No shampoo water only hair care?

[superwahz]

I get hair pains too! And if I leave my hair up/back/braided for too long it triggers wickedly bad headaches.

In addition to the traction thing Karen mentioned, a shift in hormones, stress, anemia, and a variety of other health issues can all cause a major shedding to happen! Those triggers may have happened 2-3 months before you notice the major fall out because of the way our hair cycle works. Wonky hormones + anemia made me lose over 1/3 of my hair. It was diffuse, so no bald patches thankfully, though my hairline did recede. Fortunately I had a pretty dense head of hair to begin with so most people never notice...but I do. It's slowly coming back, but I don't think it'll ever be as thick as it was before.

I think they say a loss of about 50-100 hairs per day can be normal depending on the density of your hair. If you want to figure out if it's breakage vs coming out at the root, gather up all the hair you lose in the shower and untangle it to examine the strands. I know it sounds a bit OCD, and I wouldn't advise doing it every time (it's time consuming!), but it could clue you in as to what type of hair loss you're dealing with! Maybe finding gentler ways to restrain it (like scarves) will ease up the loss, though it will probably take weeks to notice a difference.

[la_canadiense(01)]

Could it be traction alopecia? When you pull your hair back frequently (to the point where it hurts) it can cause it to fall out. It happens to ballet dancers quite a bit.

hmmm, that sounds kinda freaky. but I do tend to pull my hair back rather than leave it down. I'd love to just leave it down but it gets so frizzzy. If I can stay in the house long enough to let it dry, then it can have some nice wave, but in the windy cold Irish weather, by the time I get to work if I have left it down, it will be a massive frizzy mess. so more often than not i pull it back. I will try a few weeks with it down (will probably have to shower at night so it dries.... so lazy to do this though....but all in the name of science!!!) and see if there is any difference.

I get hair pains too! And if I leave my hair up/back/braided for too long it triggers wickedly bad headaches.

In addition to the traction thing Karen mentioned, a shift in hormones, stress, anemia, and a variety of other health issues can all cause a major shedding to happen! Those triggers may have happened 2-3 months before you notice the major fall out because of the way our hair cycle works. Wonky hormones + anemia made me lose over 1/3 of my hair. It was diffuse, so no bald patches thankfully, though my hairline did recede. Fortunately I had a pretty dense head of hair to begin with so most people never notice...but I do. It's slowly coming back, but I don't think it'll ever be as thick as it was before.

I think they say a loss of about 50-100 hairs per day can be normal depending on the density of your hair. If you want to figure out if it's breakage vs coming out at the root, gather up all the hair you lose in the shower and untangle it to examine the strands. I know it sounds a bit OCD, and I wouldn't advise doing it every time (it's time consuming!), but it could clue you in as to what type of hair loss you're dealing with! Maybe finding gentler ways to restrain it (like scarves) will ease up the loss, though it will probably take weeks to notice a difference.

I always wondered if anyone else got those, (Hi Susan!!!! *waves*), it's not something you bring up over lunch with a mate if you know what I mean....so....do your hairs ever hurt...
I agree that it might be hormones. I am recently off BC (4ish months) after being on it for 6 years, so that would be a major hormonal change for me. I have also been off and on antibiotics for the last year, and I know that can also have an effect. the major worry is that the hair won't grow back....and I have quite thin and baby fair hair, so it would make a major difference if i started losing without replacing.
I have made an effort to look at the hairs that come out in the shower (I comb my hair through with the conditioner in....) and I can see that the majority have a root....so that must be a bad sign...
I have been meaning to go see a naturalpath to get something for the hormones after the pill, I have also had major skin problems since coming off as well, so I guess that is evidence enough that something is a miss....

anyhow...sorry, didn't mean to hijack this thread with such TMI reading....

[zeebs]

Hey ladies,
I feel compelled to update you on this experiment. I have not used shampoo since my last haircut. For about three weeks my hair was greasy at the roots and dry at the ends, but now things seem to be evening out. I have used baking soda for my scalp a couple of times and a vinegar rinse (which seems unnecessary for my hair type?) and I used conditioner a few times just at the ends. I have been using a boar bristle brush to distribute the sebum as evenly as possible and a wide tooth comb to keep my scalp as clean as possible. My hair actually feels really nice and I have gotten a ton of baby hairs growing back along my forehead - I can only assume that this is b/c my scalp is healthier and happier.

My hair does not have the same "squeaky-clean" feeling that I can achieve with the shampoo, but it is still touchable and silky, and looks normal and healthy. It doesn't smell bad (or if it does, no one will tell me) and here's the awesome part... I can roll out of bed, run a brush through my hair, and be ready to go. I don't have to worry about washing, drying, styling etc... because it always looks good because it is so much healthier.

