It’s funny how this simple question can spur a discussion among women at any gathering. No, this isn’t something for deep thought or pensive self-awareness, but many wonder if the advice put forth by leaders in the industry really holds true.
I have always been an everyday hair-washer, even though I’ve heard and read that you shouldn’t do this. The thought is that daily hair washing actually dries out your hair because it strips your hair’s natural oils. While I can sometimes manage day 2 hair with a ponytail, by day 3 my hair freaks out and those natural oils are not a good thing.
Experts, and friends with gorgeous hair, tell me that you have to train your hair (say what?) to get past that day 3 oil freak-out and eventually your hair will thank you by behaving and looking fabulous for 3 or even 4 days.
Celebrity hairstylist Ken Paves (famous for his working relationship with Jessica Simpson, though he’s a celeb stylist to many) agrees that you shouldn’t wash your hair every day. He says that, “certain hair types and textures only require washing once a week, where others work well washing 2 to 3 times a week” and Nick Arrojo from TLC’s What Not To Wear says, “shampooing three or four times a week is plenty.”
Many hair stylists agree that slightly dirty hair is easier to style and work with too. I remember being flustered when I was asked to come with unwashed hair for my up-do on my wedding day (I washed it the night before, that’s the most I could handle!)
I’m working my way to a 3x per week goal. My tips – style your hair on day one – in my case either with a flat iron or curling iron – so that you’ve got product in your hair and a style. By day two you can take the style and either freshen it up with a product like Joico Instant Refresh Dry Shampoo. Dry shampoo sprays are a lifesaver for day two and day three hair. It controls the oil and leaves hair smelling fresh too!
You can find Joico Instant Refresh Dry Shampoo at select salons across Canada at a SRP of $19.95.
Definitely can’t go more than two days or my hair gets really gross and oily looking.
Ok this is probably going to sound really really gross but… I haven’t washed my hair in awhile…. I have naturally curly hair and it’s very hard to manage. I use to wash my hair every couple days. Now I use baking soda on it and apple cider vinegar as a conditioner. And my hair looks sooo much better then it use too. I use to have to put gels and all sorts of frizz product in it to make it look half decent. Now I use a small small amount of coconut oil and some leave in conditioner and let it air dry. That’s it. This isn’t a routine for everybody but its what works for me 🙂
What exactly is your routine? I’d appreciate knowing and giving it a go. My hair is so frizzy.
I take a small bowl and fill it up with baking soda and make a thick paste by adding water then add it to hair really concentrating on my roots. I only do this a couple times a week. At first it feels kinda weird and hair feels like straw but when you rinse it out your hair feels really soft. I always use either a silicon free conditioner or apple cider vinegar each time I shower. The apple cider vinegar I find the easiest way is to put in a spray bottle and spray it on your hair rather then trying to pour it on cause it goes everywhere and stings if it gets in your eyes. That also makes your hair really really soft.
When I dry my hair I wrap it up in one of my sons towels (the hooded baby towels). I find they aren’t as “rough” as a regular towel and also helps cut down on frizz. Then I add less then a quarter size amount of coconut oil (just normal coconut oil you can get from the grocery store, I found mine in the healthy food section) and a leave in conditioner. Sometimes I’ll use Moroccan oil too. Then just let it air dry. My hair is very thick and about 2 inches past my shoulders and very very curly.
Before doing this I used so much gel and other curly hair products to cut down on frizz and it would still get frizzy on the top and kinda stick up everywheres. But since starting this routine my hair has calmed down a lot.
There’s lots of no shampoo routines out there and it’s a fairly popular method for curly hair. Sorry for such the long post.
No thanks for the long post it’s helpful
^ I’m with Becky. I have an 8 month old, and I find that it’s really hard to motivate myself to wash my hair. When I have a few free minutes, I’m going to grab a coffee, check my email, play a video game- something to unwind. I’m not like, disgusting, I make sure it gets washed every few days.. but it’s not a priority for me right now, and yeah, it probably looks greasy sometimes, but that’s what a hair elastic and a hat are for.
I wash my hair every other day, unless I’ve been working out, in which case I always think a head full of sweat (even dried) is gross, so it gets washed. If I don’t want I rinse at least.
Once every week or two weeks. It may sound gross but my hair is so fine and dry it definitely doesn’t need more. I put grape seed oil on it including trying to get it on the scalp 12 hours before and my hair soaks it up immediately to the point that I need to put more oil on the ends. I was with a sensitive scalp shampoo and conditioner and its clean for days. I also have extremely dehydrated skin (not dry, oily and dehydrated) my scalp isn’t oily at all and my mouth is dry and lips start to chap within an hour
I workout daily and I feel like I have to wash it daily because I figure all the salty sweat on my head can’t be a good thing. Some days I will get lazy and skip a day, but 2 days is my max. I have tried a few different kinds of dry shampoo, but most make my hair look cleaner, but feel dirtier. Cornstarch is pretty good, but I find it hard to comb out due to having curly hair.
I always had to wash my terribly oily hair every day, and was known to sometimes wash twice in a day during the summer. Then I got a perm last summer, and now I find the oils don’t get bad until day 4. Yay! I’m shampooing 2-3 times a week now, and trying to stretch it our as long as possibly for the sake of my scalp.
I wash my hair once a week and then straighten it. My hair is naturally really thick and curly though and even at that one week mark doesn’t look greasy. I used to wash my hair everyday and it was just horribly frizzy and dry so I’ve seen a huge difference since switching to once a week.
I used to wash it everyday but since having my kids, I developed thyroid issues with resulting hair loss 🙁 then very fine hair. Now I only wash it every second day.
I wash my hair every second day. It looks terrible if i go any longer and feels dirty.
I trained my hair a LONG time ago and I can easily go three days without washing my hair four is i put my hair in a ponytail. Honestly my hair is gorgeous (its actually my favorite feature) and I contstantly have peoeple compliment me on it 😀
I used to wash my hair maybe every 2nd or 3rd day, I have very sensitive scalp so too much washing and I get sores.plus I want the natural oils to come out and protect my scalp and hair. but since we moved and we have town water I find my hair getting oilier faster then ever.
I honestly don’t know if I can handle not washing my hair everyday. I hate the oil and I can see it looks oily by day 3. I will give it a shot but it just seems just ewww.
I’ve seen someone go through extreme hair training: She went without washing her hair for more than a month and afterwards she only needed to wash about once a week with minimal shampoo!
I’m not brave enough to try it, especially since it can lead to a lot of break-outs… <:)
Ha! This made me laugh! I get that same feeling after the second day of not washing my hair. It starts to feel gross! By day 2 if I don’t have the time to wash my hair that day, out come the hair elastics and up she goes! I don’t always have the time to wash my hair every single day but I try to MAKE THE TIME to do it every 2 or 3 days at the least. Emails can wait, proper hygiene is way more important! Plus washing my hair for me, is relaxing. So why would I not want to do that as often as I could 😉 PLUS My hair styles a lot better when its clean!!