I Used Not-Clean Shampoo All Weekend And All I Got Was a Crappy ‘Do
So how’s this for irony: The weekend I decide to do the Summer Hair Challenge for my picture is also the weekend I go upstate with friends and dutifully pack my toiletries, not forgetting my toothbrush for once and even remembering to bring my Hope Gillerman Muscle Relief and my Lotus Wei Infinite Love Elixir. What’s the one thing I forget, though? My clean shampoo and conditioner, naturally.
Ugh!
Especially ugh because before hopping in the car, I took a sweaty yoga class—which meant showering and hair washing was going to have to happen at some point. Another problem? We’d planned a scary-hard day hike and after that, indulgent massages at the lovely (and, I’m happy to report, ALL-CLEAN) Mohonk Mountain spa, which, incidentally, carries Lotus Wei—but not shampoo and conditioner. En tout cas, a massage meant someone was probably going to rub oil into my sweaty-from-hiking scalp, necessitating more hair washing.
Maybe you’re thinking, “What on earth is wrong with this chick—can’t she live with a little dirty hair for a weekend?” I mean… Greasy hair is bad enough, but when it’s greasy and sweaty and the air is damp but also hot, it’s a recipe for feeling completely revolting. Plus, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was a little curious about the Aveeno and the Pantene in the bathroom…
Would my hair be all silicone-sleek and easy to manage? Would I maybe even love the smell? Would it dry quicker with the blowdryer? Would I discover volume I hadn’t seen in ages?
Uhhhhh, ahhhhhhh! Here’s what happened.
Shampoo, day one. Yup, I totally used the Pantene. I read the ingredients while I lathered it into my scalp, trying not to remember what Dr. Mitchell Kline told me while we were writing the book (refresher: Sulfates go right into your scalp!) and banishing thoughts of the inevitable rash to come. I took a deep breath and holy fragrance, batman. Here’s the thing: Alexandra used to use fistfuls of this stuff and hugging her was always a delight because I adore her but also because her hair always smelled so delicious. We’ve talked about this before but it’s always surprising when it hits you again: When you abandon synthetic fragrance and then come upon it again (in an elevator, say, or at Sephora), it kind of makes you want to die. Anyway, I washed my hair with those gigantic Pantene bubbles, slicked on some silicone-filled conditioner, rinsed it and found that my hair felt very slimy even after a long hard rinse. Next up, the blow dry.
Once done, my hair looked, in a word, sick. It was super-shiny from the ‘cones, but not in a pretty way. The ends were going every which way, and it was limp at the top. The smell got to me, too. Better luck next time?
Shampoo, day two: This time I tried the Aveeno. Aveeno’s marketing always irks me (I find it to be greenwashy) and it’s not at all gluten-free, but I did notice it lathered a lot less than the Pantene (though still way more than, say, Rahua or C Tonics) and the fragrance was further down on the ingredient list, making the scent far less pungent. I used a tiny amount on my scalp to rinse the massage grease from me, and then decided to forgo conditioner altogether. There was still oil left over from the spa, and silicones don’t typically wash off in a day. Lo and behold, I could draw a comb through my hair no problem without conditioner. But…
Once dry, I was afflicted with the same gross-shiny mane. Only difference: Lots of volume at the roots, and a less lingering scent.
When I got home last night I decided to wash my hair with my clean stuff and air dry it, then I went to sleep. The resulting photo is my Summer Hair Challenge picture. I emailed it to Alexandra this morning with the subject line “Where’d my waves go?” and in the body of the email: “Let’s discuss.”
Consider this post that discussion. After a weekend of using gross products, my hair isn’t what it would have been otherwise. I’m not mad at how it looks today, but it isn’t exactly representative of how it normally looks when I airdry, and I think it might be a week or so before it’s back to normal.
Lesson learned.
Anyone else have a cheating-with-conventional-products horror story they want to share? Please?
