How to Wash Hair Without A Shower or Sink?-Explained!

We’re assuming you’re in a dire condition where you need shampooing. Or maybe you at least need to wash and clean your hair. 

But you don’t have the luxury to take a shower or use the sink right now. So you’re in a desperate situation right now. 

Are you wondering how to wash hair without a shower or sink?

Well, you can wash your hair in your bathtub. If you don’t have one, use a bucket of water to wash the hair. Or go to your gym and wash your hair there. You can also try a shampoo cap in this situation. Or maybe wash the hair in a portable shampoo bowl.

Well, there are lots of options here. We hope that you’d go through each one of them in the next segments. 

Can You Wash Your Hair Without A Shower or Sink?

Well, the first thing we might want to know is if you can wash your hair without a shower or sink. Well, you can do that obviously.

Because when you’re extremely sick and bedridden, you might have to wash your hair in an alternative way. Or your washroom might have been under construction. So you are not able to use the sink or shower.

Whatever the reason is, we wanted to guide you on washing hair. So look into the next segment. You’ll find ways to wash your hair without a shower or sink.

How to Wash Hair Without A Shower or Sink

Mostly all of us wash our hair in the sink or shower. But what if for a time being, you can’t do that. So you’ll need to check on the alternatives.

Wash in The Bathtub

You might not be able to use a shower or sink. But you can use the bathtub if you have one. Just lie on the tub and let your hair get wet. 

Then sit and shampoo the hair. After that, take a mug and pour water from the tub to your head. When the shampoo foam is gone, drain the water and refill the tub.

Wash the hair with just water again. Your hair should finally be clean.

Wash Outside if it’s Winter

Let’s say you’re not bedridden and have issues with the shower or sink. You can always go out to wash your hair if it’s winter. You can just sit at the porch and do so. Because in winter, you don’t have to worry about cleaning the water. The water would most likely freeze. 

Take a pipe connected to the nearest tap on the porch. Then sit on the edge of the porch facing inside. This way, your hair will be outside of the porch. Now wrap your neck, shoulder, and back with plastic. You can clip the plastic around your neck.

The reason behind putting the plastic is, it’ll let the water pass to the ground. So you won’t have to bother with water messing up your porch.

Now take the pipe and hold it above your head. Once the hair is all wet, you can shampoo it. Wash it out with the pipe water again.

See if any water has spilled on the porch. If yes, then simply wipe it and don’t bother with the water that’s outside. Because that will freeze anyway. 

Shampooing in winter will minimize the frizzy hair on your head

Use Gym Washroom

We all know that the gym has shower options. So if you can’t take a shower at home, you can wash your hair in your gym. 

From our knowledge, gym showers provide shower equipment as well. So it shouldn’t be a hassle for you to wash your hair there. If you don’t feel like using the gym shampoo, you can bring your own. So that you can wash your hair without damaging your hair.

Use Pool Shower

Now your shower or sink but be out of work. But may have a pool shower system. By that, we mean the shower near the pool area. So you can use that shower to wash your hair. 

But never try to wash your hair in the pool. Because pool water contains chlorine which has many side effects. It makes the hair super dry and sticky.

So it’s better to avoid that. But a pool shower is a good option. 

Make Use of A Washcloth

Well, you can wash your hair with a washcloth as well. For that, just wet the washcloth fully. Then put it on your hair and scalp to make them wet. But you have to repeat doing it several times to make all the hair wet.

Once you’re satisfied, take a dry towel to wipe your hair.

Try Using A Bucket

Let’s assume you’re bedridden. That means you can’t go to the shower to wash your hair. But you need to wash your hair. So you can take a bucket and place it on the floor. Make sure that the height of the bucket reaches up to the edge of the bed.

Take the plastic and place it on the edge. You need to lie down and put your hair on the plastic. The other end of the plastic should be on the bucket. This method will require someone. Ask them to pour water on your hair from the bucket.

Wash your hair with water or use shampoo as well. If you want to shampoo,  you’ll have to change the bucket water. Pour the clean water to get rid of any shampoo residue.

