A ‘poo’ free haircut!

Zero Waste
I have been thinking about having my hair cut for ages, but was a bit worried that a hairdresser wouldn’t cut my hair unless I shampooed it.  I haven’t had a hair cut in a long time, months and months.  In fact I can’t even remember when it last got cut.  Today I decided to brave it and booked in a haircut at my local hairdressers.   I explained that I wasn’t using shampoo and that I was happy to bring my olive oil soap with and they said that was fine (in case you are wondering I have been ‘poo free’ since last September and you can read more about it here).
The hairdresser was great.  She took it all in her stride and was really friendly.  I asked her how long she had been working there and she said 10 years.  I asked her if she had ever cut anyone’s hair where the person wasn’t using shampoo before, to which she replied no.  So in 10 years I was the first person to ever ask for a shampoo free haircut!  She was curious as to why I wasn’t using shampoo. I told her about trying to give up single use plastic for Plastic Free July, not being too keen on the ingredients in shampoo and also about how I am hoping that my scalp will eventually adjust to life without shampoo and that I will just stop needing it.
The photo on the left is the before picture and the photo on the right is the after picture.  I’m not very good at taking selfies and instead of having had a haircut it looks like I went for a spray tan, but I can assure you it is not the case – the pictures were just taken in different lighting! Before I had a haircut I had washed my hair with water only for 5 weeks and I don’t think it was doing badly considering!
So all in all the trip to the hairdressers was a success – I got a haircut, no shampoo was used and no-one tried to pressure me into using it!  Not only that the hairdresser seemed genuinely interested in what I was doing and was really friendly.  It was all a bit of a relief really and now I know I can get a haircut with or without shampoo!
I am currently undertaking a Year of Eco Challenges . If you have a moment I would really appreciate it if you would consider sponsoring me with an action on my DoNation page. Also if you liked this post please click like on Facebook and follow on Twitter – thanks so much!
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Comments

  1. Sandy

    Wow! Your hair looks so thick and healthy! I know it's daft but I am convinced that if I tried it my hair would look like it had been smothered in vaseline or something, and we wouldn't want that because it's made from paraffin, a fossil fuel (there have to be better eco jokes) o_O

    I have tried unsuccessfully to create my own shampoo. I tried various different methods. I didn't throw it away, though, as it made a good household cleaner! I ended up with SLS and paraben-free shampoo from the Body Shop that was on sale and will go back to Mother Nature's Goodies' organic shampoo base. I suppose I could at least buy the 5 litre version and save some plastic. I have found that it's kind of 'one step at a time' with these choices – it's your thinking that has to change first. The 'consumer' thinking is so hard to break.

    How often do you wash your hair with water and how often do you use the olive oil soap?

    Also, I recall that the Tudors didn't have shampoo (of course) but that ladies would comb their hair with a fine tooth comb morning and evening and this made the hair stay healthy and muck-free. I have no idea if this would really work or not!

  2. Zoe

    Hi Sandy, I don't wash my hair very often at all. Sometimes I let it go a few weeks between washes and sometimes I wash it within a week (usually if I have been swimming). I have been washing my hair with olive oil soap every few weeks, but have generally been stretching out the length of time between olive oil soap washes (the last stint of 5 weeks without olive oil soap was a personal best!)

    My hair has not been looking very good for the last few months, most of the time it is passable, but it photographs better than it looks in real life. To start off with it did get pretty greasy after a week or so of not being washed with soap, but it is definitely getting better over time…

    I tried combing my hair last time I went no poo to see if that would help, but I found too much brushing/ combing was damaging my hair and it didn't work well for me…

    I totally agree with you about taking one step at a time – that is what I have been doing and I find it is working well for me!

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