Silly girl! You know better : )
I’ll share my cheating story. Maybe I’ve shared this before?? Oh well. After I had been mostly clean a few months, I was noticing I was even more sensitive than usual to any incidental exposure to toxics (like public restroom soaps). But I still wasn’t confident in dealing with my unacceptably grey roots. So I said, “just one last chemical coloring, then I’ll switch to henna.” I had always sucked up color into my skin wherever the dye accidentally dropped onto me for even a second, necessitating covering even more of my skin in what was probably crazy toxic stuff to prevent the staining. I never had a problem with color sticking to my scalp though. But this “one last” time, there was a dark crust on my scalp for several days after the coloring. Soooooooooo gross. So that’s me, a silly girl too. I actually laughed at myself though, lesson learned!
I got a hair cut this weekend and my head is still itching from the shampoo they used and the scent was killing me. Plus, I got some hi-lights, have washed twice since and my hair still smells like color!
This post is so timely!
Just two days ago I got some layers put into my curls. (which was very much needed) but before I even had a chance to explain my whole not-washing-my-hair situation, she was walking me over to the hair sink. I was flustered so I just sat there. But anyway so she started to pull out the diffuser to style me hair and I’m thinking “Oh crap, this woman doesn’t know what diffusers do to my hair” (see I have very fine. frizzy curls) so she puts some gross gel & sticky hairspray in my hair, diffuses it, & I ended up walking out of the salon with some sort of birds nest on my head! I was traumatized… So as soon as I get home I throw my head in my sink and wet my hair down. Then it takes no joke, 3 HOURS to dry! I don’t know if it was the products in it or what but my was incredibly shiny after it dried, but boy was it frizzy. Anyways my curls are still wacked up):
I actually refuse to let them wash my hair at the salon.
“You…don’t want us to wash your hair?” they ask, bewildered. “No thanks, it’s clean. Just wet it down,” I reply.
It’s a fun conversation. Especially when I have to explain, AGAIN, that I want absolutely no product in my hair.
I lucked out though. Found myself a stylist with skills. She cuts it with plenty of texture and angles so that it’s “wash and wear.”
“We’ve talked about this before but it’s always surprising when it hits you again: When you abandon synthetic fragrance and then come upon it again (in an elevator, say, or at Sephora), it kind of makes you want to die.”
***
Yes! De-acclimating to synthetic fragrance is one of the best things I’ve done for my wallet, because now most brick-and-mortar stores just smell ridiculous & sickening to me. And don’t get me started on the dollar store…
I also feel like I can smell food more clearly, or maybe I’m just getting hyperbolic here…
Sometimes I feel a little OCD packing up all my travel toiletries for every an overnight. Then I’ll read the ingredients on, say, my family’s VO5 shampoo and go bug-eyed with relief. I’m probably saving a tadpole somewhere if another dose of that stuff washes down the drain, too.
My “cheating” story: after 3 months of giving Tom’s “natural” deoderant (which I’ve learned since has an irritating ingredient) a try, I had it. I smelled like stanky BO within 30 minutes of putting it on and my arm pits had a horrible rash. This led to a breakdown in the personal care products aisle of me using the f-word multiple times to describe to my husband how much I hated their DO. What can I say? Rashy armpits can do strange things to you.
So, I went back to the traditional stuff with aluminum salts and all that other horrible stuff.
I know, I know, it’s totally bad for you. But I had to cheat! I could not take it if that was what natural DO was like
Thanks to your Spirit Beauty Lounge sale about 2 weeks ago and reading up on Tom’s alternatives, I am now using the soapwalla DO and enjoying it. It’s oddly effective — it literally neutralizes the odor. I don’t smell anything — no flowers, fruits or BO. Just neutral air. And best of all, no horrible rash!
Ugh Siobhan you poor thing! I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, but my non-clean-product story is about eye makeup! After, oh, a year (or more) of mineral based cream and dry shadows and liners – all clean products – I spent a long weekend with some pals and picked up my old standby Maybelline products at the drug store to hold me over. (“Me go out in public with eyeliner?! Are you madddd?!” ;))
My penance for going against the clean ethic was gooey, itchy, red, puffy, and horror-film-esque eyes for nearly a week afterwards. It took nearly twenty-four hours for the reaction to fully develop, but when I woke up the next morning after having worn the products the previous day and then washing them off, I could not even open my eyes. The “gooey” nature of the reaction where my eye attempted to wash itself of the irritants had actually glued my eyes shut! Took a hot washcloth as a compress for a half hour before it all loosened up. And as I said, nearly a full week for the reaction to totally subside. I looked like I had been crying over some silly boy for days!