I am so glad I was patient with this process. It is definitely a commitment (cause if you do this, you can't really use hair products anymore and get good results with it) but it's totally worth it if you are low maintenance and concerned about the environmental impact of your choices. I recommend this experiment. It won't be for everyone, probably, but it's working really well for me.

PS, my showering/bathing schedule is the same, but I only use the baking soda rinse every couple of weeks. The rest of the time I just massage my scalp really well with my fingers and a wide tooth comb under the shower water and then use the brush once my hair dries to distribute any excess oil. I also use a microfiber towel to dry my hair and I think that helps control the oil too.

[MyLavenderHeart]

"My husband thinks I am a nut when I tell him my hair hurts "

You're a few steps ahead of me....my husband thinks I'm a nut when I'm awake

My husband thinks I am a nut. Period.

And btw, I am doing the no poo thing using only conditioner...My hair has never been better. Ever.
I have found a hairspray I can use that is removed with the conditioner I use (It is called: Neutral-No perfume, no parabens and no colorraditives.)
My itching in my scalp has stopped and I will do this as long as it is working

PS. You can make your own hairgel from flax seeds! I have a recipe for it, and it works for those who want a totally natural hairproduct

[zeebs]

"My husband thinks I am a nut when I tell him my hair hurts "

You're a few steps ahead of me....my husband thinks I'm a nut when I'm awake

My husband thinks I am a nut. Period.

And btw, I am doing the no poo thing using only conditioner...My hair has never been better. Ever.
I have found a hairspray I can use that is removed with the conditioner I use (It is called: Neutral-No perfume, no parabens and no colorraditives.)
My itching in my scalp has stopped and I will do this as long as it is working

PS. You can make your own hairgel from flax seeds! I have a recipe for it, and it works for those who want a totally natural hairproduct

That sounds cool! I have been using the Aubrey hair spray. But I would love to find a gel that works!

[MyLavenderHeart]

Hi zeebs!

Here is the recipe for hairgel made out of flaxseeds !
BUT, be aware! This is a TOTALLY natural product and will NOT act as a prosessed chemical hairgel! The consistance will be kind of like raw eggwhites...BUT, I myself don`t care about that at all because it makes my hair SO shiny and happy, instead of other things that makes my scalp itch... and besides it is so easy and quick to make it

2,5 deciliter water
2 tablespoons of flaxseeds (whole ones, NOT crushed!)

Boil the seeds for between 5-10 minutes, then strain while hot using a larger sifter than used for tea - (simply because it takes forever to sift it otherwise... )
- and when cooled down you can mix in glyserol/glyserin (no more than 5%), natural oils or essential oils if you`d like to experiment.
This have to be stored in a refrigerator and can be stored for a week.
Havent tried to store it for longer, so don`t know what happens. Maybe it can be stored for longer if you use destilled water...?
Anywho, there ya have it, good luck

PS:
The original recipe I found said the seeds should boil for 15 minutes...
when I tried that, it was just one gooey BLOB of something..
when I cut down the boiling time it went perfectly! I only boil the seeds for 5 minutes now, not a second longer. When it is coled down it is a bit runny and easy to put in wet hair.
If you put it in wet hair and airdry it, it will be stiff like if you put regular hairgel in your hair and let it dry. Either brush or comb out the stiffness (it wont flake) or squeeze the stiffness out (I myself brush gently, makes my hair so soft)

[zeebs]

Thank you!!!

[MyLavenderHeart]

Thank you!!!

You`r welcome!

[extemter]

Since the Cranberry Passion Fruit Cleansing Conditioner has been favorably received by the forum, I wondered if Karen would be interested in making dry shampoo, so I searched for the phrase and found this thread. My primary struggle with dry shampoos on the market is that they appear white (like dandruff) in my black hair. It would be amazing if Karen could formulate a dry shampoo that truly disappears into darker hair or find some way to tint dry shampoo so that it blends into darker hair.

By the way, the flaxseed hair gel intrigues me. I might play with it to try to achieve more volume in my flat straight hair.

[egerandi]

My primary struggle with dry shampoos on the market is that they appear white (like dandruff) in my black hair.

I would love a more natural dry shampoo as well, but for the meantime I've been using this on my colored black hair:

T3 Orlando Pita 360 Refresh Volumizing Dry Shampoo (Dark Tone) -- smell is not too overpowering like in some other ones (gag),
and it's dark, so it won't look silly when sprayed on.