To Stretch or Not to Stretch.

[Merlisea]

I'm one of those fine AND thin haired people with POKER straight hair- I'm also plagued by a greasy scalp, and of course the grease saturates my strands very quickly (If I shampoo in the morning, it is visibly greasy by the end of the day). My hair is also blonde and turns darker when wet/greasy and separates showing my scalp, so it becomes fairly obvious and I really don't like the look.

I've been trying many different things to get my hair to grow, but one thing I'm totally stuck on is the no-poo, stretching washes.

I've tried only doing water rinsing/scrubbing multiple times, and even got up to almost two months once, but my hair just looked so limp and greasy I couldn't STAND it anymore. I even tried baby steps by washing it at night instead of in the morning to try to get my hair used to a little extra grease, but to no avail.

What I've wound up doing is washing it every to every other night and then taking baby powder and distributing it on my hair near the scalp (where it is greasy) in the morning. If I skip a day washing, I'll reapply a little bit the next morning wherever it is obviously greasy.

This got me thinking- what's the real benefit of NOT shampooing every day? Is the extra sebum on the scalp good for your hair because it "oils" it? Is it just the less handling- is the avoidance of shampoo the point?

My hair definitely seems to be growing a little more than usual and seems somewhat healthier, but I've changed a variety of things at the same time as trying to stretch the washes (oiling the ends of my damp hair after showering, trimming less but S&Ding more, wearing my hair up-bunning and braiding, switching to low sulfates and no silicone)- so I really have no way of telling if stretching washes is helping me or not.

Basically, my question is: am I completely negating the effects of stretching my washes to every other day/at night by using the baby powder?

Also, as a side note, I seem to be shedding a LOT more (I had virtually no shed before starting my most recent changes- I used Mane n Tail, almost always wore my hair down/pony tail, and shampooed every morning, didn't oil ends), I don't know if this is a common side effect or what could be causing the shedding.

Can someone offer insight?

Thanks!

[goldloli]

While increased shedding can be caused by many things such as diet, health, brand of conditioner, dying etc and i'm not saying this is true in your case... I've found I get shedding from leaving grease on my scalp (stretching washes or oiling). It responds pretty much the same as my skin, any oils, even my own = clogs, acne and/or hairfall. This is one of the many reasons I don't stretch washes beyond 2/3 days and have been unsuccessful at completely going sls free/low poo/co. From what I can tell from thread and article reading, there's a general consensus that if your greasiness is caused by hormones, then stretching washes will not 'reset' the balance.

Due to changing so many things in your routine it's impossible to pin point, so you'll have to stop using each product/method one by one to find the culprit.

I don't think there's much harm in using talc, unless you're one of those extremely worried about cancer people.

Frequent washing lifts and closes the cuticle often making it weaken. Also, use of shampoo, especially high ph shampoo 'wears away' the fatty acids in hair. Then there's all the detangling and restyling manipulation.

Now i'm of the belief that unless you're shooting for super long and have ultra delicate hair, the cuticle lifting and closing thing isnt and issue (please post studies if otherwise). Idk it just seems like one of those tiny ridiculous damage things that average hair growers really don't have to worry about. Idk frequent shampooing would be a bigger worry to me.

My mother and I both have porous hair, she stretches her washes to every 5 days, I stretch mine to every other day. Her hair literally dies out to a crisp and snaps. I feel like I don't know if I should be wetting hair every day to spare dehydration damage or stretching washes to prevent cuticle weakening that may worsen porosity... lol sorry for adding my own confusion to the mix :confused: it's such a first world problem but I think about it a lot.

[goldloli]

I just googled to try find answers to my own problem and found these 2 articles which explain better than I did and without my personal bias :o

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curl-products/is-water-damaging-my-hair

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curl-products/dealing-with-damage-done-to-your-hair-bywater

oh and one more thing, using corn flour gives a nicer finish than talc, it feels softer instead of matted and doesnt give a grey cast.

