The ‘no poo’ movement claims that using a product to clean your barnet makes it less healthy. We ask an expert to come clean on the issue

“Shampoo is definitely not a scam,” says Neil Harvey, chair of the Institute of Trichologists.

He is sceptical of the idea, claimed by the “no poo” movement, that hair can wash itself and that using a product to cleanse it makes it less healthy. In fact, he says that the scalp – with its tens of thousands of follicles and sebaceous glands – needs just as much attention (if not more) than other areas of the body.