The ‘No Poo’ Hair Washing Method: 9 Best Options

I did the ‘No poo’ method for 1 1/2 – 2 years. If you aren’t aware the No poo method means No Shampoo and it’s a hair washing method where you only use natural items to wash your hair e.g baking soda, apple cider vinegar, shikakai, amla & soapnuts.

My experiences with the no poo method were generally quite positive. My hair is quite thick so I have been able to go quite a long time between washes. I wash once a week. I stretched my hair washes about 10 years ago from every other day to once a week and it’s definitely better for your hair and scalp the longer you can go between washes.

In the interest of full disclosure I don’t currently use the No Poo method on my hair. A few months after my baby was born my hair all of a sudden got really greasy and my scalp got irritated. I’m guessing hormones but I bought a ‘Low poo’ (no sulfates) shampoo and conditioner to see me through for a bit. It hasn’t helped and 8 months later I still have loads left. I am going to try some shampoo bars once this is gone and go back to the no poo method when my hormones stop turning my scalp into a grease ball!

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Is The No Poo Method Good For Your Hair

There are benefits to doing the no poo method and not using regular shampoo on your hair. It’s better for your scalp and hair not to strip the sebum from your scalp every time you wash your hair. Some people who do the No Poo method long term report that their scalp produces less sebum over time and their hair has more texture, volume and healthier in general.

For clarification some people think of the no poo method as using water only to wash their hair. Although, some people within the no poo movement do wash their hair with water only, there are actually a lot of no poo methods which involve using natural ingredients to wash as well.

No Shampoo Alternatives

Baking Soda

A very good starting point for the No poo method is baking soda, also known as bicarbonate of soda. Baking soda is great for cleaning when mixed with vinegar and someone has discovered that it’s a good natural shampoo as well.

Now it’s worth noting that baking soda if used incorrectly can be drying for the hair or scalp. It also needs an Apple Cider Vinegar rinse afterwards to neutralise the scalp from the alkaline Baking Soda. It is recommended to use a table spoon of baking soda mixed with water and just adjust the amounts next time if this doesn’t work well for your hair and scalp.

It is recommended to stretch your washes for at least every 4 days when you’re doing the No Poo method anyway but in particular if you’re using baking soda as a wash. This is because it can be drying if you use it too often. Just approach with caution and discontinue use if this doesn’t work well with your hair.

If you’re interested in trying this method I would recommend joining this ‘No poo’ Facebook group for tips. They have lots of files and information that is really important to read before you start the journey of trying no shampoo methods.

Shikakai

Shikakai is an Ayurvedic herb which when ground into a powder makes a great cleanser for the scalp and hair. Shikakai is fairly good if you live in a hard water area and it’s PH balanced so no need for an acid rinse (Apple cider vinegar etc).

It’s the No Poo method that is recommended if you are prone to dandruff irritated scalp etc and still quite a mild wash method overall.

This method works really well if you mix it with water first. I know some people mix with boiling water and strain the bits out, however I found this did not thoroughly clean my fairly thick hair. My favourite method was mixing with warm water leaving overnight and then just scrubbing the liquid onto my scalp when I washed my hair the following day.

The downside to this method is that I found it very difficult to wash the powder out of my hair. Perhaps my hair is just too thick but I would wash for ages and still find that bits would be in my hair as it dried. If I could find a much finer powder this method would be perfect but the few different ones that I tried just weren’t fine enough.

Zizyphus Spina Christi

Also known as Sedr, this is another Ayurvedic herb used for washing your hair. They use dry leaves from the plant and grind them up to make a powder. This is said to do similar things to Henna so cleanse and condition the hair but without the colour change.

If you have a latex allergy be careful with this one as there can be a cross-reaction. I tried this one a few times but it didn’t seem to suit my hair. I think it was a little too conditioning from what I remember and my hair got greasy a lot quicker with this one.

Cassia

This herb is also said to be similar to Henna in that it cleans, shines and conditions your hair. I didn’t have the opportunity to use this one myself. It can give your hair a yellow tint so it didn’t seem suitable for my hair colour and I already use henna so I didn’t find it necessary for me.

Henna

Henna also known as Lawsonia Inermis is a brilliant natural red hair colourant which also happens to be really great at removing sebum from your scalp. When I was doing the No poo method fully I would look forward to using henna to dye my roots as it was really cleansing.

If you want to use henna make sure you buy 100% henna powder and not a henna dye as they put all sorts of other things in a henna dye.

I go into more detail in my blog post, however natural henna always has red tones and the final result will depend on your natural hair colour. Blonde will go copper red, brown will go chestnut brown and black will likely only have a slight red tone in the sun. My hair is naturally medium brown and I love the chestnut red colour I get from using henna. It also changes the grey hairs that I have to a lovely coppery red so it looks a bit like highlights.

Henna acts like a protein on your hair as well so really strengthens, conditions and protects because it coats the hair strands.

Soapnuts

Soapnuts (The Vegan Kind Affiliate link) are also known as Aritha and soapberries. They are a natural surfactant so they are brilliant as a washing up liquid, laundry detergent or as a natural shampoo. The fruit from tree is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and water softening.

There is a possible cross-reaction if you’re allergic to latex so use with caution if you are.

I have used soapnuts on my clothes before but I was so impressed when I used it as shampoo that I only wanted to use them for that purpose.

