Question(s) about once a week washing.

[ProverbsGirl]

I have been stretching my washes over the last year. I went from once or twice daily washing to now twice a week.
My goal is to eventually stretch to once a week or longer. My hair (I hhaven't had it typed yet.) Is fine/thin but I have a good amount of it. It has a bit of wave to it...
Anyways..onto the question.

When you say that you are only washing once a week...do you mean you only shampoo once a week..or you only get your hair wet once a week?
I'm wanting to start stretching past three days...and move on to 5-7..but a nice rinse half way through would be nice for now. Is that a bad idea?

Sorry, I'm still finding my way through all of this.
Thanks in advance for the replies!

[Ashflower89]

I'm curious about this too. I have to shower daily due to a dirty factory job, so my hair gets wet daily too, but I only actually wash it with shampoo once every 3 days or so. I don't know if simply wetting/rinsing hair does anything to it or not.

[pocketsmall]

My hair type sounds very similar to how you described your own, ProverbsGirl.

I wash once a week (sometimes I go up to 10 days if I am on break from school). I feel like I could stretch to twice a month if I put some effort in and got more creative with up-dos. When I say I only wash once a week, I mean I shampoo and condition once a week. I do let some water trickle on the very front part of my scalp some days (usually the two days a week I jog), but not enough to be considered really wetting my hair. When I do this, I wrap the rest of my hair in a shower cap.

[GoldFrappe]

I wash my hair once a week. I only use conditioner. Sometimes shampoo and conditioner if I feel like my hair needs it.

[Kelikea]

I don't understand how to stretch washes. I work out and sweat daily, and also take my dogs for walks on my unpaved road. The unpaved road leads to dust being blown around a lot. I tried to stretch over the summer, as I was not working and didn't have to be "presentable" if it didn't work out well. My scalp got greasy, which led to my face being greasy and breaking out. It was not fun. I also was swimming, so not sure how that factors into the "not washing" if its getting wet every other day or so. My scalp just becomes greasy and irritated if I don't rinse or CO every other day or every 2 days. If I don't work out or walk on the dusty road, stretching the washes seems more doable. Am I missing something?

[kaydana]

I don't see the point in getting my hair wet if I'm not washing it. I wash my hair when it needs to be washed, and at the minute that happens to be about once a week.

There's no one correct way to treat your hair. If you want to try something (especially something relatively harmless like getting it wet twice a week) try it. It's your hair, do whatever makes you happy.

[Madora]

Years ago, when I washed my hair once a week, it was shampooed, rinsed, then conditioned with Breck conditioner.

The point of shampooing is to cleanse the hair...not just wet it in hopes of removing the dirt.

If you live in a dusty environment or have a job that engenders washing more than once a week, then fine. Just be to condition or use a little bit of oil to keep your hair moisturized.

Brushing your hair daily with a pure boar bristle brush is a great way to help keep it clean...but it doesn't replace shampooing when the hair needs it.

[Johannah]

When I say I wash my hair, I'm talking about shampoo & conditioner (or CO for that matter). I wash once a week because I'm only at home in the weekends (I study in the city). The water in that city is really harsh with a lot of chlorine in it and my hair hates it.

I stretched washes with using some dry shampoo in between and updo's. Unless you benefit from WO-washing, getting your hair wet won't really help I'm afraid. But you can try it! If it doesn't work, you can still use some dry shampoo. :o

[Hiriel]

I normally wash my hair once a week. I usually don't get my hair wet between washes. I put it up in the shower, and while it might get a bit damp (I don't bother with a shower cap), it doesn't get wet. If I get very sweaty, I will rinse my hair with water when I shower, which works perfectly fine if the sweat doesn't have time to dry before you shower, or alternatively just wash it, if I feel it needs it.

[ProverbsGirl]

My hair type sounds very similar to how you described your own, ProverbsGirl.

I wash once a week (sometimes I go up to 10 days if I am on break from school). I feel like I could stretch to twice a month if I put some effort in and got more creative with up-dos. When I say I only wash once a week, I mean I shampoo and condition once a week. I do let some water trickle on the very front part of my scalp some days (usually the two days a week I jog), but not enough to be considered really wetting my hair. When I do this, I wrap the rest of my hair in a shower cap.

I work out frequently as well. Usually when I end up washing it is not because of dirt..but because of oil.
I have been using some dry shampoo, and it helps. I would love to get to the point of only shampooing once a week like you described. :) Knowing we have similar hair types is encouragning. Thanks!

[Long_hair_bear]

Me me! I only wash once a week!

I stretched it slowly when I first started. I started with every other day, then every two, then every 3, etc.

