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Hair gets down and dirty
Alice Hart-Davis10.05.09
Prince Harry hasn't washed his hair for two years? Eeuw! Or is he just cleverer than the rest of us, with the perfect, credit-crunch, no-care hair-care solution?
It sounds revolting, and he's not the only famous name who's doing it, judging by recent pictures of Alice Dellal, Alexa Chung and the Geldof girls, who all look like they could do with a good wash and blow-dry. But skipping the shampoo isn't necessarily such a bad thing.
"Sebum, the oil we secrete to lubricate our hair, is anti-viral and cleansing," says Kensington hair maestro Valentino, who has had phases of not washing his hair for years on end (at the moment, he washes it around once every six weeks).
"When you wash your hair, you upset the natural pH [acid/alkaline balance] of the scalp and that has a knock-on effect on the whole body."
"What you need to do is invigorate the hair follicles by massaging the scalp, then brush the hair to distribute the sebum and rinse it in the shower to remove any dirt."
Ah yes, rinsing. Saying you haven't washed your hair for two years isn't saying that it hasn't seen a drop of water for all that time.
If you can tough out the initial adjustment phase of not using shampoo, your hair will find some sort of equilibrium, but the transition may not be pleasant.
Whatever, the "deliberately dirty" look is one that has been building up for a while, says top stylist Adam Reed of Percy & Reed, and not just for the festival-going crowd.
"First we had the whole beachy trend," he says, "but now the trend is for hair that looks not exactly dirty, but well worn-in. Lots of clients are spinning out the time between their blow-dries for financial reasons, and they get this look after a few days - it's a bit powdery, a bit early Brigitte Bardot. If you start with an amazing hair-primer like Shu Uemura's Liquid Fabric, it lasts really well, especially if you keep it going with a dry shampoo. Some of these have oil in them, which can look filmy on the hair. One that doesn't is Klorane's, because it's made with oats."
As for not washing your hair at all, Reed is more dubious. "I know lots of boys who do that, but girls will never go for much longer than two weeks without washing their hair. It starts to look greasy and it smells - and nobody wants that. And if you use too much dry shampoo, it starts to go into a paste. It isn't pretty and it's not good for the scalp."
So dirty is good - up to a point. And even if it looks dodgy, well, you often have to suffer to be cool.
Valentino 1 Thackeray Street, W8 (020 7937 6911).
Percy & Reed 157 Great Portland Street, W1 (020 7637 4634).
How to dirty up your hair in double quick time
Pantene Whipped Wax Entry-level hair-musser, this is wax in the form of mousse, £2.99.
Shu Uemura Liquid Fabric The ultimate hair-primer, £19.50 (020 7637 4634).
Fudge Salt-enhanced Medium Hold Texture Spray Adds body and protects against UV damage while distressing the hair with salt, £10.95 (01282 683 100).
Gosh Professional Salt of Mine Wet 'n' Dry Saltwater A salty spray with added proteins and minerals, £4.39 at Superdrug.
Joico Dry Spray Wax Instant texture, £14.95 (01282 683 100).
Klorane Dry Shampoo Finely milled oats give it oil-absorbing power, £6.80 (01582 820 165).
Reader views (11)
Back in the "olden days" before shampoo was invented, and soap was in short supply...people would use mud to scrub their scalps. The mud would soak up the excess oil and bind to the dust, and they would wash it away with river or well water. When bathing fell out of fashion, women would set their hair in braids and buns. Free-flowing, fresh hair, is kind of a new thing. Even as late as the early 1960s, women would only wash their hair once a week. Shampoo is a fabulous invention. I'm so glad I live in an era where shampoo is available and the public smells better for it.
- Amber Berglund, Baltimore, MD
The whole theory sounds plausible except one thing has been disregarded. Even when you rinse your hair 'vigorously' it only gets rid of the outer layers of dirt within the scalp. The majority of the dirt is trapped in the sebum. Since the sebum is oil, it cannot dissolve in water, therefore it cannot be rinsed off by water alone. Slowly the trapped dirt will begin to accumulate- that doesn't sound very healthy...
