampoos to cause dandruff and seb derm, but oil free shampoos to dry my fine curly hair.

After one month I noticed my hair was dryer and also not as clean feeling as it had been with rhassoul clay 3 times a week. So I went down to once a week and I started with vinegar and herbal rinses every other day and my hair looked more and more oily. I was fine waiting that out until it normalized, but now my scalp is getting red with some bumps. What might help this?

My hair has thinned a lot over the past year from what I think is stress induced TE. Now I'm feeling very anxious about the potential for this to be a fungal issue and cause hair loss. Advice and troubleshooting would be greatly appreciated.

4 Comments
2025/01/24
04:26 UTC

2

Psoriasis

Hi, I have Psoriasis on my scalp and a bit in my ears but I was wondering if I should do no shampoo. Also, when I start no shampoo, am I meant to still use conditioner or no?

3 Comments
2025/01/23
21:41 UTC

2

Aloe Vera on face for getting rid of sunscreen.

Hi! I made a previous post asking on what natural product I could use for cleaning my face at night and getting rid of sunscreen 😅. I'm from latam, so a lot of recommendations sadly aren't available to me. I do have a plant of Aloe Vera where I live. Could this work? If so, how could I use it? Thanks!

1 Comment
2025/01/23
15:45 UTC

4

If you water-washed every single day (no shampoo), would your oil production remain high?

I have seen conflicting ideas on what the exact source of the oily transition phase is, which one experiences when they go nopoo. The blog Justprimalthings would advocate that you need to stretch out your washes (even though they are water-only!) to train the scalp its oils are safe for a whole week.

Some other conversations I've had on this forum suggest that the oily transition phase is uniquely caused by the move away from shampoo - like the body is still "ejecting" something and it will take a while for the havoc to die down - and you should feel free to water-wash as often as you need/like.

Just wanted to have another attempt at finding out what the majority view is!

17 Comments
2025/01/23
15:39 UTC

2

What should I do?

So I started NoPoo around 1.5 weeks ago and I have been accidently using a conditioner that has silicone in it. I have bought a silicone free conditioner but I'm unsure what to do. Should I use shampoo one last time to clean out the silicone or will it just clean naturally? I have used the silicone conditioner about 3 or 4 times.

Edit: please I need help

5 Comments
2025/01/23
14:35 UTC

4

Year and a half into no poo still battling dandruff

I've done no poo for a long time now I think a little over a year and I massage my head with my fingers and use water only idk what I'm doing wrong but I still have dandruff. It doesn't smell until the very end of the day but it's not bad I wanna find a way that's not too weird to get rid of dandruff but idk what to do.

8 Comments
2025/01/23
02:53 UTC

2

Washing face at night. Alternative to soap?/is soap ok?

Sooo. The only "industrial" product I wear is sunscreen. I got in the habit of putting it on first thing in the morning. It has been positive to my appearance so far.

The issue is that I only get rid of it with soap once I take a shower, and I believe I'm starting to see the consequences (hyperpigmentation) 😅.

Anyway, I'll get in the habit of washing it off at night before sleep. Any advice on doing this? I don't have a cleanser, but I've read that just soap could be too harsh on the skin. Any advice?

7 Comments
2025/01/23
02:37 UTC

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