I know it wasnt pink eye either, as, being the sciency nerd I am, I tried again with fresh not-clean Maybelline products straight from the package about a month later. Same reaction.
Keep it clean! Thats what I’ve learned.
@Sarah, yikes! Rough lesson.
Just an FYI for others, pinkeye (conjunctivitis), at least the kind you could get from eye makeup, wouldn’t go away without antibiotic treatment. So if it fades on its own you know it’s a reaction to ingredients.
I was having a really terrible stress and PMS breakout, so I used an old bottle of salicylic acid (a really dirty drugstore one, complete with parabens and the like) for the first time in months. My reward for that was red, flaky skin on top of the breakout – which did not clear up at all. I stick to tea tree oil and fuller’s earth now.
I’ve been pretty close to faithful since switching, and on the odd occasion I’ve “cheated” I’ve been very careful to use an absolute minimum of conditioner, knowing I’d simply be gooping down my hair…
A slightly different “the difference when I go back to not-clean products” story: every once in a while I have a complete lapse of judgement and go to sleep without removing my make up. In the past this has ALWAYS spelled trouble: proper breakouts married with patches of dry, flaky skin. Lovely! A few weeks ago I committed this sin again while wearing totally clean cosmetics (Vapour foundation, RMS Beauty un-concealer and eye shadow) and for the first time EVER my skin di absolutely nothing to punish me for this transgression! To prove my point… A couple of nights ago I relapsed, both by wearing a not-so-clean bronzing powder (Chantecaille) and hitting the pillow before cleansing – presto! My skin is blotchy and pimply. That will teach me!!!
Yech that sounds terrible. I always found Pantene weighed down my hair too much and made it greasy.
A few times I have run out of my clean ‘poo and conditioner, and using whatever is around always results in broken, sad, limp, greasy but frizzy hairs :(
OMGOSH on Saturday I woke up late for work, not giving me time to clean up much, so I slopped on some Curve perfume, or the like, just something I had lying around from 3 years ago because I was to be crammed in a training room with my whole department for 6 hours and was trying not to disgust… and Dear Dog do I STILL regret it! My chest hurt, I felt ill, I couldn’t breathe, it was DISGUSTING. I would have rathered smelled like BO! ASA i got to go home, I changed my clothes, and washed myself immediately! It was horrid. So, I went and bought some patchouli and now I am experimently with homemade perfume =D anyone have any recipe ideas?
Btw, I got the Soapwalla, and like some, it doesn’t work for me =’( =’( I will keep trying, but it does seem to make me smell worse!! I put it on and w/in 2 hrs i have this weird BO mixed with like, rotten herbs… I have been using Herbal Magic Roll-On DO in “Herbal Scent” and… it works okay. I’m not loving the smell, it’s not up to par for extensive exercise or stressful situations… but it’s been getting me by. I will never be able to go back to “standard” deodorant. It makes me very sick; from painful breasts to lymph nodes to a sore throat to just feeling tired and oddly ill.
Sugar scrubs. I’m weak against them.
My best (male) friend brought me a Mary Kay body wash, sugar scrub, and lotion set. The scent was nice, even if it was chemically, and would mesh with my natural scent and my favorite perfume. I recalled Mary Kay products being pretty good to me years ago, so I gave it a whirl. The first warning should have been the lack of ingredient label. I dipped into the sugar scrub, thinking it probably had the least bad stuff in it. The second warning should have been the way I couldn’t stop sneezing IN the shower. Once the product was in use, it was overwhelming!
Within hours, I was itchy all over, even if my skin was nicely smooth. I took a second shower using a bar of clean cococastile soap on something other than my armpits for the first time in years. Before getting out, I turned off the water and used a L’Eggs knee sock stuffed with oatmeal and soaked in warm water as an all over rubby soothy remedy – a trick from my first pregnancy when my skin hated me. Rinsed off lightly with cool water, and got out. Coconut oil in place of my clean lotion as an extra precaution, and air dried. I didn’t shower the next day, to let my skin recover, but I used the time to make my own sugar scrub out of coconut oil and sugar, scented with a few drops of my perfume.
