Rogelio answers today a question from a non-curly haired male reader who wants to know if our No Shampoo guide is also useful for men with straight hair.
Hey bro,
Just wanted to say you have a great blog going on here! Do you recommend the no shampoo guide for straight hair guys?
I’m asian and I”m currently trying out what you wrote down in the guide. Also, another question if you don’t mind, do you think baking soda or acv is necessary? Do you use them?
Thank you,
Brian (Fairfax, USA)
Hi Brian,
I’m glad you enjoy my blog! For what is worth, we have a good portion of straight haired followers/readers (and even females) because much of the content that I write on curly hair is just as applicable to straight hair too. That, and ‘cos Manly Curls is all about bringing the good lifestyle with the good hair: no hair diva stuff or content written to bore people’s minds.
My No Shampoo guide is as applicable to straight hair as it is to curly hair. The reason for this is because what I emphasize is for you to find your own optimal shampooing frequency, which comes through trial and error as I described in the article. In essence, whether you have straight hair or curly hair, you secrete sebum either way and sebum is key in keeping your hair strands strong and healthy looking. A properly timed shampoo session will remove the excess sebum just in time to repeat the sebum secreting process and keep the hair looking great.
Troy Polamalu and I welcome you to our ranks
With curly hair, whether it be wavy; coiled; kinky and what not, the problem is that the natural curving of the hair strands makes the coating of the hair with sebum a difficult process. This is one of the causes for dry hair, a common problem encountered by curly haired men. On the other hand, straight hair is easier to become coated in sebum which means that finding the optimal shampoo frequency is not as much of an intricate process as it would otherwise be for tight curls and kinks (such as mine). With that said, you still need to find your optimal shampooing frequency as hair texture (straight or curly) is just one of the factors affecting it: other factors include the amount of sebum you inherently secrete (dictated by your genetic make-up), how long your hair is or if you tend to have your hair rubbing against crap (e.g. gym mats, man are those things some nasty places to lay your head on).
Baking soda or ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) is not necessary unless you plan to stop using shampoos altogether. While water is a good cleanser for daily hair grooming, both baking soda and ACV have antifungal properties which can be a great addon to your hair grooming arsenal if you are experiencing dandruff. Likewise, unless you completely master the Sebum Coating method that I explained in the No Shampoo article, you will eventually build up an excess of sebum which will make your hair look nasty. Baking soda and ACV are great cleaning agents to use just before the excess of sebum accumulates.
I have gone 30 days without using any hair products whatsoever on my hair, as I documented during my natural hair experiment and proved that going for extended periods of time without shampoo or other hair products can be done with long curly hair. And take my word for it, if it can be done on beastly hair such as mine (thick long curls), it can be done on the rest of hair types/textures! And while I have gone even longer than 30 days without using shampoo, I have found that after some time, I needed some form of clarifying agent to remove the sebum collecting close to the scalp (whether it was shampoo, diluted shampoo, baking soda or ACV). On the other hand, some of the straight haired guys I have spoken to and advised on hair matters have been able to go for 3+ months without doing anything other than cleaning with water and using the Sebum Coating method.
Overall, my advice to you is to find your optimal shampoo frequency as per the article. If you insist on not using a conventional shampoo again and would rather go solo or natural, then use water and the Sebum Coating method (described in the No Shampoo article) for your daily hair cleaning and, if that isn’t enough to keep your hair cleaned, then use either baking soda and/or ACV in a timely fashion to remove the excess of hair sebum. Don’t sweat it, while reducing shampoo frequency is a worthwile cause, risking the looks of your hair in the name of being super strict on your grooming minimalism is not the way to go for a modern dude wanting the looks and the functionality of properly groomed hair!
All the best,
Rogelio
Hey Rogelio thanks for the hair tips, i get compliments on my hair daily thanks to you. I am growing my hair to shoulder length (the ladies love it) and wondered what you would recommend using as an alternative to shampoo.
Thanks,
Hi Bryson,
Glad to hear on your compliments! You will get many, guaranteed.
An alternative to shampoo can be:
1) 1 tablespoon of baking soda in a half glass of water.
2) Apple Cider Vinegar diluted in a glass of water (vinegar should be 1/5 of glass).
3) Your fingers: massage your scalp and run your fingers through your locks of hair as water runs on it from the shower bulb.
4) Conditioner: use small amounts of conditioners every day. Run it on your hair strands. Try to get a conditioner that is silicone free (it will say so in the label so you can spot them easily)
5) Natural soap bars
Pick any of the above and or mix and blend. It goes without saying that water is one of the best hair cleaner there is, thus, you should be soaking your hair every day (i.e. in the shower).
All the best.