How to Transition to Natural Shampoos & Why You Should

Quick view: How long does it take for hair to adjust to sulfate-free shampoo?

Generally 3-6 weeks

When transitioning off sulfate-loaded sudsy store-bought shampoos it generally takes 2-4 weeks for the hair to undergo the detox phase. Store-bought shampoos have a number of toxic ingredients made to bind to the hair shaft, drying out and damaging the hair in an attempt to get the smooth frizz free look being marketed.

I will admit I tried to transition to natural shampoos several times before I realized it was not the natural shampoo that was not working (and leaving my hair feelin’ a hot mess)! It was the detox process my hair was going through in getting rid of all the buildup that store-bought (or salon) shampoos leave in our hair.

We will cover how to transition your hair from store-bought chemical-loaded commercial shampoos and conditioners to all-natural shampoos and conditioners, why you should, and all my tips and tricks on how to make the transition as quick and painless as possible!

Quick Review: Here is what we will be covering in this post. 

• How long does it take for hair to adjust to sulfate-free shampoo?
• What happens when you use natural shampoo?
• Do natural shampoos cause build-up?
• Do I need conditioner if I use natural shampoo?
• Why do my roots feel waxy after washing?
• What ingredients to avoid in store-bought shampoos & my favorite natural shampoos 

Why you should trash the store-bought toxic shampoos for good

Before we hit HOW TO transition our hair to natural shampoos, I feel we need to establish WHY we should first trash store-bought chemical-loaded shampoos and conditioners. When we understand why we are doing something we are more likely to stick to it! 

After hearing what is in the ingredients of those shampoos and conditioners sold at stores or salons my hope is you will be so outraged you will never go back and it will make the hair detox phase easier to bare knowing why you are doing it! 

Commercial shampoo and conditioners as well as any other hair care products you will find at Walmart, Target, and places like Ulta, or Salons all contain so many toxic ingredients we could spend weeks trying to figure out what is really in them. 

Personal Hygiene Ingredients that are Hormone DISRUPTORS

If you have been around my blog for a while you know I used food as medicine and clean nontoxic living to heal my autoimmune system (hypothyroidism). If you are new to the Roots Fam welcome!

Hey. Hi. Hello. My name is K’Lee and I am so glad you have joined us today and hope you get a lot of value out of what we will be covering!

My mom has owned a salon for most of my life. Through college I was a makeup artist and skincare specialist, working in the Medi-Spa industry alongside plastic surgeons. Beauty. Makeup. Skincare. And the hair industry has been a BIG part of my life!

So, rest assured I know good quality beauty products. Making the switch to natural clean nontoxic products 7+ years ago was not as easy, or popular as it is for us today.

But when your health depends on it, we will do what we need to do right? Thankfully what I am sharing with you today will allow you to skip the hard parts. We can speed up your detox phase. I will share with you all my tips and tricks and products I have come to love over the years to get help to navigate your clean journey with you.

Let us jump into the REALLY bad chemicals found in most shampoos & conditioners we should avoid at all costs!

How long does it take for hair to adjust to sulfate-free shampoo?

Generally speaking the change from store-bought sulfate-loaded shampoo to all-natural sulfate-free shampoo generally takes anywhere from three to six weeks depending on the amount of buildup in your hair. 

Transitional time is called the detox phase. 

During the detox phase, your hair will most likely feel dry, frizzy, and waxy on the scalp. This transitional phase is totally normal and not damaging your hair. Store-bought shampoos are loaded with ingredients that coat your hair with every use like:

• Sulfates & SLS (sodium lauryl sulfates)
• Parabens, Formaldehyde, and Other Synthetic Preservatives
• Plastics & Silicones
• Phthalates and Other Synthetic Fragrance

What happens when you use natural shampoo?

Unlike store-bought shampoos full of parabens, sulfates, fragrances, and plastics natural shampoos are gentle and nourishing for the hair. Store-bought shampoos cut out the hair in synthetic ingredients causing it should be unable to hold in moisture and blocking hair follicles from growing as quickly.

Natural shampoos do not Suds & lather like store-bought shampoos that use synthetic emulsifiers (like SLS). This does not mean that shampoo is not doing its job, trust me it is still working to clean your hair and scalp without causing buildup or coating your hair and follicles.

Do natural shampoos cause build-up?

No. Natural shampoos do not strip your hair of its own natural oils. Those oils May accumulate making your hair feel greasy. But as you brush your hair your natural hair oils will distribute throughout your hair acting as its own beauty oil product! Brilliant right?

This takes some getting used to. What you will notice once your hair has officially detoxed from the nasty storebought ingredients coating, is that when you wash your hair after drying it the scalp may feel waxy or greasy for several hours. 

This is totally normal, again this is mother natures gift. Before we bought hair care products for frizz-free shine, our hair could naturally produce its own hair care products. This does not profit the hair industry so they created synthetic ways to do it, and bonus they got you hooked and buying more because detoxing the coating from these synthetic ingredients would now take 3-6 weeks.