[anitacs9101]

Have you tried wearing your hair up? I had decided I would say that "I have product/gel/hairspray in my hair" if someone were to ask why my hair looked greasy in an updo. Although I've never actually had to use that excuse. :D

I think it's a combination of your scalp becoming less oily and getting used to having greasy hair that makes stretching washes successful. I can wear my hair down for 3 days after I wash it, but often times by the time wash day comes again a week later my hair is greasy down to about mid neck! When I first started stretching I found this completely impossible to do, and could only bear stretching to about every 5 days and then I would cave in. But I got used to it and now wash once a week, which is where I stopped stretching. Some of my success was definitely my scalp becoming less oily, but a lot, if not most of it was getting used to having greasy hair.

I'd imagine the decrease in handling is the main benefit to stretching washes. Like Goldloli said, though, as long as you don't have really delicate strands that you're trying to grow crazy long, I think some things are more trouble than they're worth. :rolleyes: Damage is fine as long as you're realistic about how it will affect your goals. Besides that, if you're going to hate your hair in the process, well, that's not really the point, is it? :p

[ravenreed]

I never was able to stretch past every other day as I refuse to run around with greasy looking hair. Also, my hair gets dry if I don't CO it every other day, so I decided that I wouldn't worry about it. My hair is still growing like a weed. I don't think that it is necessary for everyone.

[Quahatundightu]

I also agreethat stretching washes isn't for everyone. I have tried it with many different methods but my scalp gets so irritated by day 4 / 5 that it's far better for me to wash than sit around with an itchy unhappy scalp, not to mention greasy hair. My hair also needs the moisture from washing, otherwise it will get dry, something that sebum/scritching/etc doesn't remedy completely. If you are gentle when you wash (eg not ripping a comb through wet hair) I personally don't think washing every other day makes much difference than washing once every few days or once a week. IMHO it's more important to have a non-irritated scalp and hair that is in a state you enjoy and not too greasy for you.

[spirals]

If I go 4 days my scalp just starts to get oily. If I go 2 days it still feels normal to the touch but can get majorly itchy. So for some of us, washing more frequently does't equal a scalp that freaks out and throws out more oil. Everyone is different. I really should wash every other day because of the itchiness and the fact that the further I get from a wash, the more moisture (water, not oil) my hair itself loses. Washing puts moisture back in. But then, my hairtype seems opposite yours in every way. My point is this: figure out what your hair and scalp need. Stretching is recommended, but if it doesn't help you, why do it? I will say that since I gave up detergent shampoo, my scalp is less oily. I use castile soap and acid rinse. Great for my hair and scalp.

[CurlyMopTop]

I have very fine (on the thin size of medium thickness) hair. I CWC every other day alternating sulfate/no sulfate shampoos. I can stretch washes to every couple of days without much problems but me and my hair are happier doing this most of the time. What I have found though is that my hair can get over conditioned quite easily if I'm not careful and when that happens, I get excess shedding. So if I'm stretching washes, I need to change how much/type of conditioner/amount of oils to keep the moisture/protein balance. My hair doesn't like exclusively CO washing either. I don't know if this helps, but good luck!

[Carolyn]

For some people, like me, there is no benefit to stretching washes. In fact I think stretching washes is detrimemtal to my hair. I am blonde too and I totally understand what you mean about greasies and blonde hair. I think those with darker hair and/or curlier hair can get away with an extra day or two before the nastiness sets in. If I go more than 2 days, or 3 at the most, my ends get very dry and my scalp gets itchy and I get sore spots. I don't know how any of that would be good for my hair and scalp. So I wash every other day (3 at the most). I try to plan my wash schedule for the week. If I think I want to wear my hair down on a certain day I will make sure that that day is a wash day. I cannot wear my hair down unless I've washed it that morning. So don't worry about not being able to stretch your washes and still love your hair. I don't think that have long hair for long hair's sake and not loving it is a good thing. I don't want to be forced to scrape my filthy greasy hair into a slicked back bun for days on end just to be able to say I can go a week without washing. Do whatever makes you and your hair happy whether it's washing daily or washing weekly.

[goldloli]

do you guys re-wet/dampen hair between washes?

I was reading articles last night saying if you have dry hair between washes you should dampen. One website said porous hair can sometimes need rewetting once or twice a day... well what the heck is the point of stretching washes and rewetting, I mean doesn't all this rewetting cause cuticle erosion anyway? it's like there's no answer...

