Or: Why I Haven’t Been Using Shampoo or Conditioner This Week
I was recommended this shampoo and conditioner by a UK friend who initially tried it while living in HK. I tried some of hers when I visited last year and aside from it being the “Volume Maximiser” (you can imagine what that does to a curly bob) it was fantastic. It smelt so good too.
I’ve been using it ever since and stocking up throughout Europe.
I’m now in Australia and about to run out so I’ve been unsuccessfullly searching for it at various supermarkets and chemists. I checked online and found Procter & Gamble no longer sell it here because they sell significantly more in the UK and USA. I wonder if it’s a show of patriotism from the Australian disporia and buying it locally would be a bit of a cultural cringe. I must admit, it does me smile when I see the little kangaroo when I’m overseas though maybe it would be less so now I know it’s a P&G company and not an Australian one (no, I don’t usually read the packaging of these products and I enjoyed my blissful ingnorance and eyesight).
The other thing I found online was that it contains a carcinogen. Before letting myself fall down that particularly rabbit warren, I skimmed the other headings of my search and saw that it’s unproven whether this links to breast cancer or not, the quantity is small etc… Rabbit warren successfully dodged though thoughts of there being an alternative solution was firmly planted.
While I was in Madagascar, I was washing my hair every other day because the water was too cold to do it more frequently (remember, I was in a remote village that didn’t have hot water, it was ocean water though surprisingly not that salty). I’ve maintained this because my hair still appears clean even though I don’t feel as though I’ve had a proper shower. This is clearly all in my head. I see it as better for the environment and better for my purse. This part isn’t in my head, it’s a fact.
In December, I read Richard Glover’s article, My Decade Without Shampoo, and how he got to this point. It sounded impressive and it was noted that the hair of 86% of the participants in the 6-week challenge he gave, either remained the same, or was better than it was prior to the experiment.
Back in Sydney, I was explaining my shampoo / conditioner quandary to my Best Woman. She told me about a colleague who went shampoo free while having very long curly hair. Initially she put a bit of conditioner in the ends but once her scalp rebalanced its oils, she’s used nothing and has been shampoo / conditioner free ever since.
I’ve now been shampoo and conditioner free for a week. While the top looks a little greasy to me an has a weird texture that seems to fluctuate from sheep wool to steelo-pad, I’ve been told that if I didn’t say anything, no-one would notice. I find this hard to believe since I think my hair looks like a cross between that of a stereotypical hippy and a surfer.
I have polite friends.
My showers are a lot faster now even when I wet my hair and massage my scalp in a futile attempt to trick myself into thinking I’m washing it.
I’m going to continue this experiment for a bit longer to see how long I can last and what does actually happen. I’m not sure I’m ready to commit to 6 weeks of it yet.
There’s always the option of making my own products.
I still have some shampoo and conditioner…
* Thanks to Big Pig for the title to this post. This particular song was in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. If you don’t remember the tune or would like to see the video clip, click here.