Shampoo is ruining your hair

[Guest Nicole]

As a beauty editor, Augusta Falletta is well-versed in the best shampoos, conditioners, makeup and facial cleansers on the market.

But the 25-year-old chucked all those items in the trash a few years ago, when she challenged herself to go 30 days without shampoo and 21 days without makeup and face wash.

“The premise was: If I’m only using water and moisturizer on my face, is this actually going to be a better thing?” explains the Upper East Side resident. “Overshampooing just strips oils from your hair.”

Switching from shampoo to a cleansing conditioner did lead to thicker and healthier tresses. “Because I wasn’t shampooing as often, I wasn’t heat styling as often, so it cut down on damage,” Falletta says. She now washes her hair only once a week.

Her 21-day face wash-free experiment, however, wasn’t as successful.

“It got pretty insufferable about a week and a half in,” she says. “The texture of my skin had changed [for the worse] because it wasn’t getting any exfoliation.”

The percentage of US households buying shampoo and conditioner has decreased by 4 percent since 2011

 - Nielsen market research

Falletta isn’t alone in experimenting with a “beauty cleanse” by cutting back on products — especially in the winter, when dry skin and hair can necessitate a break from harsh chemicals.

 

Kicking a shampoo habit, in particular, has gained momentum, with women opting for gentler hair cleansers or, in more extreme cases, simply using a mix of baking soda and vinegar when washing.

According to Nielsen market research, the percentage of US households buying shampoo and conditioner has decreased by 4 percent since 2011. Meanwhile, there are more than 25,000 Instagram posts tagged with #NoPoo to date.

The main reason people are ditching the ’poo: Sulfates that provide lather in traditional shampoos are thought to deprive hair of necessary oils.

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“A lot of people don’t realize that sulfates are in oven cleaner,” says Cal Ellis, a stylist for curly-hair brandDevaCurl. “That squeaky feeling we grew up thinking is clean is just stripped hair.”

Still, not all sulfate-free products are getting rave reviews. In December, 200 women joined a lawsuit against WEN by Chaz Dean hair care, claiming their cleansing-conditioner line caused severe hair loss and damage. In response, WEN has issued a statement denying the claims, saying there’s no proof that their products can cause hair loss.

“People’s hair was falling out,” says New York-based hairstylist Jenna Mast. “But that’s not an issue with not shampooing. Not shampooing gets your scalp really healthy, so you can have pretty, shiny, bouncy hair.”

Also maligned for their drying effects are silicones, which are usually found in conditioners and repel moisture while weighing down hair.

Astoria resident Margaret Badore vowed to rinse her hair only with water for 31 days in 2014 — but the 28-year-old’s locks turned into a greasy mess. The experiment did impact her beauty routine, though — she now prefers Dr. Bronner’s organic pure, Castile liquid soap to traditional shampoos and has stopped using conditioner.

“I can go four days without washing it now, and it still looks just as good,” she says.

Others, like Kiera Stachowiak, 23, who works in p.r. in Philadelphia, are reconsidering their makeup habits.

I wasn’t happy with my skin, and it made me realize, what do I actually put on my face?

 - Kiera Stachowiak, 23, who ditched her makeup routine

“I wasn’t happy with my skin, and it made me realize, what do I actually put on my face? What is going on my skin and being absorbed?” Stachowiak says.

 

She decided to ditch her daily 10-minute makeup ritual for a week to find out.

“[It] was exactly what my skin needed,” she says, noting her skin became clearer, her complexion more even.

“I saw such a difference, I go makeup-free a lot now.”

Esthetician Taylor Worden, who works at the celeb-favorite Georgia Louise facial spa on the Upper East Side, recommends her clients go makeup-free whenever possible to refresh their skin.

“Makeup can cause breakouts, and you’re putting on all these extra chemicals,” she says. “I personally go makeup-free all the time. It’s so much better for your skin, which is your largest organ.”

But she doesn’t recommend going face wash-free. Instead, she suggests using a cleanser and moisturizer that don’t strip the oils off your face. Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cleanser ($19.50), for instance, promises to gently clean without “stripping skin.”

Then there’s the stinky side of beauty cleanses: ditching deodorant.

Many popular brands contain aluminum, which some worry could cause harm when absorbed by the skin. Studies are inconclusive, but Kevin Steinmuller of Park Slope didn’t want to take a chance when his wife was pregnant.

And since the couple didn’t want to completely skip deodorant — even if actorsCameron Diaz and Matthew McConaughey reportedly do so — he created Funkless, a coconut oil-based deodorant he sells on Etsy that’s free of aluminum and chemicals.

“The no-deodorant thing? I haven’t found a lot of people that that’s worked for long-term,” he says. “Being in New York and being in such tight spaces all the time, it’s a public service to [wear it].”

Source: http://nypost.com/2016/02/01/why-women-are-tossing-their-beauty-products/

[admin]

I have less than 1/4 inch of hair.  Lol. 

[Queen Esther]

I'm using to ca. 95% never shampoo. I not trust all these promotions and promises, bec. full of lies !  I use mostly med. shower bath soapfree products and made best experiences ??

[JAMMY]

http://www.byrdie.com/lazy-hair-hacks-models