In 2025, George Francis Lee decided it was time to look more grown up. Having not had a paid-for haircut in about five years, he visited a trendy barbershop where a trim costs £38. There, his barber gave him blunt advice: stop washing your hair. Lee was warned that using too much shampoo leaves hair dry, lifeless, and coarse. He was instructed to drop shampoo for at least two weeks, using only water, with dry shampoo as an option if desperate and conditioner as a rare treat.
The first two weeks were the worst
Lee has thick, ginger hair, which he says is usually the first thing people notice about him. Ditching shampoo felt counterintuitive, as daily shampooing was as routine as brushing his teeth. Advocates of the “no poo” method claim that commercial products cause repeated damage to hair, but warn that it gets worse before it gets better. Lee found this true: his head cried out for a lather in the first few days, and he had to physically stop himself from reaching for the bottle in the shower.
He carried on, counting the days until he could wash his hair. But slowly, the urge faded. Two weeks became three, then four, and eventually he lost track. “I can’t remember the last time I washed my hair,” he told his best friend, who thought it sounded gross. However, Lee’s hair had never felt better. It became wavier, bouncier, and glossier. The dirty, itchy feeling that lingered during the first fortnight disappeared, and his hair seemed to find a natural balance after years of endless shampooing.
Finding natural balance
Lee realized how dry his hair had been. His scalp used to feel irritated, but it was a minor issue he had left unspoken. Shampoo seemed to have been stripping away the natural oils that moisturize and protect hair. According to his barber, people with fine or greasy hair may not last long without shampoo, but for Lee’s hair type, it is not necessary.
More than a year later, Lee’s hair is shinier and curlier than ever. He now washes his hair only during his quarterly haircut and could go even longer. The apple-scented shampoo he bought a year ago remains untouched on his bathroom shelf. “For better or worse, my hair is usually the first thing someone will notice about me,” Lee said. Now, he takes pride in it.
