I went cold turkey last November.

Followed a long hair community routine called ‘the sebum cure’, and also lurked for months on the ‘nopoo’ subreddits.

I added refined lanolin to my routine for styling (essentially the cream that breastfeeding people use for chafing) and to get over the transition phase of mega sebum production.

I also shampoo’d with a silicone free clarifying shampoo the first day. Just to move along any leftover residue lurking on my scalp and lengths from previous products.

Since November I’ve just used water and dilute ACV (occasionally - no more than once a week) to wash and ‘condition’. My hair is in the best goddamn state of my bloody life. Amazing volume. My natural texture in full force. No more flakes AT ALL. The growth has been crazy: my hair is past my waist now. And I no longer have to remove a small creature made of hair from the drain after each shower because breakage is practically nil.

I frequently feel annoyed about ‘having been duped’ whenever I see shampoo commercials. But then I remember they can’t make me buy anything, and with this I feel pleased.