- Annabelle Strewson, London, UK
@ Elaine. I firmly believe that you are what you eat. If you smell after 12 hours.. you might reconsider the items you are ingesting. I am a Vegan and I do not use chemicals what-so-ever. I shower daily with an environmentally conscious soaps. I don't not use shampoo, but that does not mean I smell or that I am unclean per se. In fact, my hair doesn't smell at all. I WASH my scalp with a baking soda mix every few days and once a week I "condition" with a Apple Cider Vinegar dilute rinse... I just don't contribute to the reckless consumption of unnecessary product purchasing that Americans seem to think they NEED. Oh, AND.. I do work in an office as an Interior Designer, thank you.
- Amanda, AllOverThePlace, FL, USA
I stopped using shampoo a couple of months ago and noticed my hair felt much healthier and styled more easily. I'd always heard that your hair naturally produced oils to keep itself healthy. Its good to see an article stating this. I read the headline to my girlfriend as an "I told you so" because she thinks I'm gross.
- Neema, Riverton, WY USA
The first month of not using shampoo was a bit odd: your body is reaching a new balance in producing oils.
However, it has now been just about three years since I stopped using shampoo. I "wash" my hair virgoursly with warm water each day as I shower and use a vinegar-water [one cup vinegar per gallon of water] rinse about twice a week. As a result my scalp and hair are clean, healthy and look good.
Getting rid of dirt is good; messing with your body's natural balances is not necessary. Your mileage may vary but this has sure worked for me.
- Jim Hake, Seattle, WA, USA
You Euro's really need to clean up and stop looking and smelling like goats. Being clean isn't as unhealthy as you hippies seem to think-- and lice aren't "healthy symbiants." Every organism is homogenous, i.e. you can't be healthy while hosting bacteria and other parasites. Shampoo also isn't just for your hair, it simply cleans your SCALP without harming the stringy stuff. And if it leaves your hair a little dry-- that's what CONDITIONER is for.
- Yankee Doodle, Anywhere, USA
I have never heard of not using shampoo before. I'm going to give it a try. I have never used deoderant and I don't stink, ask my friends. I always believed if you start using it, you will always have to or you'll stink. So I'm going to let my hair break it's shampoo habit.
- Jeff Fillmore, Kingsley, Mi. USA.
There is a middle ground ... You can WASH your hair -- DAILY -- without shampoo.
I use an EGG each day ... I crack it, put the contents into a small plastic cup, stir, then use as little or as much of it as I need while showering ... (after a while, you get the hang of how much is needed on that day). Be and then rinse thoroughly.
Then, still in the shower, I follow up with a conditioner ... RESULT: It looks as good or better than shampoo.
Try it, just once ... make your own decision as to whether it works for you.
- Joe, Arlington, VA, USA
Unless you live or work in a dirty or smelling conditions all you have to do is vigorously rinse and dry your hair every day and it will not smell. For the first two or three weeks use a hand towel to dry your hair and that will take out most of the excess oil until your hair learns to reduce oil production. If you do encounter dirty or smelly conditions like a campfire use a large dose of organic hair conditioner to remove the smell. I have not used shampoo for many years and people love my hair.
- Mark Thornton, Auburn, Alabama
When I lived in Spain for a semester I didn't wash my hair for 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. It wasn't so impressive and yes, it stunk. I now wash it every 3-4 days and that's as long as I can stand it.
- Ana Pattison, Wilmington, NC
Hair begins to stink in 24 hours. Anyone with a job would be unwise not to wash their hair every morning, which includes the whole body, from head to toes, every morning. Also, all clean clothes should be worn every day. After a 12 hour wearing, the clothes and body also smell. No one in an office wants to smell bad body and bad hair odors.
- Elaine, Petaluma CA, USA