Without knowing to expect this detox phase one would think their hair was ruined, I know I did. It is not a fun feeling. 

Do I need conditioner if I use natural shampoo?

Yes. You would still want to use a natural conditioner after washing your hair with a natural shampoo. Though natural shampoos do not strip your hair of its natural oils as store-bought shampoos do there is still a loss in oils on the tips of your hair especially if you have hair shoulder length or longer. 

Why do my roots feel waxy after washing?

Switching to natural shampoos has a 3-6 week detox phase, as we discussed above. The amount of time in the detox phase is based on the amount of buildup in your hair. Cheap shampoos often cause worse buildup. The waxy feeling on your scalp comes from the natural shampoos cleaning your hair without stripping it of its natural oils. 

Often you will find the waxy coating on the scalp is only there on wash days. Then as you brush your hair you start naturally distributing the oils down the hair shaft. Think of this as Mother Nature’s natural hair care product (lol). 

Remember back before the multi-million dollar hair companies started selling us hair care products our hair naturally survived and thrived on its own. We can get back there with some patience. 

What ingredients to avoid in store-bought shampoos & my favorite natural shampoos 

Sulfates

Sulfates or surfactants are ingredients used in most shampoos and detergents (like our laundry detergents, hand soaps, etc) to remove dirt and oils from our hair and scalp. They go by many names making it hard to pinpoint in the ingredients lists. Sulfates cause some serve side-effects like skin and scalp irritation, dryness, dandruff, and inflammation.

Parabens, Formaldehyde, and Other Synthetic Preservatives

Parabens are very commonly used in most of the beauty, skincare, and makeup products we find at our stores today. They are used in attempts to prevent mold and bacteria.

Shampoos, conditioners, lotions, makeup, body wash, hand soap, and many other hair care products are loaded with nasty parabens.

Scientific studies have shown that parabens are quickly and easily absorbed into our skin so deeply they even penetrate our bodily tissues. (YIKES). Known side-effects from parabens are redness, irritation, itching, flaking, and hives.

Are you starting to see a pattern?

Formaldehyde is another commonly used preservative in shampoos and conditioners.

Is anyone else getting that morgue or high school science experiments vibes….

Though it is often labeled separately on the ingredients list (I mean who in their right mind would buy a product that said “formaldehyde” on the back).

But the combination of certain ingredients = formaldehyde.

Being a known carcinogen the companies know they cannot use it….. but putting together the ingredients that when combined make formaldehyde is on the other hand totally legal (insert head slap).

Polyethylene Glycols

Also known by the name PEG, Polyethylene Glycols are another very common ingredient used in cosmetics and beauty products.

That includes personal hygiene products umbrella as well.

Used as an emulsifier or cleansing agent. It also helps other ingredients to be more easily absorbed (what……?!?!?! chemical ingredients more easily absorbed).

It is a known carcinogen in most forms it is used and very negatively affects the nervous system.

Silicones

Silicones are literally plastic! Yes friend they are purposefully putting plastics in our skincare and beauty products to act as a binding agent. In order to ensure a silky shiny finish, they add plastics to bind to the hair. Over the long term, this makes our hair weak, dull, and unable to absorb moisture because our hair or skin is SO packed with buildup it can not breathe.

Phthalates and Other Synthetic Fragrances

Phthalates are a class of petroleum-based chemicals that can make plastic more flexible. You can find it in everything from tile flooring to paint….. and unfortunately in our skincare, personal hygiene, and beauty products.

Mind-blowing right?

They are using paint ingredients on something that we put on our skin daily. We don’t have to be an expert to know that sounds like a horrible idea.

Side effects from phthalates and fragrances cause hormone disruptions, damage to both the liver and kidneys, impair our thyroid function and impact our overall immune system.

Fragrances also contain these tinny particles called VOCs (volatile organic compounds) so fine they can penetrate through our blood-brain barrier, aka our brain’s protection wall, and have been found in the deepest tissue of the lungs.

VOCs are linked to miscarriages, infertility, autoimmune dysfunction, heart arrhythmia (changes in the natural rhythm of the heart’s beat which is VERY dangerous), chronic ear infections in infants and toddlers, and reduced sperm count in men, and the risk of diabetes during pregnancy.

The trickiest part, and most infuriating to me personally, is hidden under the word “fragrances” or “perfume” is up to 100 or more ingredients that are all covered under the Trade Secretes Law.

Simply put companies can hide HUNDREDS of ingredients they are not supposed to be using or do not want us to see under the words “fragrances” or “perfume” and are not subject to share what is really hidden under that one dirty little word to regulations entities UNLESS they are being sued from enough people who have been affected by the product directly.

If you ever see the words “fragrances” or “perfume” put it back!

How to Detox and Transition Hair to Natural Shampoo

Ok. Now that we have a really strong understanding of WHY we should ditch toxic chemically filled shampoos let us talk about how to transition to natural shampoos.

