A while ago, I tried the no-poo method and wanted to wash my hair without store-bought liquid shampoo. But I live in an area with hard water! So here are my tips what worked for me and what didn’t if you want to wash your hair without shampoo in hard water.
The Problem Of No-Poo & Hard Water
Hard Water + Soap = Problem
Hard water together with soap or sebum create a water-unsoluble build-up in the hair. This makes the hair dull and stringy. And the hair actually looks worse than before washing! 😉
I once tried washing my hair with castile soap when I was in an area with soft water. And it worked perfectly: my hair was clean, shiny, full of volume and smelled good. 😀
But if you have hard water, washing the hair with water only or washing the hair with soap doesn’t work. Not even a strong vinegar rinse could remove the build-up.
What I Tried
I tried different version of the no-poo method. No-poo means that you wash your hair with water only or without traditional shampoos. I tried:
- the water only method
- baking soda with an apple cider vinegar rinse
- several historical homemade shampoos
Related: 30+ Historical Shampoo Recipes
- a historical no-poo method where you brush your hair twice daily with a boar bristle brush and wash the brush twice daily in soda, but you wash your hair only once a month
- dry shampoo
- castile soap (olive oil soap)
- store-bought hair soap
- shampoo bar
Did It Work?
Most of the things I tried didn’t work on my hair. The water-only, baking soda & vinegar rinse, just brushing, most of the homemade shampoos, dry shampoo, castile soap and hair soap – all these didn’t work.
What Did Work?
Only two things worked to clean my hair in hard water: historical homemade egg shampoo and a store-bought shampoo bar.
Shampoo Bar
I usually use a store-bought no-poo shampoo bar to wash my hair because it’s easy to use and works perfectly to clean my hair in hard water. I actually prefer it to traditional shampoo now!
Shampoo bars are better for the environment than liquid shampoo because they don’t contain water and are packaged plastic-free. Additionally, shampoo bars last a long time and are travel-friendly.
Homemade Egg Shampoo
But occasionally I use eggs to wash my hair. At first, I was skeptical: raw eggs in my hair? That didn’t sound appealing! 😉 But after washing my hair with eggs I loved it: My hair was clean, shiny, full of volume, smelled good and didn’t need to be washed again for much longer than with regular shampoo. 😀 True, using homemade egg shampoo can be a little tricky at first, but you’ll quickly find the best way to use it. 😉
Related: Homemade Easy Egg Shampoo
What are your tips: How do you wash your hair in hard water without shampoo? 🙂
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Hi! Thanks for sharing your experience. I stopped using regular shampoo years ago, long before the solid shampoo trend, and tried many things with various results. The no-poo with baking soda and vinegar was the worse, and if you know a little about chemistry you understand why it’s a very bad idea. Anyway I did lots of googling and you are the only one that I found relating to my biggest struggle: that water-unsoluble build-up you’re talking about. I thought I was the only one getting this! Thank you for pointing out the water hardness factor, I never thought of it but it looks so logical now.
At the moment I wash my hair with castile soap and a little rinsing with very diluted vinegar.
Thank you! 😀 And thanks for sharing your experience too!
Which store bought bar soap do you buy?:) And how do you prepare the egg shampo? Thank you
Hi, I found a shampoo bar that I liked but unfortunately the company recently discontinued their products. So I have yet to find another shampoo bar that I like. 🙂