[Magalo]

I stretched my washes to every other day (I was washing everyday for the past 8+ years) and I'm not stretching more. Fine 1a hair look greasy in no time. And I'm certainly not wearing my hair down on the day I don't wash! I know my friend with very thick, curly hair washes like, once a week... if you touch her hair you can feel it is greasy but you can't see it. It's just not for everybody.

[rowie]

For me it took about a year for me to get used to washing my hair strictly once a week and only on Sunday (no reason, but it is the only day I know I'm free), and only using conditioner. I think what freaked me out at the beginning was that I noticed how much I shed hair in actuality (it took a lot of time to get used to this and telling myself that I wasn't going bald with the amount of sheds I saw). I had a lot of flaking in the beginning and now my scalp is getting better and adjusting well, and i'm noticing a difference in the quality of my hair. I definitely think stretching is not for everyone, but I do believe that if someone wants to do this routine then it's worth a shot to see if it will work for you.

[torrilin]

Stretching washes seems to be most helpful for posters who have dry skin or hair that's very vulnerable to mechanical damage (from your other posts, this seems like it fits) or hair that does best with mild washing regimens. Someone with fine, supercurly hair, and dry skin that tends to break out if washed with SLS would be the obvious person to try a very stretched washes routine.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to stretch washes if you find the idea appealing... but you don't have to go as whole hog as you've been doing, for sure. The simplest way to ease into stretching washes is to switch from washing all your hair at once to just doing scalp washes. If you find that works well over the course of a month or three, try diluting your shampoo. Start by using your usual amount, and rubbing it into a lather in your hands, then gently press and massage the lather into your scalp. As you adjust to this method, you'll probably find you need less shampoo. Those two changes should help to reduce the problem of your hair tangling when you wash it, so you'll experience less mechanical damage.

These changes also work as a very simple experiment to see how you do with a milder washing routine. While most shampoos use sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate, and that's a pretty strong detergent... even a very strong detergent can give a gentler effect if you use a fairly small amount for cleaning.

I would generally recommend that if you're going to try skipping washes, rather than going from daily washing to every other day, start by skipping one or two washes a week. Maybe you tend to spend the weekend at home taking care of chores with your hair up anyway, so skipping a wash on Saturday is no big deal. Or you have a regular swimming day each week, and you soak your hair before and use conditioner after to cut down on chlorine damage.

If you're planning to grow your hair past classic length, you may find that washing less often is more convenient. But by less often here I mean "not every single day", not "once a month". But if you're aiming for a more mainstream length like BSL or waist, daily washing can be worked into most routines pretty easily. I also think it's easy to get hung up on meeting some arbitrary standard of what wash means. I use shampoo when I need it. These days, that's around once a week. I use conditioner when I need it, which is every time I get my hair wet. I use leave in conditioner when I need it, which is most of the time. To some folks, that would be a CO (conditioner only) routine, to others it's not. I don't really worry about what someone else would call it, I worry that my scalp isn't itching and I can detangle my hair :).

[Babyfine]

I have baby-fine wavy hair that gets flat very easily. My scalp doesn't get as greasy as it did when I was younger but I still need to shampoo my hair every 2-3 days. A few years ago, I tried stretching my washes to once a week with a sulfate free shampoo and I had patches of cradle cap on my scalp. These days I alternate between a sulfate shampoo(NIoxin) and a good sulfate free shampoo (currently Giovanni,or Aubrey Organics). Non wash days are usually updos. I've had good luck with a dry shampoo-Tressemme.
Or sometimes I just spritz with water. Non wash days where I don't wet my hair are usually updo days. Some people can't stretch washes and I'm one of them. I can go three days after I use the Nioxin, every other day with the sulfate free shampoo.

[Angelica]

Hi, i a f hair here. Poker straight, ultra silky. I have tried not washing my hair too often, and I hate the way it looks. I had to load it with talc or dry shampoo to get rid of the greasy scalp. I have also been thinking of corn flour for a while. I am currently washing every other day. If you are noticing a lot of shed hairs, it could be because those are the hairs that would fall out anyway naturally when you were washing every day. I find this as well, if I stretch my hair to only washing for once a week, say I feel ill or whatever, there is more hair in the sink. But I don't really shed much anyway and it was only when I came on this board that I took notice of shedding at all. Washing every day, hardly any hair shed at all and because of the length anyway it would also make it look like more hair lost. I am finding using the scroo pins (spin pins) much kinder on my hair now. I would love to wear my hair loose. But because it is so ultra fine without body, it doesn't stay nice for long loose.

