Jaquelyn Baers reveals why she hasn't used shampoo for five years

FED up with expensive shampoo and the ritual of daily hair washing? Tempted just to give it all away and see what happens? The results will surprise you.

FED up with expensive shampoo and the ritual of daily hair washing? Tempted just to give it all away and see what happens?

Two American women have done just that and haven't looked back.

Blogger Jaquelyn Baers reveals she hasn't used shampoo for five years and how much better off she is for it.

Ms Baers, who first wrote about giving up shampoo in 2012 in her blog LittleOwlCrunchyMomma, said she was put off shampoo by the "paraben, phthalates, petroleum byproducts, and other dangerous toxic chemicals" contained in the average bottle.

She said we wouldn't ingest them and therefore we shouldn't put them in our hair either.

With that in mind she began using natural and organic shampoos but stopped once it became too expensive and then moved onto baking soda and apple cider vinegar.

The result?

"It wasn't working for me - it was making hair dry, and greasy, and back and forth" she wrote.

So she gave it up altogether and now rinses her hair once or twice a week in the shower and has healthier hair than ever before.

Writer Hanna Brooks Olsen also decided to ditch the shampoo for six months after becoming concerned about the dangerous chemicals in the average shampoo bottle.

But according to her, the result has never been better.

"My hair was really shiny, it grew way faster and it just looked awesome," she told the Huffington Post.

But Ms Olsen admitted the only downside was the hair getting used to no shampoo at all.

She also warned those who wanted to give up shampoo must be prepared for an adjustment period where their hair just doesn't look that great.

So just how harmful is this common beauty product?

Over-exposure to some chemicals has been linked to toxicity in the nervous system and cancer, according to Body&Soul.

And while such studies are hardly new, health experts have warned about the possible side-effects of things like parabens, which are synthetic preservatives, for some time.

Previously considered safe, parabens mimic oestrogen raising links to breast cancer and fertility issues.

The blogger pictured at the in-between stage. Picture: LittleOwlCrunchyMomma

And here's what it looks like now. She says her hair has never been healthier. Picture: LittleOwlCrunchyMomma