taking things to another level

I have a sneaking suspicion one should not talk too loudly or often about these things in public. Certainly in times past it would have been disgraceful, but somehow I seem hardwired to blurt out scintillating developments to all and sundry. (Apparently many women struggle with this self same issue - we typically spill the beans within 47 hours and 15 minutes, if recent secret research is anything to go by) So here it is, another exciting update on my journey into life shampoo free.

I'm trying to remember how long it is since I ditched the shampoo bottles. I think it was just before we went to Melbourne on August 22nd, because when we stayed the night at my mother-in-law's we borrowed her shampoo rather than sport horrible lank hair in her presence*. One must look good for the mother-in-law. That's nearly five weeks almost completely shampoo free. Impressive huh?

So, as you know, I was using bicarb soda and apple cider vinegar to begin with, but we went away for a couple of weeks and I was tired of mixing up bicarb before every shower. So I just stopped using it.

Lest you think I have gone mad, it wasn't my idea and it wasn't a decision made in haste. I had previously stumbled across an article detailing a water-only-shampoo-free challenge staged by ABC radio presenter Richard Glover in 2007. Glover was soon joined by some 700 other willing experimenters and they set about testing the idea shampoo is completely unnecessary. Using only water, they vigorously washed their hair and tracked the results for six weeks. At the end of the challenge, 86 percent found their hair to be better or the same as when they had used shampoo. Impressive results, so in view of my bad attitude towards mixing up a bicarb solution, I decided to give it a go.

Admittedly the first few days were not so fantastic. My hair smelled and its texture was strange. As we walked along the foreshore at Warners Bay, a tail wind blew the odour right past my little nose. Not nice! Poor Frank was a little beside himself. Then on about the fourth day everything changed - the smell disappeared, my hair became lovely and soft and it seemed to hold its style better than ever before. I was hooked, and for two weeks now I've been using the 'water only' method of hair washing. I'm not sure I'll go back to shampoo and conditioner ever again!

Being a chronic list writer, here are nine good reasons to try shampoo free:

• It's a lot, lot cheaper!
• No exposure to nasty chemicals
  
• Hair feels softer and more natural
• A lot less dandruff (almost none in fact!)
  
• Reduces carbon footprint - no more plastic bottles
  
• Convenient travel - less to pack
  
• No need to worry about leaving the bottles behind in the motel shower recess
• The most interesting discussion starter ever (try it: 'I haven't shampooed my hair for x days/weeks/months/years')
  
• Makes for shorter showers (unless, like me, you opt to enjoy the water in the extra time!)
• Emancipation from consumer status
  

One final test to pass. I'm off to the hairdresser tomorrow, and, since she already thinks I'm loopy, I don't intend to whisper a breath of it. Unless of course she comments on how luscious my lovely locks have become... then I'll laugh out loud and crow with delight.


* Ah, is this the time to confess I occasionally used your toothpaste (but never brush), shampoo and cotton buds when I stayed? But it wasn't very often and I only used a little and most of the time I brought my own...