October 28, 2025

Shampoo is a scam!

For five years now, I haven't used any shampoo or conditioner in my hair. And my hair has never looked or felt better.

Shampoo strips away your hair's natural protective oils, which is why you're sold conditioner to artificially replace what was just removed. That means you're paying twice to solve a problem the first product created!

Whenever I mention not washing my hair, people immediately ask: "But doesn't your hair get greasy or dirty?" The answer is no. Literally not once.

Your scalp has sebaceous glands that naturally secrete sebum — a waxy substance designed to coat each strand, repel dirt, and maintain your scalp's microbiome balance. This is your hair's built-in self-cleaning mechanism. Frequent shampooing disrupts this system, stripping away the protective layer and signaling your glands to overproduce oil in compensation. That excess oil is what makes people think they "need" shampoo in the first place.

Of course, my hair isn't healthy solely because I stopped using shampoo. It's healthy because I addressed what was happening inside my body.

I eliminated eggs, dairy, and gluten from my diet. Started drinking celery juice every morning. Loaded up on a whole bunch of fresh fruits and vegetables. These changes transformed not just my hair, but my entire system.

AKA greasy hair isn't necessarily a hygiene problem — it's a metabolic signal. When you consume inflammatory foods, it attempts to flush those toxins through every available exit route, including your skin and scalp. That excess oil you're constantly trying to wash away? Part of it is your body expelling what it can't properly eliminate through normal channels.

Clean up your inside, and your outside naturally follows.

Practice
​Step-by-step instructions to turn theory into healing.

1. Transition gradually: If you're considering eliminating shampoo, expect a 2-4 week adjustment period where your scalp recalibrates its sebum production. During this time, your hair may feel greasier than usual — this is temporary as your glands learn that they are no longer being stripped daily.
2. Address diet first: Before abandoning hair products, start removing inflammatory foods and increasing fruits and veggies. This internal shift often reduces scalp issues more effectively than any topical product.
3. Rinse with water only: You can still rinse your hair with water during showers. The mechanical action of water and your fingers is sufficient for removing dirt and debris without disrupting your natural oil balance.
4. Use natural alternatives sparingly: If needed during the transition, diluted apple cider vinegar (1 part vinegar to 4 parts water) can help balance pH without harsh detergents. Use this only occasionally, not daily.
5. Observe the correlation: Track how your hair responds to dietary changes over several weeks. Many people notice that eating certain foods (dairy, fried foods, processed sugars) directly correlates with increased scalp oiliness within 24-48 hours.

The spotlight effect

Let me tell you an embarrassing story:

Years ago I went to a bar with some friends. The waitress was super cute, so I left my phone number on a receipt asking her out (classy, I know). Needless to say, she did not text me.

Months went by and I forgot all about the exchange…until I went to the same bar and behold! She was serving us once again! Sweet, divine fate!!

Two beers later and wasn’t she just getting cuter and cuter? Oh, I know! I'll just ask her what happened…in front of everyone.

"Hey, I left my phone number on a receipt months ago. Why didn't you text me?!" I asked her with what can only be described as ‘very confronting energy’.

Instant. F*cking. Regret.

I don't remember her response because I had already imploded on myself. Face flushed, mind spiraling down, down, down into a vortex of self-conscious horror.

Luckily once she left I had the self-awareness to address the tension: "Well, that was undoubtedly the weirdest thing I've ever done." The entire table burst out laughing. Situation diffused. The evening went on.

But not for me. Boy oh boy did I mentally tortured myself for the rest of the night (and following weeks), replaying the moment in excruciating detail, convinced everyone at that table would forever remember that moment.

Here's what took me years to understand: the second I addressed what was present, everyone let it go. Not because they were being gracious — but because they immediately returned to their own mental movie where they're the main character.

While I was lying awake at 3am replaying my humiliation, they were lying awake replaying their own awkward moments, their own insecurities, their own annoyances. My cringe-worthy moment wasn't even in their top fifty thoughts that week!

This is the spotlight effect — the cognitive bias that makes us believe others are paying far more attention to our appearance, behavior, and mistakes than they actually are. We walk through life convinced we're under a blinding spotlight, when the truth is everyone else is standing under their own spotlight, equally convinced all eyes are on them.

Think about it: Can you remember embarrassing things your friends did three years ago? Probably not. You were too busy obsessing over your own moments!

Unfortunately, this self-obsession creates an uncomfortable prison. The ego is simultaneously convinced that it is the center of its universe and the center of everyone else's. It replays its “mistakes” endlessly, certain others are doing the same.

They're not. They're too busy with their own reruns.

When you truly grasp this, embarrassment loses its sting. That cringey thing you did way back when? It probably only lives in your memory now. You can let it go.

Meditate
​Bite-sized audios to help you become the master of your mind.

“You’ve already achieved the goals you said would make you happy.” — Alex Hormozi

Remember that one time you were convinced that graduating high school would unlock everything.

Or how you were obsessed with that guy/girl? And how you believed being with them was the answer?

Or when you fantasized about the job, the apartment, and the money? All those things you have right now, but have become accustomed to?

If those achievements didn't bring lasting fulfillment, what makes you think this next one will?

You place so much faith in what you don't have that you completely overlook what you do. The goalposts shift so rapidly and unconsciously that you forget much of what you once desperately wanted, you now take for granted.

This isn’t to say you should stop pursuing goals. Rather, it’s to see how the mind creates false promises – convincing you that happiness lives on the other side of xyz, but when you arrive, conveniently relocating the target.

Perhaps the issue isn't that you haven't achieved enough. Perhaps it's that you've been looking for satisfaction in the wrong places.

Journal
​Contemplative questions on the nature of inner freedom.