The hairdresser who doesn't use shampoo.

My whole life, I've been one of those people who have had to wash their hair everyday.

It would get so greasy and oily that within a day of washing it, I would look like someone who had never heard of shampoo. 

It was a vicious cycle, shampooing every morning, looking like I rubbed my head on a pizza by dinner time.

Until about about 4 years ago.

I was in Kenya for a month doing some volunteer work.

We had no running water and I wasn't able to properly wash my hair for four weeks.

It was TERRIBLE. 

I would braid my bangs and put my hair in a bun everyday, and at night when I took it out, it didn't move.

After a month overseas, I came home and had the greatest shower of my life. I washed my hair and it was a glorious, glorious day!

And do you know what happened then?

It STAYED clean.

FOR ALMOST A WEEK.

For someone like me, that's amazing. 

Like, seriously, I would have enough oil in my hair to make 3 Rachael Ray recipes. 

Sorry that was gross.

But kind of true.

So after that, I tried washing my hair less, like only every other day, and I thought it was pretty nice, but I wondered why using shampoo more often made my hair dirty more quickly.

That September, I went to beauty school and studied Trichology. 

That's the study of the hair and scalp.

You're welcome for the vocabulary lesson.

So to fast forward a few years, I am now a professional hairdresser.

A hairdresser who no longer uses shampoo.

SHOCKING.

There are a few reasons. 

Shampoo strips your hair completely of it's natural oils, causing your body to produce more oil to compensate.

Also, my hair and scalp are my body parts. I want to be sure of what I'm putting on them.

I still wash my hair, but I don't use shampoo.

Shampoo is not the best way to get hair clean.

I do this CRAZY thing, where I wash my hair with baking soda and condition with Apple Cider Vinegar.

I mix a small handful of baking soda with water in my hand and put it on my scalp. It takes me about five small handfuls (approx 2tbsp total) to cover my whole scalp. Then I massage it into my scalp for about two minutes and rinse well.

In a bottle, I mix about 1tbsp ACV with about a half cup of water and pour it over all my hair, excluding my roots. Leave it about two minutes and RINSE FREAKING WELL.

It makes my hair feel great.

My head does NOT smell like a salad.

My hair is shiny.

The thorough scalp massage is GREAT for promoting quick hair growth.

AND I now only wash my hair twice a week.

In my professional opinion, this stuff is awesome!