Nurse Stops Washing Her Hair Three Years Ago And Claims It’s Even Healthier Thanks To Rainwater And Vinegar

By Liana Jacob

 

THIS NURSE claims her hair is healthier since she stopped washing it with shampoo THREE YEARS AGO and began rinsing it with VINEGAR and RAINWATER that she collects once a week – and even her boyfriend is trying it.

When psychiatric nurse, Rachel de Rond (28) from Haarlem, The Netherlands, was a child, she was born with natural curls that lost their bounce over time as she became older.

In her twenties, she felt her hair was very dry and frizzy and had less curls. At the time she would wash her hair with shampoo every two days, but when the quality of her hair deteriorated, she decided to wean off using the shampoo and washed it once a week.

This improved her hair slightly, so in August 2017, she discovered the no poo method, washing hair with a gentle alternative to shampoo, such as apple cider vinegar or even just water only. Rachel decided to follow this method and has dumped her shampoo bottles and other hair products.

Since abandoning the shampoo and other synthetic hair products, she has noticed a considerable difference in the quality of her hair, which has become curlier and more volumized.

She now uses a solution made up of grinded nuts and leaves from trees and plants called ayurvedic herbs which she leaves in her hair for 30 minutes, then rinses out with tap water. Four days later she refreshes her curls with rainwater, which she collects and adds a tiny bit of flaxseed gel on her wet curls.

A year into discarding her shampoo bottles, her boyfriend, Max van Kessel (27), followed her lead with a little encouragement from her and hasn’t used shampoo or any product since. He is now following the water only method.

Rachel says while she was initially worried, she would be accused of being ‘dirty’, she has received a positive response. Strangers love her new hair and they even question if she has styled her hair with curlers.

“I had white flakes on my scalp and in my hair; I was very disturbed by this, so I bought some anti dandruff shampoo. I thought I had dandruff. Later I discovered it was just a dry scalp,” Rachel said.

“My scalp didn’t like shampoo and was telling me to stop. Shampoo contains sulphates, which clean everything (even your house) and they are very strong and can dry out your skin and hair.

“My hair was really dry and frizzy. I had way less curls then I have now. When I was younger, I had a lot of ringlets, unfortunately I lost these through time.

“When I washed with shampoo my hair was very dull, I had a little bit of waves, but not so much. I didn’t have any volume.

“I didn’t know what my hair needed or which products I needed to use. First, I washed my hair every two days, then I postponed this to once a week.

“These hair products made my hair greasy, so I had to wash my hair more often with shampoo. It was a vicious circle with my hair and my scalp. I had to use a leave in conditioner and mousse to curl my hair.

“I learned about the no-shampoo method because I read an article about a girl who didn’t wash her hair for six to eight weeks when she was on a holiday.

“First her hair became quite greasy, but after a few weeks it normalised and in the end her hair was so soft and bouncy. It didn’t look greasy at all.

“If you saw her, you wouldn’t know that she didn’t washed her hair with shampoo. So, I started reading about the no-shampoo method and I talked about it with my colleague.

“Following her advice I started with washing with Aleppo soap and rinsing with apple cider vinegar. My hair and scalp loved it. The dry white flakes disappeared, and my curls came back.

“I stopped using shampoo in August 2017. After three weeks my hair was through the transition period. At that time, I washed with Aleppo soap. After a few weeks I tried the ayurvedic herbs, and I loved the results even more.”

Despite her new routine taking longer than when she washed her hair with shampoo, she insists that the results are worth it.

She has even stopped rinsing her hair with tap water and regularly collects water from the rain due to its softer texture.

Rachel says that on a good washday her hair maintains its curls and she doesn’t have to style her hair for four days at a time.

She has since encouraged her boyfriend to try the no shampoo method and he now loves his hair too.

“I wash my hair once a week with the ayurvedic herbs; when I wash my hair, I take my time. I let the Ayurveda herbs settle on my hair for about thirty minutes,” she said.

“It’s like a hair mask; they clean and condition your hair at the same time. After rinsing I put a lot of flaxseed gel in my hair. For this I use different curly techniques to get the curls I want.

“After a good washday I don’t have to style my hair for about four days. Then I refresh my curls with rainwater, which I collect, and put a little flaxseed gel on my wet curls. Rainwater is much softer than tap water.

“I love that I have my curls back; they are so soft and bouncy, and the greatest thing of the no shampoo method is that I now know what my hair needs and that I can carry that out really easy.

“My boyfriend loves my hair; he thinks it looks much better than before. He followed my lead, but I also encouraged him. He stopped using shampoo about two years ago.

“He only rinses his hair with water. He has a lot of curls and he always hated the look of his hair when he used shampoo; it got so fluffy and frizzy from the shampoo that he had to use a lot of styling gel.

“It took about six months before I saw a real difference in his hair. His scalp doesn’t produce any oil anymore. Now that he never uses shampoo, he no longer needs the commercial styling gel anymore.

“It takes a little more time and preparation to wash your hair, but the results are amazing. People think my hair is amazing. They love it. Sometimes I get the question if the curls are real or if I made them with a curling iron.

“In the beginning I was afraid that people would find me dirty if I told them I didn’t use shampoo anymore, but the responses have been very nice.

“Start with something you feel good with. Don’t use something that you don’t want to use. The no-shampoo method is very diverse and there are a lot of options.”