To use as a shampoo you have to put them in a little fabric bag (mine was supplied with the nuts when I bought them online) and put them in a saucepan with a few cups of water and boil for about 20 minutes. I then added another cup of water and cooked the liquid on a medium heat for a further 25 minutes. Once done leave to cool and squeeze excess soapy liquid out of the laundry bag containing the soapnuts.

I would then just throw the soapnuts away because one use only really worked for me. When I reheated them the liquid I used on the second time did not clean my hair very well.

The mixture that I was left with usually makes enough for two uses for my hair. I would store the remainder in the fridge for a week, the mixture doesn’t last very long so I would always make sure I just made enough for a few uses each time.

How Often Should You Wash Your Hair With The No Poo Method

Most people doing the No Poo method will ensure that they leave their hair at least 3-4 days between washes. This is normally because some of the No Poo methods such as baking soda can be drying for your scalp when done too often. In general it is better for your hair and scalp to wash every 4-7 days, however some people doing no poo can go much longer between washes.

From what I’ve seen from the Facebook group for people doing the no poo method, some hair types struggle a bit with this method. Usually people with finer hair struggle in the first few weeks because they feel like their hair gets very obviously greasy, making it difficult to manage and hide. If you can get past the 6 week mark however, your scalp should start to produce less sebum and balance out.

Conditioner Alternatives

Acid Rinses

Now if you’re doing the No poo method acid rinses are very important and act as a PH balancer and conditioner for your scalp and hair.

Which ones you use and how much you use depends on your hair type.

It is recommended to start with 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar in a cup of water and adjust as needed. Some people get on with acid rinses all over their hair or just on the ends it’s really about trial and error. Approach with caution the same as baking soda as acids can fry your hair if you’re not careful.

Different Acids

• Apple cider vinegar -(Vegan Kind Affiliate link) Great for dry hair and scalp
• Distilled vinegar – Great for oily hair and scalp
• Citric acid – Very strong acid
• Kombucha (Vegan Kind Affiliate link)
• Raw apple juice
• Orange juice
• Witch Hazel – Alcohol free!
• Amla tea

Coconut

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil (Vegan Kind Affiliate) is very moisturising for the hair but doesn’t wash out very easily so I used to use a tiny bit of coconut oil on the ends of my hair prior to washing with my shampoo alternative.

Coconut Milk (Affiliate)

Similar to coconut oil it can be difficult to wash out so I used to use this before washing my hair as an intensive moisturiser. I just smeared it on and wrapped it in a towel as a sort of treatment.

Coconut Water

This is a great moisturiser for your hair and unlike the milk and oil this washes off fine with just water. Again I would just pour this on my hair and wrap in a towel and leave for a few hours as a conditioning treatment. This was my favourite method if I had the time.

Herbal Tea rinses

There are actually so many different herbal teas that you can use on your hair. Just make the tea with water only and allow to cool.

The best ones for your hair:

• Black tea
• Green tea
• Peppermint tea
• Rosemary tea
• Licorice root tea
• Nettle leaf tea
• Yarrow tea
• Sage tea
• Red raspberry leaf tea

Some of these can darken or lighten your hair colour so make sure you check the files in the Facebook group I mentioned above before you try them out.

Others

Some other natural moisturing things you can try are as follows:

• Honey (being vegan I wouldn’t use this)
• Molasses
• Beer
• Coffee
• Aloe vera juice (Aloe vera gel can also be used as a leave in gel or extra moisture if you need it)
• Jojoba oil

Molasses and honey can be mixed with water and applied or mixed with a herbal rinse and applied.

A lot of it is just trying these things out and seeing what works for you.

Water Only And Sebum Only

Water Only

Water only is a method that some people use where they only wash their hair with water no natural method at all.

Personally I didn’t want to try this because I feel like that wouldn’t completely clean my hair right now but there are a lot of success stories that I’ve seen in the Facebook group from this method.

Sebum Only

Sebum only is a method where they don’t wash their hair with anything at all. They just use a brush to move the sebum from the scalp to the ends of the hair. It’s been referred to as the ‘cave girl’ method which I really like the sound of.

What Worked For Me

So what actually worked for me in the end was soap nut shampoo with jojoba oil as a leave in conditioner on the ends of my hair.

As I mentioned before Shikakai was great for my hair and scalp but it wasn’t the most practical to wash out. I wonder if it was a lot finer it wouldn’t be so bad.. Hard to tell though because the henna I’ve recently discovered Herbal Magic is amazing and much finer then any others (triple sifted). Due to this, it washes out so easily which is much more practical for me.

I tried a lot of different conditioning methods, coconut products, herbal teas etc and I just found I had a lot less ‘fall out’ and breakage of my hair when I used jojoba oil often.

If you were unsure about doing this method I would recommend stretching your washes out to minimum of every 4 days. Generally the reason that our hair gets greasy quickly is because ordinary shampoo strips your scalp of sebum and to overcompensate your scalp produces even more oil. So it’s quite useful to choose a time where you won’t be doing a lot while your hair and scalp adjusts.

Fortunately when I decided to try the No poo method I was already washing once a week and therefore I didn’t notice a massive difference with my hair. You don’t get the squeaky clean feeling that you do with ordinary shampoo but I didn’t mind that. My hair definitely felt a lot thicker and had a lot of texture. It really improves the condition of my hair and it grew so long.

I hope you enjoyed this post about the ‘No poo’ hair washing method. Have you considered this method yourself?

If the no shampoo method is a bit too much for you, check out my review of the Lush Co-wash bar or Beauty Kubes.

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