A young woman hasn't washed her hair in over a year claiming it looks and feels "better than ever" and says the chamicals in all shampoos are bad for us. Georgia Peck ditched haircare products including shampoo and conditioner after becoming concerned with the effects non-natural items were having on her hair, and suffering with itchiness and dandruff.
The 23-year-old now doesn't use any product on her hair – and says people have called her "crazy" for the "extreme" measure. "My hair is better than ever," said Georgia, a holistic health coach. "I no longer deal with the issues I had before and my hair is stronger and more vibrant. The first few weeks were hard because my hair looked and felt very greasy. It made me feel a little self-conscious and gave me a huge urge to wash it with shampoo.
"But I stuck with it and, week by week, my hair became less greasy and my itchiness and dandruff cleared up. My friends and family thought that I was a bit crazy! My whole family is not into the natural ways of living, so for years as I have been learning more and more and training as a naturopath, they often think I am extreme."
Georgia now doesn't use shampoo, conditioner or haircare products – even if they are organic and biodegradable – believing them to be "packed with chemicals" and not good for us. She added: "I stopped using mainstream products about five years ago because I was wanting to adopt a more natural lifestyle.
"I switched to more organic and natural-based shampoos and hair products but I realised they are still not healthy for the scalp or body so I went a step further a year ago. These products can disrupt our natural scalp ecosystem and health.
"If we strip the natural oils away constantly it actually makes our scalp produce more oils to compensate – which leads to needing to strip them away again."
Georgia initially went cold turkey, using just water to wash her hair with a filter on the shower head. Now, due to having thick, wavy locks, she has also started to incorporate a herbal hair rinse made out of rosemary, oregano, lavender, nettle, apple cider vinegar and olive oil.
She added: "For a deep nourishing hair leave-in mask I will add in a raw egg and some honey too." One person commented: "I'm sorry but I can't just rinse my hair with water, it needs shampoo. I've tried and I wish I could be one of those natural people, but my head feels disgusting and greasy if I don't shampoo my hair."
"When I was depressed, I didn't wash my hair for weeks, and it was revolting," another user said. Someone else added: "Omg if I don't wash my hair for 10 days it's stinky and itchy."
But others were more open to the idea. One said: "Your hair looks amazing." "I haven't used shampoo in 10 years," another person commented. Someone else added: "This is awesome! I need to try this!"