So after a 3 month long awkward phase of no shampoo for me with straight-slightly wavy hair, (oily hair, dandruff, bad smell, hair breakage) I eventually got past, (hair felt silky smooth in every shower despite only using water, no bad smell, healthy, shiny, soft hair after drying, etc), as of 5 days ago, my hair felt incredibly matted and thick in the shower, with no silky feel, and my hair had a lot of knots, feeling dry, and as if I used to much texture powder(thats the best way I can describe it). This has continued into today, and every shower since, was a similar experience if not worse, and after drying, my hair has had a progressively worse smell and feel, and people are pointing out "dandruff". There are areas of dandruff by my hairline that when scratched, go into little dandruff flakes. No reddness or itchiness. I have no idea what to do as using a harsh shampoo would reset all my progress no? Has anyone else experienced this?
UPDATE: My water softener ran out of salt crystals and my water hardness was 220 ppm!! Literal calcification on my skin, nails, and shower appliances. Issue has resolved since and I am back to silky smooth! For those wondering I use no product, remedy, oil, or anything just water in my shower every day. Thank you everyone for your help!