An old relative of mine had a disability and was totally blind. She never washed her hair as in shower, shampoo or over a sink or anything. She was about 87 when she died and had waistlength thick wavy hair which she combed and brushed everyday. And on occasion, she would let me brush it, when I was just a youngun. When she was bathed, once a week she would allow someone to wipe her scalp down with a soapy face coth, and then wipe it with a rinsing cloth but because she suffered from vertigo, which means she was constantly losing her balance and had a very bad fear of falling, she could not bend forward or lean backward without falling over and being frail it would have broken her bones. Every day in the morning first thing she would sponge bath from head to foot by herself sitting on the edge of her bed as you had to bring her water and soap and cloth to her and place it so that she could "arrange herself". She had been in this state for about 50 years. (blind). Her hair was gleaming silver in color from root to end and about a 2ab. (part Cherokee)with thick thick rippling waves. She did not use any products on her hair at all. I guess the natural oils just took over. She was dark toffee colored, her face was barely lined and her silver hair was absolutely striking. Her hair never knotted or tangled and she definitely did not look mangy nor did she have dandruff, nor did she ever have her hair trimmed. Just wore it in a crown or 2 braids everyday. She would brush it thorughly from root to tip every single day and rebraid it. Her hair was not greasy nor did it leave my hands black. She smelled like lye soap. See back in her time, her people did not use store bought shampoos and conditioners and she had a lot of the native ways and so herbs and things were a part of the cleansing process. Plus, Homemade lye soap was the order of the day. Also she had been known as a real beauty and would tell me that when she would ride in the wagon with her daddy as a young girl, folks would say there goes the prettiest girl in Oklahoma but that she was a good woman and did not tolerate any nonsense or pay the men no mind. She had been widowed and was cared for by the family. She said once she got ill and went blind, her hair was shorter than when she was a young woman. So I try not to be too judgemental and I do not judge everything by the European standards or by the new found standards of a lot of our people who did not not use to shampoo frequently in this country either. Now this poor ole soul did not have a choice, but I do not think I could go longer than 3 months max for the cause of long hair but I have not tried that as yet. Bonjour
That is so nasty! 
) I noticed that my hair would STINK!! 
So if my hair stunk at just waiting 6-8 weeks without washing my hair, I can only imagine what that woman's hair smelled like after not washing for a whole YEAR! 
