The Easiest Alternative to Shampoo

The Easiest Alternative to Shampoo

altGet ready for obviousness of such annoying magnitude, such colossal scale…

Don't use shampoo.

It's that simple. According to the no-shampoo, or as it's known online, the "no-'poo" movement, shampoo, or rather it's ingredients (including Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, which is "Hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation. Slightly hazardous in case of skin contact (sensitizer). Severe over-exposure can result in death.”) should serve as an eye-opener.

But is there a visible difference between shampoo'd hair and, well… non-shampoo'd hair? Yes. Read on to find out how your hair can become softer, thicker and more manageable hair.

The Concept Behind No-Poo

The most important chemical process of the human body is homeostasis. In the simple words that MensXP articles are made of, homeostasis means creating a stable equilibrium. All bodily processes work in equilibrium. Your water intake and urine production, … even your body temperature need to be stable. And your body does this for you.

Apart from shampoo's dangerous ingredients, shampoo works by attacking the oil in your hair. By effectively stripping away what makes your hair thick, all residual matter (jar gel, dirt, pollutant residues) can come out easily. And when your scalp loses oil, homeostasis kicks in, and your body produces more oil to compensate for what shampoo stripped away. Which is, frankly, incredibly pointless.

It becomes a vicious cycle. You shampoo your hair - Your hair produces more oil than necessary - you shampoo more often to clean out the oil. No-poo ends the cycle by acknowledging that you don't need shampoo. Ordinary water can effectively take care of the usual hair impurities (sweat, dirt). There's more to it, though.

How to Not Use Shampoo: What You'll Need

Shorter Hair

Your body will continue producing the same proportion of the oil it used to compensate for what shampoo stripped away every wash. If you have short hair (and most guys do), you're safe. If you have long hair, get a trim. In the pain-period between temporarily greasy hair and better hair, you'll want to minimize your damages.


Comb your hair while washing it; this will effectively 'comb out' the fine specs of dirt trapped in your hair. Some people are more predisposed to getting greasier hair, because their scalp produces a larger amount of oil. There are two ways out of this -

a.) If it's an emergency (a date) use a tiny amount of shampoo. Really scrub that little gob of chemical into your scalp, let it stay for a bit and then wash it out.

b.) Make a paste of baking soda with apple cider vinegar to replace shampoo and conditioner. Vinegar's antiseptic nature will make prospective lice, or any other potential residents very uncomfortable. ACV is much gentler than your regular white vinegar.

The Mix

1-2 tbsp of baking soda for a 16oz cup, or 1 tbsp of baking soda per 1 cup of water. 1 tbsp of the apple cider vinegar per 1 cup of water.

Because you don't' have telltale lather to guide you, you'll have to systematically work on your entire scalp, coaxing the paste deep into your roots before washing it out.


It might take you three weeks to get your hair acclimatized to a natural state. But without the strip-mining that detergent chemicals unleash on your hair, it'll obviously be worth it.