[ravenreed]

I don't think this is just for blondes. My hair looks greasy easily, and no amount of wearing it up is going to fool anyone. I sometimes go three days with dry shampoo, but I would rather just wash and have nice hair.


For some people, like me, there is no benefit to stretching washes. In fact I think stretching washes is detrimemtal to my hair. I am blonde too and I totally understand what you mean about greasies and blonde hair. I think those with darker hair and/or curlier hair can get away with an extra day or two before the nastiness sets in. If I go more than 2 days, or 3 at the most, my ends get very dry and my scalp gets itchy and I get sore spots. I don't know how any of that would be good for my hair and scalp. So I wash every other day (3 at the most). I try to plan my wash schedule for the week. If I think I want to wear my hair down on a certain day I will make sure that that day is a wash day. I cannot wear my hair down unless I've washed it that morning. So don't worry about not being able to stretch your washes and still love your hair. I don't think that have long hair for long hair's sake and not loving it is a good thing. I don't want to be forced to scrape my filthy greasy hair into a slicked back bun for days on end just to be able to say I can go a week without washing. Do whatever makes you and your hair happy whether it's washing daily or washing weekly.

[ravenreed]

If I wet my scalp without cleansing, it makes it greasier faster. I do sometime spritz my ends before applying a couple of drops of oil, but overall, I find my ends are not dry and my scalp is not oily if I just CO every other day... The dry time is a pain, but other than that, it makes both my scalp and my hair happy. So why fix what isn't broken?

FWIW- I am not one that finds wetting my hair does it any damage. Sometimes I think people get too worked about what might or might not cause damage.


do you guys re-wet/dampen hair between washes?

I was reading articles last night saying if you have dry hair between washes you should dampen. One website said porous hair can sometimes need rewetting once or twice a day... well what the heck is the point of stretching washes and rewetting, I mean doesn't all this rewetting cause cuticle erosion anyway? it's like there's no answer...

[starlamelissa]

I wash every other day, with sulfate coney shampoo, coney condish, cuz that is what feels best. Too frequently for me would be each day, because honestly it's probably still a little damp from the last wash. Any more then every other day and I get dry ends and an itchy painful scalp.

I think washing everyday is fine if your hair feels better that way. My mother is a finey, and she washes every morning with volumizing shampoo and a pea size drop of conditioner. And her hair grows just as fast as my hair.

[starlamelissa]

If I have to choose between healthy scalp and healthy hair, my scalp will ALWAYS win. I am not gonna walk around all itchy and oily, even if the result knee length mermaid hair.

(I haz butt crack length mermaid hair btw)

[sisi33]

If I have to choose between healthy scalp and healthy hair, my scalp will ALWAYS win. I am not gonna walk around all itchy and oily, even if the result knee length mermaid hair.

(I haz butt crack length mermaid hair btw)

*nods head* Yep, this! Do what feels right for you! No one has the same hair, there will always be something that it prefers, and washing frequently might be what it likes!

[dwell_in_safety]

I think the only reason stretching washes works for me is that A) I have low porosity, medium-to-coarse hair; B) my scalp does indeed learn to produce less sebum as I stretch washes; and C) I always wear my hair up, so it both doesn't dirty as qckly and isn't at all noticeable to others or me when it does, provided that it is up in a bun or tucked braid. It's not for everybody, and I do always do a deep oiling before every wash, on damp hair to seal in moisture. I am currently up to 11 days between washes with the eventual goal of washing every two weeks, adding a day between washes every three months after I trim and chelate.

[dwell_in_safety]

Oh, and I should probably add that I'm stretching washes out of laziness, not because I noticed any benefit to my hair. Haha.

[ravenreed]

Yep, my scalp and my hair have completely different needs. It is really, really annoying. However, my scalp punishes me with flakes and itchies and excess shedding when it is unhappy. It wins.


