Wash Hair with Rye Flour 101 for Newbies – No Poo Shampoo

It sounds kind of strange to wash hair with rye flour. In common cases, flour is for baking. Different from baking soda and apple cider vinegar, rye flour cannot remove oil. Is it possible to give up shampoo but use rye flour to wash your hair? Actually, the answer is Yes. Rye flour can be your affordable and zero-waste hair cleaning and conditioning tool. You can add shine and volume to your hair without any chemicals. You must have many questions about this no-poo method. Just continue reading to get more details.

wash hair with rye flour homemade

Part 1: Why Rye Flour Is Good for Hair

What benefits you can get by washing hair with rye flour? Why do so many people say that rye flour works for hair care? You can find the answer here.

  1. Rye flour is rich in vitamin B5, vitamin E, omega 3 fatty acids, proteins, and minerals. Those ingredients are good for hair growth.
  2. The amino acids in rye flour can help for anti-inflammatory and regenerating.
  3. Rye flour is pH balanced. The pH of rye flour on your skin is 5.5, which is similar to the original scalp’s pH. Therefore, rye flour is good for hair wash. It will not strip out natural oil from your scalp. Even though you have a dry or sensitive scalp with dandruff, you can still use rye flour shampoo in the long term.
  4. Washing hair with rye flour is environment-friendly Just rinse hair and get the flour out of hair. There will be no chemical buildup on your hair and scalp.

girl-with-long-straight-hair

Part 2: How to Wash Hair with Rye Flour  

You can buy rye flour in the supermarket or any local food store. But remember to buy light rye flour. Otherwise, there will be a lot of flour flakes in your hair. If there is no rye flour in your home, you can wash hair with chickpea flour as well. Here is the entire process to wash hair with no-poo rye flour.

  1. Mix two teaspoons of light rye flour with warm water. Don’t pour too much water into rye flour. Because the rye flour shampoo will run over your shoulder. Just keep it the same with the shampoo consistency.
  2. Pour the rye flour mixture into your dry hair. Use finger pads to massage the rye flour shampoo and hair gently.
  3. Let the flour-water mixture sit on your hair for a while. Then rinse rye flour thoroughly. Or your scalp will itch and look like flakes. Later, dry your hair.

smile girl with smooth healthy hair

Part 3: FAQs of Rye Flour Shampoo

The followings are frequently-asked questions about washing hair with rye flour. If you still have questions, you can continue reading to get more details.

1Can You Use Other Flour to Wash Hair?

The best choice is light rye flour. You can use gram or chickpea flour as your no-poo shampoo as well. But it is not recommended to use wheat or spelt flour as your shampoo. the whole rye flour is not a good choice either. Because there is a lot of gluten contained. As a result, your rye flour shampoo will be a sticky batter. In a word, not all kinds of flours work for hair washing.

2Does Rye Flour Good for All Hair Types?

Yes. You can wash hair with light rye flour with dry or greasy hair. Moreover, you can use rye flour as chemical-free shampoo with an itchy scalp and dandruff as well. As for dyed, permed, straightened, or other damaged hair, you had better rinse hair with Apple Cider vinegar. Apple Cider Vinegar can keep the hair color longer than before. What’s more, rye flour is full of vitamins, minerals, and many other nutrients. You can use the rye flour mixture as a hair mask to replenish the loss of damaged hair as well.

3How Long Does the Rye Flour Hair Washing Work?

It depends on your hair type. Your hair will be softer and shinier than before after washing with rye flour. But the transition period of washing hair with rye flour is tough. You may find your hair gets greasy quickly. It is quite normal. Because your scalp produces natural oil as usual, while you can get nutrients from rye flour shampoo as well. Don’t worry about that. Your scalp will know the point and rebuild the balance gradually.

Once your scalp naturalizes oil production, the hair-related problems will vanish automatically, such as dandruff, dryness, hair loss, and more. There will be no buildup caused by chemical-full shampoo and conditioner. You can make your hair healthy without spending money.

4Why Your Hair Feels Waxy after Washing with Rye Flour Shampoo?

In the first period of no-poo, you can find that your hair feels waxy. It is because the old buildup coated your scalp and hair. It takes time to remove buildup and naturalize hair. Another reason for waxy hair is hard water. Hard water will turn sebum oil into waxy. During this time, you can rinse your hair with Apple Cider Vinegar. Remember to dilute AVC before rinsing hair.

5Why Rye Flour Doesn’t Work?

Do you use shampoo to wash hair in between? If yes, then the transition period will be extended. The shampoo will strip out oil from your scalp. As a result, your scalp will produce more oil to maintain the balance. However, it is not a good signal when you start washing hair with rye flour. Because your scalp will be confused about how much oil to produce. If you have greasy hair during the rye flour hair washing period, you can use a hat or dry shampoo to solve the problem.

6Any Potential Side Effects of Washing Hair with Rye Flour?
  1. Rye flour will clog your drain. If there is already a blockage, or you don’t use a hair trap, washing hair with rye flour will clog your drain.
  2. You should not make rye flour shampoo in advance, especially in summer. Because the mixture will become a stinky dough.
  3. Some people may not feel compatible while washing hair with rye flour. After all, the habit of using shampoo has been for many years.
  4. It may take several weeks to make your hair get used to rye flour shampoo. During the transition period, your hair will be greasy after washing quickly.

You can also see many other before and after images of washing hair with rye flour. Compared with other homemade shampoo and conditioner, rye flour is a pH balanced and safe choice. All hair types are supported. It is easy to use rye flour as a shampoo. If you want to fix your dry or damaged hair, you can make rye flour shampoo and have a try.

Carol
Focusing on hair care myths and common misconceptions about wigs. Your hair can be better with a little effort.
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