Can I give up shampoo?

Can I give up shampoo?

I'll bet that's not a question that's heard very often. So why do I want to give up shampoo?

For a long time now I've suffered with psoriasis. I've got all the lotions and potions from the doctor, many of which I react badly to. I can kind of keep on top of most of it but I really struggle with scalp psoriasis. It's hard to get at, unsightly, and worst of all down right painful.

I've been working out in recent years what the triggers are for my autoimmune problems (psoriasis is autoimmune) and in the last year it's become painfully (literally) obvious that chemicals are not my friends.

So far, I've switched to making my own laundry products, soap, cleaning fluids and some hygiene products. Each move has eased my flares a bit, so long as I live in a bubble to avoid chemicals on others. What I've failed to make is shampoo. I've tried various recipes and shampoo bars (ouch!) but nothing has been a success so I've gone back to the one brand of shampoo that I could sort of tolerate. I mean, who really wants to be a greasy, smelly mess? I definitely don't.

One of my headscarves

It has been obvious over the years that the psoriasis on my scalp is far, far worse than anywhere else on my body. I've always thought that this was because it is so hard to get at the skin under my hair. Two years ago I cut off my long hair so that I could get at my scalp better but that didn't help. In fact, it made me feel even more miserable as everyone could now see just how bad my skin looked. It was painful to touch and bled all the time, not to mention the bald patches where my hair had fallen out. I resorted to wearing head scarves out of embarrassment and also to try to stop me from scratching so much.

Last week it occurred to me that with my intolerance to scents and perfumes, that maybe the shampoo itself was why my scalp is always so bad. I don't use scented products to wash anywhere else but have you ever seen a fragrance/perfume free shampoo? I haven't. This is why I tried to make my own.

I took to the internet to do yet more research. I found a few no shampoo methods. It pretty much means training your hair and scalp to adapt to washing with plain water. It's pretty gross for a few months, but I still have the head scarves. It gets itchy as well. This could be a problem as I already struggle with this and I'm driven to almost ripping my skin off as the itching gets so bad.

So figured, why not give it a go? I'm mostly housebound anyway and can't have visitors so who's going to see me other than Hubby and Missy?

I've just washed my hair with shampoo (I know, but bare with me). I wanted to first wash out all the prescription products on my scalp and hair as I'm going to stop them as well. It's not like they have worked anyway and they are even more harsh than shampoo!

I didn't use conditioner today. I usually have to condition as my hair tangles without it and causes me to accidentally pull out a lot of hair when brushing. Really, it doesn't matter how careful I am, my hair is extremely brittle from harsh prescription potions. Just ask Hubby how much hair is in the drain in the shower!

Instead, I've rinsed my hair with apple cider vinegar. It's an old school way of conditioning hair that our grannies would have known about. I massaged it through my hair and scalp and left it on for about 5 minutes before rinsing it out with water.

I am very pleasantly surprised how well it detangled my hair. Better than any conditioner I've used! It was so much easier to comb out after. It's air drying as I type. I hope it's not a complete mess when dry!

In place of shampoo, I intend to use mostly plain water although I'm going to try a hair mask made from bentonite clay once or twice a week in the hope that it will help my skin to heal. (Affiliate link) I'm not sure how often it will be needed yet and I haven't done my patch test yet to know if I can use it. I'll have to report back. Then I intend to rinse with apple cider vinegar to remove all residues like I did today.

I was careful choosing the type of vinegar. I already use white vinegar for rinsing laundry and as a rinse aid in the dishwasher where it works very well. However, for my skin I've gone with cold-pressed apple cider vinegar with mother (all the good microbes). (Affiliate link) This is recommended for its health benefits for so many conditions, including autoimmune and dandruff (if used on your scalp). It seemed like a good choice. I have bought food grade so I will also use it in the kitchen. I didn't realise that the supermarket-bought apple cider vinegar I had didn't contain the mother (microbes) so it would be nice if it also helped calm my gut (as recommended in numerous places) by using it in my food instead of the supermarket bought ones.

This is a complete experiment and I have no idea how it will work for me. I am prepared for it to be horrible for a while in the hope that firstly, the scalp psoriasis will calm down without the chemicals in shampoo on it everyday, and secondly, that my natural oils will adapt over time to not needing shampoo that strips them out of your hair.

Think about it, how many years have humans lived quite happily without all these products? I'm pretty sure my cat doesn't need shampoo and conditioner. His fur is stunningly soft and always meticulously clean. Besides, have you ever tried to bath a cat!!

Suki doesn't need Vidal Sassoon. He's purr-fect!

Edit: Here's my 4 week progress update if you are interested in what I've learnt. Enjoy!