I only get my hair wet AND shampoo once a week, except here and there in the winter when I feel it really needs a moisture treatment. On principle, I only get it wet once a week. I only wash wih a sulfate free shampoo, except for once every two months when I need to clarify. :)

[Flor]

If you shampoo to remove grease, not dirt, then it's likely that wetting hair in between shampooing wouldn't help the matters. Especially if your water is not top quality. I tried water-only or stretching washes with water rinses and it made me want to shampoo asap! If my hair was significantly greasy on water rinse day, it would lead to even greasier-looking roots that would never dry and fluffed up ends. On occasion it would work to break the greasiness a bit, but it seemed completely random.

BUT! A few people did manage to make water-only method work for them, so who knows? Give it a try, see how you get along :)

[jacqueline101]

When I mention shampooing weekly I shampoo rinse and condition. I use other products as listed in my routine. I'm trying to stretch washes so my hair is slightly angry but not too bad. What I mean by angry it's slightly oily and wanting to tangle up.

[Tini'sNewHair]

I'm still in the process of stretching my washes :( So hard. I'm now washing after 4 days but already on day 2 and 3 my hair is greasy enough that i have to put it up, I use both shampoo and conditioner when i wash. I still do ponytails to hide the mess and i really need to change that i cant seem to get any other style right :( so frustrating.

[sarahthegemini]

I'm currently stretching my washes too from every other day to every 3-4 days (or, twice a week) and I'm only wetting my hair on the days that I wash it. For me, the reason I'm stretching is a) laziness but b) to avoid water damage, so wetting my hair in beween would be pointless.

[PrairieRose]

If you shampoo to remove grease, not dirt, then it's likely that wetting hair in between shampooing wouldn't help the matters. Especially if your water is not top quarlity. I tried water-only or stretching washes with water rinses and it made me want to shampoo asap! If my hair was significantly greasy on water rinse day, it would lead to even greasier-looking roots that would never dry and fluffed up ends. On occasion it would work to break the greasiness a bit, but it seemed completely random.

BUT! A few people did manage to make water-only method work for them, so who knows? Give it a try, see how you get along :)
I have also tried to do a WO wash in between shampoo washs. I have had similar results as the above quote. I often felt like my hair looked worse after a WO wash.

[TrapperCreekD]

I wash every 4-5 days, sometimes up to 7 days, depending on how presentable I need to be. For me washing means shampoo & conditioner as I haven't tried CO yet - I throw on a shower cap and don't get it wet between washes. Yay for 5 minute showers!

[AmyBeth]

For years, I washed my hair twice weekly, then when I decided to get serious about growth, I went to once weekly cold turkey. My hair is extremely fine, and I wanted to minimize the mechanical damage washing creates. I do not live or work in a very dirty environment so that is not an issue. My hair is so oily by the third or fourth day, but I wear it up all the time so it's not too obvious. Besides, I have absolutely no shame when it comes to doing what is best for the healthy and growth of my hair. If my hair looks bad, so be it- I know it's healthy.

[HintOfMint]

If you shampoo to remove grease, not dirt, then it's likely that wetting hair in between shampooing wouldn't help the matters. Especially if your water is not top quality. I tried water-only or stretching washes with water rinses and it made me want to shampoo asap! If my hair was significantly greasy on water rinse day, it would lead to even greasier-looking roots that would never dry and fluffed up ends. On occasion it would work to break the greasiness a bit, but it seemed completely random.

BUT! A few people did manage to make water-only method work for them, so who knows? Give it a try, see how you get along :)

Yup. I don't stretch washes but the times I just did a rinse without shampooing/conditioning left my hair feeling pretty terrible. Not remotely clean but somehow drier than before.

[seamonster]

My scalp was too greasy for water only; I can get by with a nice conditioner rinse during the week and shampoo on the week end.

[NymphSpirit]

I've been washing my hair every 7 to 14 days for almost 6 years now, I use CO and only wet it when I wash it. I'm too lazy and I hate how my hair looks and feels when it's clean. I use cornstarch on my fringe if it gets too oily, or my bbb on my roots but that's about it. The best advice I have is to forget about it. If it gets too oily at first, let it. Put it up in a bun or whatever you like and forget it's oily. May be start diluting your shampoo or switch to CO. After I went no poo I started stretching more and more without even noticing. (Consider I'm not really conscious about how often I wash my hair, I only do it when I feel I absolutely need it)

I guess it kinda helps my hair is mostly dry. By the 11th day or so my ends start feeling a bit crunchy. Oiling between washes usually makes them happy though.