Scalp-only washing!

[vpatt]

I think I'm going to give this a try. My ends have become dry and split and I'm hoping less washing will help. I hope my hair is long enough for it to work. I did try it when I first joined here and I think I made it work somewhat....so I expect it to work now that I have more length.

[vpatt]

So I tried this just now. Since my hair is only at 29.5" I didn't try putting it down my back. I pulled my hair up above my head and wrapped the ends in one hand. With the other hand I used the sprayer to wet my scalp and then squirted my diluted shampoo on my scalp, rinsed and wrapped it in a towel. It is still wet so I won't know for sure how well it worked until it dries. It went well as far as keeping the ends dry, but I'm wondering if I got the shampoo rinsed out completely. Holding up my hair was a bit hard on the shoulder. If it cleaned my hair satisfactorily then I will check out youtube for a better way to deal with the length.

So....
It seems that my hair is clean and seems the same as a regular wash. I was concerned I may not have rinsed the shampoo out properly but it seems fine. Possibly the length and ends aren't quite as soft as they would be with a full shampoo. But I think once or twice a month will be fine for the length and hopefully help prevent drying out the ends. I do oil or use conditioner on the ends occasionally.

[CoveredByLove]

This technique was recommended to me when my hair was shorter (about BSL), due to my oily/problematic scalp needing almost daily shampoo but my hair needing co washing. I just didn’t have quite enough length at the time to do this successfully. I’m now at hip length and have tried this for the last couple days successfully. I’m pretty excited! Right now, I’m just holding my hair out of the way while I shampoo and rinse my scalp (I might try bagging it), then I wet the whole length and co wash it. My hair and scalp are both happy.

[Larki]

Because I have blunt bangs, this is the only way I can stretch washes successfully. I keep a bottle of shampoo by my sink. I usually use dry shampoo the night after wash day, then scalp only wash the next day - this way I can get away with only fully washing my hair twice a week. Because my hair is blonde, it shows grease very easily (it gets darker and super stringy along the crown, even when up).

[HaMalka]

I have started doing this recently, for the last two washes but life made that 5 weeks instead of two weeks like usual. The first time I tried just shampooing normally on my scalp and keeping the ends in a plastic bag secured by a ponytail. The second time I washed my scalp with diluted shampoo and used a rubber band to tie off the plastic bag. The rubber band worked much better at keeping my hair dry then the ponytail. I will continue trying it for a few more washes hopefully back on my regular schedule before deciding whether I like it or not. It is definitely much quicker than my usual wash.

[CopperButterfly]

As someone whose scalp needs daily washing, I very much want to try this, just to save on drying time of nothing else.

[Ophidian]

I love scalp-only washing, but I don't do my whole scalp. My problem area that likes more frequent washes is around my hairline and the front of my crown, so I am able to get to all of that by doing a loose twist with the front section of my hair (like I'm doing a high half-up), clipping it loosely so it "poofs" up, and then securing the rest of my hair in a braid or bun at the nape. When I lean over the sink or tub to wash, I am able to reach everything I need to even though my hair isn't long enough for a proper scalp-only wash the way many do it. I started doing it this way after watching Haartraum's video on how she washed her hair and tweaked it to my purposes .

Also hi vpatt

[peachyleshy]

I've been doing scalp washes for may be a year now. It really does save a lot of time. I've had problems with it however ... sometimes getting the rest of my hair wet (which defeats the purpose), or just not getting my scalp clean enough. Not getting it clean enough is an issue because I have dandruff and also try to stretch washes. I have found that just rolling all my hair up in a bun while I hold it in one hand and wash with the other works the best. This way it is held up and away from the water and I can hold it loosely enough to reach and scrub all of my scalp. Doing it every other wash is the most I think I should do... unless I end up washing more frequently than every four days. And I can tell if I go longer than that the rest of my hair doesn't feel as nice - which makes sense, I'm sure if I wore the same shirt for two weeks without washing it would start to feel grimy!

[MusicalSpoons]

I've been scalp washing for, ooh, maybe a year now? It took some adjusting and tweaking, and my biggest problem was getting the scalp clean enough without being too rough with the hair and without getting more hair at than I wanted. I finally figured out that I can do a 'round-the-hairline' wash with a loose bun, using an applicator bottle of diluted shampoo straight onto dry hair, then rinsing out gently with a jug or hand-held shower head. For a more thorough scalp wash I can hold the bun / braid / loose lengths in my hand, adjusting the tension as I need to in order to get the whole scalp clean, but that's really hard on my arm/shoulder and also ends up letting my fragile top/outermost part of the hair get tangled. I almost feel I may as well do a full wash instead of a thorough scalp wash because it's gentler on my hair, less exhausting for me, and actually trying to avoid getting too much wet when I do a thorough scalp wash is actually almost as time-consuming as a full wash! Drying time is not an issue for me as it air-dries overnight whichever way I wash.

A 'round-the-hairline' wash works well if I do it usually every other day (no dry shampoo) and I'll do a full wash on average once a week, though could be 6 or 8 days depending on what I'm doing and how well I'm feeling. My lengths are pretty happy with that now that I include rinse-out oil in my full wash, and a full wash now feels a bit like a treat instead of a chore

[FaerieKitty]

I've not heard of this before. My hair is not quite MBL so might be too short but tomorrow is wash day, so may attempt this anyway. Sounds really appealing.