If I have to choose between healthy scalp and healthy hair, my scalp will ALWAYS win. I am not gonna walk around all itchy and oily, even if the result knee length mermaid hair.

(I haz butt crack length mermaid hair btw)

[Merlisea]

Thank you so much for all the advice! It looks like stretching the washes doesn't seem to have the benefit (for me) that makes it worth all the other pains.

I'm desperate to have long hair, but I don't want to go around hating the way my hair looks every day, because at the end of the day I'm growing my hair out to make myself happy! Gentle combing and wearing my hair up will have to do for now!

I also might try switching out my baby powder with some of the other things that were suggested if I do decide to continue night washes or occasionally stretching!

[QMacrocarpa]

Remember, you have no obligation to stick with a regimen, no matter how "LHC-approved" it may be, if it doesn't work for you! Aiming to grow long hair doesn't suddenly make suffering for your hair a duty. I would definitely quit trying to stretch if it caused me the grief you describe (and I'm a confirmed wash-stretcher).
:flower:

[door72067]

I say "wash when your hair needs it"

which may mean every day sometimes and then maybe every 4 days other times

when it's warmer I def wash more often because I am poking about in the garden or swimming and I just feel better if I wash but in winter I can go about 5 days or so without washing

as for wetting in between, I've done that at times as well, esp when i want to accentuate my curls

do what works for you

[see_turtle]

I wash 6 days out of 7 because my fine hair gets gross quick otherwise.

[anitacs9101]

For some people, like me, there is no benefit to stretching washes. In fact I think stretching washes is detrimemtal to my hair. I am blonde too and I totally understand what you mean about greasies and blonde hair. I think those with darker hair and/or curlier hair can get away with an extra day or two before the nastiness sets in. If I go more than 2 days, or 3 at the most, my ends get very dry and my scalp gets itchy and I get sore spots. I don't know how any of that would be good for my hair and scalp. So I wash every other day (3 at the most). I try to plan my wash schedule for the week. If I think I want to wear my hair down on a certain day I will make sure that that day is a wash day. I cannot wear my hair down unless I've washed it that morning. So don't worry about not being able to stretch your washes and still love your hair. I don't think that have long hair for long hair's sake and not loving it is a good thing. I don't want to be forced to scrape my filthy greasy hair into a slicked back bun for days on end just to be able to say I can go a week without washing. Do whatever makes you and your hair happy whether it's washing daily or washing weekly.

I agree. I would wash my hair more often but my job requires I wear my hair up anyway, plus I'm lazy and I feel like it's such a waste to have clean hair and just stick it up in a bun :p

[Immera]

I failed at stretching washes as well. I also failed at switching to no sulfate shampoo. If I ever have a long period where I don't have to go out in public, maybe I might give it a shot again, but I have to look at least a bit professional for work. And I don't live in a region where scarves are acceptable work dress.

I think what I have learned here is there are no hard rules. Do what works for you. That's it.

[Sharysa]

I can only go three days/twice weekly without washing my hair. Granted, the actual grease shows up a lot less on coarse soft-black hair, but it still goes stick straight and my scalp itches like mad. I balance the washing out by oiling my hair and keeping it braided most of the time, and I feel perfectly fine.

If you can't stretch washes very far, then by all means wash as often as you need to.

[meteor]

I am a big proponent of listening to your own hair and scalp and washing your hair as often as your scalp needs it.
You do it for your scalp, to cleanse it and help it be healthy and nourishing for your hair.
If you get dirty scalp, itchies, flakes due to stretching washes... what's the point and what are you trying to achieve?
If your hair and scalp is no worse from stretching washes, then stretch them (it will save you time and detangling effort at least!), but if it's getting worse, I suggest taking your results at face value, not overthinking it too much and doing what your scalp and hair seems to ask.

From my own experience: when stretching washes was ultimately good for me, I saw results right away and they were quite obvious (shinier hair, less tangling, healthier scalp, more hair compliments). But when I pushed stretching washes too much, hoping to get over some "greasiness period" and then "make my scalp adjust", it just didn't work well and I didn't like the way my hair and scalp looked and felt.
It's a BALANCE, it's not "the less you wash the better". It's more: "wash as much as needed, but not more than that".