Get the WOW Factor from Your Hair with Water-Only Washing

Clean, healthy hair doesn’t require a million products

For years, I have struggled with dry, brittle hair that splits at the slightest provocation. Constant bleaching and coloring left me with unruly and damaged locks, not at all helped by the fact that my coily 3C hair fails to absorb moisture from anything but the most intensive conditioners.

After trying pretty much every shampoo and conditioner combination under the sun, nothing seemed to help. Even weekly moisturizing sessions would do nothing but make my hair greasy, and I was incessantly scratching my dry, flaky scalp.

It was only after noticing that my hair was both crunchy and oily (how?!) that I started searching for answers. Clearly my experimentation with haircare routines was just aggravating the issue, and I was desperate for relief.

This is when I stumbled across an amazing solution — Water Only Washing. I was skeptical at first, but now I’m a true believer in this remarkably easy, stress-free hair care routine.

What is Water Only Washing?

The answer is in the name: you use only water to wash your hair. No shampoo, no conditioner, no leave-in treatments or mousse. Instead, you use a combination of vigorous brushing, preening, and rinsing to stimulate the production of naturally protective oils, bring those oils from your roots down to your ends, and remove dirt from your scalp.

While your hair will feel greasy as your scalp begins to better regulate oil production, you will eventually have thicker, healthier, and glossier hair that can better weather stresses like sun exposure and wind.

Why does Water Only Washing work?

Water Only Washing relies on the natural protective qualities of hair sebum. It still gets your hair clean, but it does not dry it out, nor does it clog your pores like conditioners might.

To understand why Water Only Washing is better for your hair, we need to understand what shampoo actually is. Shampoo is basically laundry detergent for your hair: in fact, it has many of the same ingredients. Like detergent, it eats away at dirt and oils that accumulate on your scalp and hair.

However, your hair is simply not the same as your favorite t-shirt. Unlike a garment, your hair is attached to living cells: your follicles, which produce sebum, the oil that protects your hair and keeps it healthy. When you use shampoo, you are stripping your hair of this protective barrier, which is why you follow it up with conditioner. Conditioner includes other oils that will lubricate your hair and protect it from the elements, but will also trap sweat and dirt on your scalp, necessitating another round of shampoo soon.

Over time, your follicles produce less and less oil because they are being incessantly attacked by sebum-eating detergents, then smothered by viscous conditioner. This leads to dry, damaged hair that becomes dependent on the protection of conditioner, creating a vicious cycle. Breaking this cycle will eventually lead to stronger hair with a natural sheen, as your hair now relies on its own sebum to protect against sun, wind, and water damage.

How do you get started with Water Only Washing?

It genuinely could not be easier to get started washing your hair only with water: just stop using shampoo and conditioner.

Instead, follow these three easy steps.

#1 Vigorously massage your scalp

Using your fingernails, firmly massage your scalp, making sure to hit every spot. This helps to stimulate oil production as well as loosen up any dead skin, loose hairs, and dirt that is clinging to your scalp.

If you have short nails or simply can’t get enough traction on your scalp, you can also use a scalp exfoliator like this one from Kitsch.

#2 Brush your hair with a bristle brush, starting at the roots

You want to use a brush with strong enough bristles to really penetrate your hair and move that oil down your hair, as it’s important to help get the sebum as far down your hair shaft as possible. I like this brush from Kitsch because it has soft rubber-tipped bristles that separate the hair into smaller sections, as well as firmer bristles that can really get between the strands.

#3 Rinse your hair in the shower while using a soft brush

While you’re in the shower, use a gentle paddle brush to help the water penetrate your hair and rinse away dirt. You’ll want to have a strong water flow; a handheld shower head with multiple settings is excellent because you can bring it close to your scalp and blast away any detritus. If you can’t or don’t want to install a handheld shower head, you can also rinse your hair in your sink, as the water pressure is often stronger and you can bring your head closer to the faucet.

In the summer, I like to up my washing game by using my garden hose! Who cares what the neighbors think — it feels great!

What results can I expect with Water Only Washing?

Eventually, your hair will be glossier, thicker, and stronger, but good things take time. For the first two months, your hair might feel stringy, limp, and greasy as your scalp learns how to better regulate oil production. This is the time where you really have to stay strong and resist the temptation to shampoo!

Follow your normal showering schedule, just skipping the shampoo and conditioner. Allow your hair to naturally air-dry or use the lowest blow-dry setting to avoid scrunching and breaking the fragile hair follicles, and opt for updos and protective hairstyles as your hair begins to heal.

If you really love the way that shampoo smells, you might be a little grossed out by the smell of “natural” hair. I’m not talking about the smell of sweaty post-workout hair; it’s something different that you won’t recognize until you try it for yourself. Should the lack of flowery scent bug you, you can try spritzing a hair and body mist on your hair; I particularly like Pacifica’s line of cruelty-free, vegan mists.

You might notice that your hair texture changes: my hair actually went from a 3C to a 3A texture after two months of Water Only Washing. While I do miss my springy, loopy curls, I definitely don’t miss the frizz, the breakage, or the split ends! I’ve also noticed that my hair stays cleaner for longer, and I don’t get bedhead as badly as before.

My hair still has a long way to go before I banish split ends for good, but I have noticed a remarkable improvement in my hair’s texture and strength so far. Give it a shot and you’ll be just as amazed!

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