I keep the Mary Kay around because it’s still pretty packaging, and I don’t want to hurt his feelings. But mostly as a reminder.
@reese, since you are looking for DO I’ll throw this out there. I’ve been testing out my DIY DO recipe and I’ve decided I really like it. Depending where you live you might get some ingredients at a healthy store, or use mountainroseherbs.com and/or coastalscents.com. These ingredients can be used for lots of skin care stuff, so I think it’s worth it to buy them. The amounts are my first test batch, and I’m going to make a big batch and fill some twist-up tubes I’ve ordered from elementsbathandbody.com.
1 tbs shea butter
1 tsp pomegranate oil (I’m sure you could use any sort of oil, I like pom on my skin)
1 tbs each: kaolin (white) clay, arrowroot powder, baking soda
Mix the powders together thoroughly and set aside. Slightly melt the shea, so that it’s still opaque but you can easily mix it around (I used a pyrex measuring cup placed in a pan of hot water). Don’t overheat – I’ve discovered in DIY that overheating butters/oils completely changes things. Mix the pom oil into the shea. If you want it scented I would add essential oils at this point. Then add the powder mix a bit at a time. Pour into a container you can scoop it from. I let mine set in the fridge for a while.
Now, let me say I love Soapwalla. I was shooting for something similar but unscented for the times I need that. My mix came out harder than Soapwalla, but if you scoop a bit and press it against your warm skin with your fingers it quickly gets to the right consistency. I decided it’s a pain to scoop, so first I thought I’d form it into a bar I could rub on my skin, but then I found the twist-up tubes online, so I’m going to do that. It should be perfect as a stick.
The most important thing: it WORKS. At least for me, and for my super stinky son too. I can go through the day and night, get up and exercise to quite sweaty, and still not stink. I’m more impressed with this mix than anything, clean or dirty, I’ve ever tried. Feels smooth and dry on, no staining on clothing that I’ve noticed. Without any essential oils, it smells, well, let’s just say unusual. It smells like the ingredients in it, kind of like salty shea butter with the distinctive kaolin smell added. Not strong, and I’m perfectly fine with it, as a person who is extremely sensitive to smells I don’t like.
For awhile, I had been going to a certain place to get my hair cut- and every time, I had to ask them NOT to wash it. Even though I would tell them, they would still try to do it (the main reason I left them). One time, I didn’t stop the hairdresser in time and lo and behold, she used their chemical shampoo and conditioner on my hair. After the cut, she asked me if I wanted and product and I figured might as well. Already blew it with the shampoo and conditioner.
Wow. HUGE mistake. Not even five minutes after paying and leaving, my scalp felt like it was ON FIRE. It was so horrible, I jumped right into the shower when I got home and used baking soda mixed with my clean shampoo to strip everything out.
Sufice to say I never went back. Now the place I go to has no problem if I don’t want my hair washed or product put in it and I think they cut it better then the old place it.
I must confess I’ve been using Talika Eyebrow Lipocils in an attempt to grow back full eye brows, but to no avail. It did cause a bit of itching, yet I was desperate for full eyebrows. They say tweezed eyebrows won’t grow back after a certain point, but please tell me that isn’t so. I can tell some have grown back but it’s like they won’t quite fill in completely, bummer! I’ve been letting them grow naturally for almost a year now and I still see new hair coming (or I think I do). If anyone has any tips on regrowing eyebrows then do let me know.
I was kind of forced into my cheating situation. All my friends from work and I were invited to a Mary Kay demo by a coworker who had just lost her job…I REALLY couldn’t say no!
Anyway, they gave us this horribly dirty cleansing product and I could feel my face BURNING! It was completely red for a few hours. My face wasn’t used to that sort of abuse after getting pampered with honey, oils and the gentlest clean products! Oh, and then when I tried to figure out what kinds of crazy substances I had been exposed to, I realized just how difficult this company makes it for not only customers but their employees too!