Hair Care Dare - Final Update
After three weeks of not washing my hair with shampoo, I finally broke on Friday. By that time, I felt like I had all the results I needed to make a pretty decent analysis of the Hair Care Dare.
So my final thoughts? (Updates One, Two, Three and Four can be found in previous posts.) Conditioner-only to wash my hair definitely cleansed it, and I might put the method to use in the winter since my skin tends to get drier then. But in the summer, it’s just too hot and damp outside. I found that while my hair was ok on the second day after my “wash,” it still felt heavier and greasier than it should. Not a ton heavier or greasier, but just enough that I felt uneasy about it.
I admit it too — the idea of not using shampoo to cleanse my hair really weirded me out. It was a constant battle to keep myself going in the challenge. But it probably just takes time to get accustomed to it — it took me forever to finally get my head around the idea of sushi!
Big round of applause to all those who participated in the dare. If you keep going, be sure to update us from time to time on how you’re doing!
August 6th, 2007 at 9:58 am
I partipated in your dare using Prawduct conditioner . What I did different than you is I added sugar and a bit of baking soda to my conditioner . This seems to leave the heaviness from my hair.
I have to admit I too broke down and washed my hair with shampoo on a day when heat was extra hot and sticky. I figure I can use just conditioner a few times a week or during winter and the rest use my shampoo. My hair is less oily than before I partipated in the dare so maybe it did some good
August 6th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Sugar and baking soda? Really? I’ve never heard of them alleviating heaviness, but that’s really interesting. I know vinegar is good for getting rid of buildup.
August 6th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
I couldn’t hold up as long as you did Christina. I just dyed my hair DIY style and it seems to thicken my already thick hair. So if I don’t use shampoo, my hair would be sizzling under the sun and feel like a piece of wool blanket on top of my head. I decided that the best way is to wash my hair with conditioner every other day and use shampoo on the off days. I have to admit washing my hair with conditioner definitely kept the shedding away. I felt like I wasn’t pulling my hair off in the shower. So woohoo to that, but for the off nights, I need my shampoo to feel sqeaky clean.
August 7th, 2007 at 10:51 am
The conditioners you used have an ingredient called Quats. These are quaternized ammonium compounds and have names like Cetrimonium Chloride or Behentrimonium Chloride.
Anyway, those ingredients are conditioners but they are also cleansers. This is why some oil was removed from your hair. Unfortunately, conditioners put oily materials (like Cetyl Alcohol, or Cetearyl Alcohol) so your hair feels heavy.
You might get better results (cleaner hair) if you try a leave-on conditioner that contains cetrimonium chloride. Use it in the shower like you would a shampoo and rinse it out. This will put less “oils” in your hair but should provide some level of cleaning.
August 7th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Stephanie and Liz - thanks for keeping me company in the dare! It was comforting to know that I wasn’t in it alone.
Left Brain - very very interesting. It’s nice having a scientist in the house to help us figure stuff like this out.