Conditioner Only

I have thrown away shampoo.  

I have not completely gone off the store shelves, as far as hair care- yet. However,  I may soon. In reading I came across an article over a year ago that said some top models will not shampoo their hair days before a shoot- if ever- because of the fight for frizz and fuss that comes after, rather they will use only conditioner. I thought- ewwwwww! And then I googled it, read more, and thought, “Really?” 

I read more, and no longer thought ‘ewwwww’. 

My personal epiphany occurred when one blogger I read challenged any reader to pick up their shampoo and conditioner both and compare the back labels.  I did; and I was sold.  Virtually the exact same ingredients save one factor- suds. The blog then posed the simple question: why expose your hair, scalp, and skin to the same drying, dulling, and damaging  chemicals twice in a row? No wonder it dries it out, makes it less manageable – it’s not just squeaky clean- it’s stripped! 

So I tried it.  

And I haven’t touched shampoo since.

Amazing. It's just amazing.  I am floored, excited, and  slightly P-O'd I didn't understand this years ago and saved myself a small fortune on products I never needed.

It takes about 3-4 shampoos to be effective, because what has happened is that in the normal routine of our lives shampooing and then conditioning – we have stripped so much of the natural oils off our scalp and hair that it doesn’t produce a normal amount on its own anymore- it’s trained to be over stripped and thus mass produce huge amounts of oil to compensate.  Frankly, it takes about 3-5 showers of just using conditioner alone for your scalp to adjust and not belch out so much oil. But once it does, you’ll notice as you rinse- your fingers can still produce the clean squeak as they run through your hair- your brush can go bye bye, as a comb runs easily through.  Trimming split ends won’t be needed as fast either, as your hair isn’t as stripped of natural oils and not as dry- [depending on how much you blow dry or color.] I allow my curls to dry naturally, and I have virgin hair right now (no color) so I do not experience split ends occurring until about 4-5 months.

The trick lies in the scalp. Truthfully – healthy hair starts at the scalp. Wet your hair to the scalp. The first portion of conditioner must be focused on the scalp, then I get my fingers in there and really rub/massage it in to the roots- afterwards I pull it to the ends. If the weather wind has dried me out that day- I’ll add a bit more to the ends before rinsing.  That’s it. It’s wonderful. It works! And I have been able to throw away the anti-frizz products, the mousse, and the dry ends serum.  Saving a huge fortune on hair products.

Hint 2:  If you do use huge amounts of styling products, the best way to remove them is with a apple cider vinegar rinse. ½ c ACV to ½ c warm water – after conditioning, rinse with acv mix – slightly rinse out (the smell evaporates off  quick)  and wahh-lah, soft silky naturally clean without styling products residue.