I'm going to take a wild guess: you, along with everyone you know, wash your hair at least once every other day with shampoo and conditioner. That's the only way to have clean hair, right? Otherwise, it gets all greasy and gross. That's how we're all raised, because that's what we know.

Well, I gave up shampoo back in April. That's right; in the past five months, I have not used shampoo. Not once, not even a little. How do you not get gross?" I hear you cry. "That sounds so unhygienic!" Well, I shaved my head for charity in April, so I didn't actually have any hair at the time. Some scrubbing under running water kept me clean. And as my hair has grown out, I haven't been producing as much hair oil as I used to.

Turns out, when you shampoo away all the natural oils your scalp produces, your body freaks out and produces more to compensate, creating a vicious cycle that ends with you shampooing constantly to battle the greasy feeling that your body is creating to compensate for the shampoo you're using.... ad infinitum. So by shaving my head and ceasing shampoo and conditioner use, I broke that cycle, and my hair has never been healthier! BUT.

As it happens, when your hair is short and you're not shampooing, the oil buildup doesn't have anywhere to go. If you have long hair, you can brush it and re-distribute the oils to keep the follicle healthy; short hair, not so much. So I was looking for a natural shampoo alternative to cut the accumulation without restarting the shampoo cycle. And then, I read this article: "Egg hair wash – a cracking alternative to shampoo," from Cosmo UK, which interested me in the idea of washing my hair with an egg.

AN EGG? Yes, really! From the Cosmo article: "Eggs work as a cleaning agent because of the lecithin they contain, and it can produce healthier tresses due to their high volume of protein. Essentially an egg is nature's two in one shampoo and conditioner." I was intrigued, but not totally convinced. So I kept looking.

Hair Buddha reassured me that "[e]gg is a very good hair cleanser. Hard to believe? It’s science! The egg yolk contains lecithin, which is an emulsifier. It works to emulsify the oil with water, which is then rinsed out. So basically egg cuts through the grease and dirt and will make your hair squeaky clean." So at this point I was feeling pretty good about this. And my hair wasn't getting better. No worse, but not better. So I decided to give it a go.

It wasn't difficult to do; I just cracked and scrambled a single egg, and added a little lemon juice, which Hair Buddha says "removes build-up, plus adds shine to your hair." I really only needed the one, because my hair is so short; if you have chin-length hair or longer, you'll need at least two.Then came the gross part.

I stepped into the shower, and gently slopped some of the egg-and-lemon into my hand. I applied it directly to my dry, dirty hair, which is supposed to "help emulsify the oils better and get your hair really clean." The feeling of runny egg in my hand was way worse than it felt on my scalp, I will say. Once it was in my hair, it wasn't too bad; it was kind of like runny conditioner, mostly. It dripped everywhere, though, so I was glad I was already in the tub! I wouldn't recommend doing it anywhere else.

I left it in for the proscribed five-to-ten minutes, and began rinsing once it was mostly dry. My hair, which was saturated, got a little crunchy towards the end of that step. And when it can time to rinse, I use the coldest water I could stand, actually dunking my head beneath the faucet instead of doing a full-body spray. You are required to use cold water for the rinse, not only because cold water is better for hair but also, if you heat up the raw egg on your head too much, you'll cook it. I have zero interest in pulling scrambled egg out of my hair, thanks!

After I was thoroughly rinsed of egg, I went ahead with my usual shower routine, just giving my hair a little more of a scrub with my hands (still no shampoo or conditioner). When I got out of the shower, I was amazed—my hair was smooth and shiny, without the slightly greasy texture I was nearly accustomed to! It wasn't dry or squeaky in the overly-clean, stripped-down way I was trying to avoid, it was just clean. I loved it!

So in this case, the internet was right. Washing my hair with an egg was a great decision! I can't use it more than once a fortnight, however; egg washes are protein treatments, and if you use them too often, the protein builds up and gets gross. So once every two weeks, I'll be cracking an egg and getting yolk everywhere, because eggs are an awesome hair treatment.

Thanks, internet! My shampoo-free lifestyle is saved.

Have you ever tried an egg treatment? Think you might try one now? Come chat on twitter @pistolproof or in the comments below and let me know!