No Poo Movement: What Is It?

Alex Novosad
Photo courtesy of: https://growingsnowballs.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/no-poo-shampoo/

Photo courtesy of: https://growingsnowballs.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/no-poo-shampoo/

“Just because something is modern and popular, doesn’t mean it’s the best option”, claims www.nopoomethod.com. Yes, no poo method. Despite its ridiculous name, there are a few Englewood High school students who think it’s actually a pretty good idea not to use shampoo on their hair. “I’ve done it for 9 months and it has helped my hair significantly”, 9th grader, EHS Freshman Delilah Joe is a fan.

What is the “no poo” method?                

At the source of the movement, www.nopoomethod.com, says this is what shampoo does to your hair, “Hair contains natural oil, called sebum in its follicles which is essential for keeping itself conditioned and healthy. Frequent washing, combined with some of the harsh chemicals in shampoo, strips away those oils leaving your hair in bad shape … By over-washing, you remove hair’s natural conditioning and send the oil glands into a frenzy to replenish what was lost. This often causes an overproduction of sebum, giving hair that ‘grease ball’ look, which in turn makes people want to shampoo all over again and creates a vicious cycle.”

 

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Students who take part in the movement know they can’t just go without having clean hair.  Some popular alternatives to shampoo the “no poo” method community recommend include baking soda, apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice. There are even tutorials on making DIY shampoo without the harsh chemicals of the store bought stuff (a good place to check is http://m.wikihow.com/Make-Shampoo)

 

                                       Does It Work?

There have been many no-poo success stories, like EHS Freshman Delilah Joe, “After dying it (hair) so much, my hair was completely fried. Since then I read on the internet that if you only use conditioner it can help your hair alot.”

 However, there are also a few discouraging articles. One in particular explains how a chemical imbalance from using baking soda and apple cider vinegar, arguably the most popular method, can essentially ruin your hair. PH (potential of hydrogen) determines if a substance is an acid or an alkali, which is measured on a scale from 1 to 14. 0-6 is acidic, 7 is neutral, and 7-14 is an alkali. The natural oil in hair has a pH of between 4.5 and 5 and requires a shampoo or product that is in that same range. The idea behind using baking soda and then apple cider vinegar is that the apple cider vinegar (pH 4) evens out the high pH levels in baking soda (pH 9.5). It might sound effective, but pH levels changing drastically like that in such a short amount of time can damage your hair.

On the other hand, there have been many no-poo success stories. Everybody’s hair is different, so it is highly recommended that you research what method you use and how you should use it to avoid long term or even permanent damage to your hair if you choose to go “no-poo”.

 

So what do you think? Have you tried the no poo movement? Send us pictures or tell us about your experience in the comments below.