Well here we are about to enter week ten, jings nine full weeks of no hair washing and double figures right around the corner and guess what, my hair is still oily, I am now getting beyond frustrated and hanging on by my fingertips to both my determination not to give in and the account of it taking up to twelve weeks, that’s only two more to go and then please please let my hair look clean.
I still don’t understand the process of self cleaning hair and how the oil will just go vamoosh but that’s the hope, however I did give in and try to help the PH balance on my scalp by giving my hair an apple cider vinegar rinse on Sunday, now that took a leap of faith as it stank and I really did not want to end up smelling like a battered Haddock but at this stage I am willing to try anything. Sadly it does not seem to have made any difference and I didn’t even get to smell like a fish supper not even for a minute or two, I’ve just been left with the same old, same old oil, might use it for making my fish supper next time argh……..
Feel free to contribute any thoughts and advice as I really will appreciate it.
One thing I have noticed which is a little weird, I have one section of my hair at the back which is wavy. Now wavy hair I am all for, but just one section, wow, that’s a little crazy even for me, I never did know how to do things “normally”, but heh what’s not to like, straight hair with one section reminding me of what might have been.
Coincidently Kenny’s hair has a curl however with him just having a wee ponytail it’s quite amusing seeing his wee curl bobbing around as he moves.
His hair is also looking a lot lighter than I’ve ever noticed before as he has very dark hair but in certain lights it is showing some streaks of ginger through it, wow after 25 years I’m finally married to my ginger Scotsman, not that you’d know it from the above photo.
Colin’s hair is definitely following along the same lines as my own and is taking a while to transition, we think it must be to do with the length, he has purchased a hand crafted boar bristle hairbrush so no doubt like myself he shall be labourishly brushing away to get that long awaited shine.
Colin MacPherson
Our new contributor is on day twelve and reports that her hair has started to go all fluffy, that sounds wonderful, fluffy ahhhhh……… if only, but it is short and it is looking funky. I asked her for a little of the thought process that went into her decision to go “green”, here is what she said, “Last summer I got rid of most of my hair. I asked the man in the barbers to shave it all off, he said “are you sure?” he was worried I wouldn’t like it. We compromised on a No 1 all over. ‘Hair’ I thought, ‘is a nuisance’. I then got a fixation with looking at other people’s hair and thinking about how much time, energy, money not to mention thought goes in hair. I have been almost completely grey since my mid 30’s. Must have spent hundreds probably thousands of pounds on it over the years, cutting, dying etc. One day I came to the realisation I had better things to do with my time and certainly more productive things to do with my limited funds. We live in a society geared up to sell us stuff whether we need it or not. We are taught to obsess about things by having our insecurities poked at on a daily basis under the guise of freedom of choice when actually it is just manipulation to get you to buy stuff that you don’t need. Whilst doing this we exploit ourselves and each other, use up precious resources and pollute the planet. So, I suppose for me not washing my hair, if it’s not necessary is a small rebellion. I used to wash my hair daily with a shampoo specifically made for ‘silver’ hair. I am on week 2 of no washing but have rinsed with clean water a couple of times. My hair is somewhat fluffy at the ends but starting to feel greasy/oily near the roots, my scalp is a little itchy. I am starting to wonder how to manage it whether to just brush it or maybe use a hairband? We shall see. In all honesty I am feeling somewhat liberated, which was how I felt when I had it shaved. I think I am going to let it grow though and go for the Holly Hunter look in Top of the Lake. Maybe a little wild looking but something very powerful in just being and owning it”.
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Well, Helen, I have a bad cold, and haven’t washed my hair since Saturday before last, and it feels ….horrible! I feel like I’ve got a manky old mop on top of my head. I’m hoping to feel better, and wash my hair tomorrow, and will be very relieved to do so.
I don’t know how you’re sticking to it – you must have some will-power.
I know people didn’t used to wash their hair so much, but, they also tended to get wet in the rain more often – we have such sheltered lives now. And – maybe their hair was yukky anyway? I often think that when watching a film of, for example, a Jane Austen novel – the scene is a ball room, with our hero and heroine, being all romantic, and I think – “Imagine the SMELL!!!!”
I suppose if you’re all used to it, you don’t notice it.
I think you’ve done a good job, having a go, and then sticking with it, in the face of the grease – and even when going out to a big ‘do’! – but would you not be prepared to wash it with a natural cleanser? That way , not polluting, but, you’d get your lovely hair back.
It’s not necessarily vanity – wanting to look good is a natural desire – even the other animals, and birds, do it – bathing and preening and showing themselves to good effect to each other. It’s natural to want to look good, and it makes us feel good to know we look good , or even no’ bad will do! It helps with confidence and feeling good about ourselves.
I feel like I’m playing Devil’s Advocate a bit, and that I shouldn’t be talking you out of it, when you’ve been so determined, but….well…I do believe it to be natural enough to want to feel good about ourselves, and yukky hair doesn’t help that. And…well…you really do have lovely hair!
Kenny is getting away with it – but there isn’t so much hair, to go yukky! It is an interesting part of this experiment, that it’s shown that there are different shapes and shades in our hair, waiting to reveal themselves, if we leave it be. Interesting – but – is it worth it?
I can see the reasoning behind the lady with the short hair. Years ago, I go fed up with having to deal with my mad mop, went to the hairdresser’s and had it all cut very short. I got away with it, as it was the punk era, and so – it was , in fact, fashionable. She’s right though – the advertisers try to bamboozle us into buying stuff we don’t need and being paranoid about how we look and smell, but we don’t have to pay attention to them, and can decide for ourselves what we want to do and not do. “Clean enough to be healthy – dirty enough be happy” covers a lot of areas of life – including my approach to housework!
PS In a way – letting the advertisers make us go to extremes, to defy them, means they still are controlling us – the key is to ……do what you feel most comfortable doing, not even needing to make the acts of defiance, as that does mean they are still dictating our actions
My mum used to say that there’s no point in cutting off your nose, to spite your face.
One thing, though Helen – your experiment has also promoted some exchange of ideas – hmmmmmm – maybe more to this than meets the eye…………..
I know in some extreme circumstances it can take 12weeks so I feel I shall try for that as I am so close now, it isn’t bothering me in so far as, it’s not itchy and it doesn’t smell it’s just the fact that I can’t currently wear it down. I may relent and use natural products eventually to remove the residual oil but I keep hoping that it shall correct itself yet, I can see how it should work as half of it is shiny it’s just he area close to the scalp that is refusing to balance itself out. H
I’d have given up long ago, Helen!
You’ve some patience…..
It must work soon, I can’t be the only person without self cleaning hair.
Mike suggests beer? Real beer is a natural product – I’m not sure why he thinks it would clean hair! He says he can’t remember where he gets the idea from – it’s some kind of received wisdom. And maybe you’d smell like a brewery instead of a chip-shop! Sounds like a good night out, to me!
Might be worth thinking about?
I’m sorry but I will have to interject here and say that is a waste of good beer, Helen can keep her oily hair
I remember doing things like beer rinses and egg washes back in the ,80’s but they were likely in conjunction with shampoos.
smallbear retreats and will say no more on the subject.
Don’t be daft all advice is welcome and at this stage it’s all needed.