The best way to explain how this transition of detoxing our hair goes is by using laundry stripping as an example because it is a powerful visual reference.

If you are not familiar with laundry stripping in short there are YEARS of soap build-up and residue in our cloths from using laundry detergents, like the shampoos we discussed above that are filled with chemicals made to actually bind to the cloths.

Now, this is not a post about laundry stripping so see the video above as an example of what happens when you take clean clothes and sock them to strip out the years of build-up and grim. If you try this at home be sure to use a clean nontoxic laundry soap like this one from amazon.

This is the same detox process our hair has to go through except we are not soaking our hair in a tube full of washing solution for the day…so with our hair, it will take a bit longer to strip away the years of buildup from the store-bought hair products.

In order for us to “speed up” this process, there are some great DIYs we can do that are 100% clean and all-natural that will help.

Normally, this process can take anywhere from 3-6 weeks all depending on how much product buildup our hair has on it. I know I know “weeks” ?!?!?!?!

For example, if you wash your hair daily, use a lot of gels, hair sprays, dry shampoos, and so on odds are pretty good your hair will be on the longer end of the detox.

Important note using cheap shampoos like the ones found at target or Walmart also tends to be on the longer side of detoxing because of the cheap ingredients used.

Not to worry though we can speed this up a bit for sure.

Step 1 in Detoxing your hair is being committed and ready.

Ditching just your shampoo is not going to do it. Most of the 5 Ingredients we talked about above that are found in shampoos are also found in conditioners, gels, hair sprays, and so on.

This means before you even get started you need to have replacements on hand and ready.

The good news is once you have healed and restored your hair a good all-natural shampoo and hair oil are really all you will need. Your hair will also easily go 5-9 days between washes without being oily or stinky and gross.

Why is this?

Because it is the product buildup that is making your hair so dirty and stinky so quickly in the first place.

I have lots of great DIYs, tips, tools, and tricks for those who really want to deep dive into this process, not just for your hair, but your skincare, and personal hygiene.

In my FREE eBook The Ditch and Switch Handbook you will find 2 Hair Detox Recipes, among other amazing DIYs too! Click the button below to receive your copy!

Step #2 Developing a new normal

In making the transition to store-bought or salon shampoos and other hair care products we will need a “new normal” when it comes to our routine. As with any new habit, this step is vital for long-term success.

Keeping an open mind that what works for one person may not work for us, and we need to be willing to take the time to experiment in finding products that our hair type responds well to.

The great news is often going all-natural with your hair products and routine often means minimizing the number of products and the amount of time you will need for your hair to thrive.

As a quick personal example let me share my hair routine with you.

Wash Days: My hair can go anywhere from 6-10 days between washes. This not only gives me loads more time but it also reduces the damage to my hair.

This also reduces the amount of heat I use on my hair. I will use my favorite blow out brush once my hair is 85-95% dry just to get a smooth salon blowout look. The amazing thing is when you use a Sleep Buff to keep your hair up at night I can fix it once a week, sometimes twice and it is good to go with just brushing it daily.

Tips on using the hair buff. Pull the hair buff over your head and around your neck. Wrap your hair into a loose bun on top of your head, no hair tie needed.

Then, simply pull the buff over your hair and tie it at the top. It will stay all night keeping your hair from tangling up and touching your pillow case which cased unwanted face breakouts (bonus).

My husband and I love the silk pillow cases because they do help with our skin not pulling on our pillows causing wrinkles and my husband never wakes up with bed hair anymore either which is great!

Step # 3 Go longer between wash days

Transitioning our hair to be able to go 6-10 days between wash days takes a little time, but this part is fairly easy. Once your hair is starting to detox from all the product buildup you will pretty effortlessly be able to go longer between wash days.

But start with extending it a day or two. Wear your hair up, or in a hat if possible. You will be surprised how quickly your hair will respond to this phase and before you know it you will be at the 6-10 day mark!

This is 100% all my hair – I have been using natural products for years now. I get my hair highlighted about 2 times a year, but no extensions and I am 38 years old.

We all know the older we get the “harder” it is to grow our hair long – that is a myth and the truth is it all has to do with our over all health (food) and products that will determine our hairs ability to grow long and healthy.

Not our age!!

Conclusion

There you have it. How to transition your hair from toxic chemical filled shampoos and other hair products to 100% all-natural products that will not only improve your health and the health of your hair but save you TONS of time and money!

Don’t forget to grab your free eBook download that has skincare and hair care products, DIY, and tips and tricks to keep your skin looking youthful and radiant and your hair long and healthy all without any toxic products!

Just as important as what you are using on your skin and hair is what you are putting IN your body too! Here you can read how I used food as medicine + clean nontoxic living to heal my autoimmune system naturally and here you can browse around for a lot of clean yummy recipe ideas here!

Comment below and let me know how your hair journey is going and what is working best for you! Also join the IG Roots Tribe here!

We would LOVE to have you in the fam!

Xoxo – K’Lee