Use A Shampoo Cap

Well, we often go camping or outside. The chances of taking a shower can be minimal. In that case, if you need to wash your hair, you can use shampoo caps.

Well, the shampoo cap comes with a packet. It will have several caps inside.  It looks like a shower cap. You just have to warm up the packet for 20 seconds at most. You can do this by placing it near a campfire. If you’re using it at home, place it near the stove for 20 seconds. This should warm it up.

shampoo cap
 Source: phelans.ie

Now open the packet and take one cap out. Then just like you wear a shower cap, wear the shampoo cap. Make sure that all of your hair fits are inside of it. Then start massaging your head while having the cap on.

You need to massage the hair based on your hair length. So here’s a table for that.

Hair lengthMassaging time
Small 3 minutes
Medium 5 minutes
Long 10 minutes

After massaging, throw out the cap. Dry your hair using a towel afterward. Because the formula will make your hair wet. But you won’t have to add any water yourself. So drying with a towel would be enough.

Some shower caps have both shampoo and conditioners. Others even use fragrances. We’ve used shampoo caps that could substitute shampoo. So here are our suggestions for you:

no-rinse shampoo cap by cleanlife products

No-Rinse Shampoo Cap by Cleanlife Products

no water rinse free shampoo cap

No Water Rinse Free Shampoo Cap

You can finally get the closest feeling to taking an actual shower. Just trust us!

Carry A Portable Shampoo Bowl

No matter where you go, you can always carry a portable shampoo bowl with you. The shampoo bowl obviously has a bowl, a stand, and a hose. So you can dump the water anywhere with the hose. The stand helps to stabilize it.

The setup manual is given with the bowl. Once you set it up, start with washing the hair.

So you can sit on a chair and put your hair in the bowl. Someone else can wash your hair for you.

When you set up the portable bowl, make sure you have water access. So that you can fill it with water. You’ll need to have a place to dump the used water. The water will pass through the hose of course.

Once you’re done shampooing, dry your hair and portable bowl as well. Keep it until you need to use it again.

What Are The Alternatives to Washing Hair?

Now you might not want to wet your hair but want the hair to be clean. In that case, we have 2 options for you. See which one you prefer most.

Dry Shampoo

Dry shampoo is widely used among people. It only takes 2-3 minutes to clean your hair with it. If you have oily and greasy hair, it can volumize it.

dry shampoo
Source: matrix.com

Just spray the dry shampoo on the hair. Wait for a minute. Now comb and style the hair as you like. 

No-rinse Shampoo

Well, no-rinse shampoo is another type of shampoo. But the difference is, you don’t need to wash it off. But it still manages to give you the exact outcome as regular shampoo. Whether you’re in a camp or bedridden or in space, you can use this shampoo.

The no-rinse shampoo uses minimum ingredients. So you won’t have to worry about product or lint buildup in your head. You won’t also be seeing lint in your hairbrush. Moreover, it’s ph balanced so there’s no chance of scalp irritation as well.

It comes in a shampoo-like bottle. So first, put some in your palm. Then you have to apply it to the scalp and hair. Finally, massage the hair with it. 

Keep massaging for 3-5 minutes straight. Then dry the hair with a towel. Your hair will finally be spotlessly clean.

Well,  you should be done washing your hair without a sink or shower. Hope you had a great time learning it.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is there any other way to wash hair without shampoo?

Yes you can wash your hair with conditioner. A lot of people do that. Conditioner won’t give full cleanse to the hair. But it will keep the hair balanced and healthy.

What can I use instead of the plastic while using a bucket?

Well, you can use a shamp-ease comfort cape. The cape does the same thing as the plastic. It lets water pass. You can also use it while using a portable shampoo bowl.

Where else can I go to wash my hair if my washroom is under work?

Well, you can ask a neighbor to let you use their washroom for a while. Or you can go to a friend’s house. And use their shower instead.

Endnote

Well, we’re at the end of the article. We’ve had a great time explaining how to wash hair without a shower or sink. Hope you liked the ideas.

If you got some other ideas, do share them with us. Mention them in the comment.

Thank you.

Katharyn Riedel

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