How often is too often when washing hair?

[Evening]

Hi everyone,

being new here and knowing nothing, I wanted to ask for a bit of an opinion about a hair thing that's been bugging me a little lately.
Basically now that I'm working, I obviously have to look, you know, reasonable.
Because I have curly hair, I need to maintain it, and I can get maybe 2 days (and rarely 3) out of it if I put it up at night, before the wrath of curly haired satan bares its evil upon me. The only way I can get it to look good is by washing it and putting mousse in it, then allowing it to air dry.
But doing this makes me feel like I'm destroying my hair. My routine is basically washing with a volumising shampoo and conditioner, and then using a henna wax treatment. Then I put in mousse as I said, and let it dry overnight. I never blowdry, and I very rarely straighten it- maybe a few times a year. But I do wash my hair anywhere from every day to every 3 days (though it's most often every second to third day).
Can my hair cope with this much washing? Am I being paranoid?. Doing it that often means I dont have to brush it so much, it doesnt get so tangled so I can just comb it when I put the treatment in. But the fact I need to use products so often to maintain it bugs me. I've also recently discovered it's apparently possible to add bi carb soda to shampoo to get a lot of product build up out. I tried it once the other day with no ill effects, and got 2 compliments the next day at work. Does anyone have experience/advice on this?

[XcaliburGirl]

You are going to get different answers on this question, I suspect.

I wash daily, because my scalp tends to rebel if I try to stretch washes. Plus I just like my wash routine. I've learned that my hair can handle it. For others, that's way too often.

So I really think it depends. If you think that your current routine is working for you and your hair seems fine, don't feel guilty about it. But, you can also try experimenting with stretching washes when you have some days off work.

[Johannah]

Personally, 2 or 3 days is fine, I guess. Just figure out what your hair wants. Try to stretch washes. Does it work and you like it? great. If it doesn't work, keep it this way. If your hair can handle this, there's no problem!

[Evening]

I just hear so much about washing too often and what it can do to hair, but then I hear contradicting things. I did just wash it with bi carb and shampoo and then the henna treatment, and it doesnt feel bad at all. But I use so much product I feel like I'm doing damage I dont realise.

[Johannah]

I consider 'washing too often' as everyday. But like caliburgurl just said, it's personal. If you are really worried you can try to CO in between. You don't use cones and SLS when you wash your hair with this method, so it might give you a 'safer' feeling. :o

[bunnylake]

I wash my hair every day and I grew it to my butt and never noticed any damage at all from daily washing.
When it comes to hair, just do what makes it feel and look the way you want it to and don't worry about it. :)

[G1ll]

I think it depends on a lot of things.
First of all, it depends on your scalp and what your scalp likes. Not everyone can stretch washes.
Second of all, it depends on the shampoo you're using. If the shampoo you're using makes your scalp dry or irritated, you could try stretching or even switching to a different shampoo.

[ravenheather]

I wash every 2 days to keep my shedding to a minimum. I think if your hair isn't drying out then it's fine. If it is try co or a gentler shampoo. Also try making your own flaxseed gel instead of mousse. It's easy and works well.

[Saldana]

I have to wash my hair every other day - not for my hair, or how it looks, but to keep my scalp happy. If you're concerned that your routine might be damaging to your hair, there are a couple things you could try:

- shampoo very gently. I think that maybe sometimes damage from frequent shampooing comes from friction, not shampoo
- Try alternating shampooing days with a 'water-only' rinse days. It will refresh your hair without adding friction.
- if you're concerned about build up, try other curly-girl methods of keeping your curls defined. Aloe vera gel comes to mind (but I'm not a curly, so I'm not sure)
- Maybe make a 'misting spray' to scrunch into your hair to refresh and define your curls

[Firefox7275]

Depends on your hair type, especially porosity and what you as using to cleanse with. Water is damaging (hygral fatigue) but we don't all suffer to the same extent - my colour treated hair is at greater risk.

Baking soda is alkaline so damaging to both skin and hair, a decent clarifying shampoo is likely to be gentler and is specifically formulated to shift highly substantive ingredients.

Not all styling products are damaging and not all build up: depends on ingredients and pH. Avoid drying alcohols, salts (Epsom/ sea), many silicones, polyquats, waxes and butters.

Try not to comb mousses or gels in, only do so when hair is coated in conditioner or something with a lot of slip. Wet hair is weak/ vulnerable and stylers tend to be 'grabby'. A surprising amount of frizz control and curl definition can be achieved simply with a creamy leave in conditioner - many wavies and curlies use stylers only to hold what had already been created.

[Lostsoule77]

I think this is something that's different for everyone. You need to consider your hair and your scalp when stretching washes. I wash weekly, but it took me a couple years to stretch to that and I did it in steps. You mention that you have curly hair. Have you looked into the curly girl method? You will find tons of things there to try and you will be amazed at how well it works. You don't have to follow everything. Just pick and choose what works well for you, both hair and schedule wise. :)

[ositarosita]

I am a CO washer myself (conditioner only washing) and I wash anywhere from DAILY to weekly. It really all depends on your hair and scalp needs. What works for one person might not work for another. So as we say here, if it works for you don't worry about it.

[lapushka]

Washing it every 2 to 3 days isn't overkill. There's a girl on YT with curly hair that used to wash her hair every day (now she modified it to once every two days). Her channel is here and she has a few curly hair videos on there:
http://www.youtube.com/user/thesparkleicious
(She also uses mousse.)

[jacqueline101]

I agree it is a personal thing. You've to decide when you need to wash your hair. I'd say in general too often would be when your hair is dried out or showing water fatigue. As some posters have mentioned on other threads if you have a constant greasy scalp. If your scalp is always greasy it's trying to replenish what you've stripped away when you were shampooing.

[Aderyn]

As noted before several times, I would recommend reading up on the curly girl method.

Some people's hair can handle being washed every day whereas for someone else it may be more damaging, just a personal thing. If you are concerned about washing so often you could try diluting your shampoo to help lessen that.

[ravenreed]

I wash every other day without a problem, but I CO. Because of this I avoid silicones so I won't get build up. I would be careful with the baking soda. Some people can use it without a problem, but I find that it is very drying and gives me scalp flakies. I only use it when I really, really need to clarify.

[Evening]

Thanks everyone,

I tried the baking soda after reading a little about it because I've never clarified in my life, I'd heard of clarifying but never knew what it even was. I did end up with a lot of product build up, if I scratched my head I could get some product under my nails even if I was sure I washed it properly. The baking soda has caused no problem at all that I'm aware of, and I used the henna treatment straight after because I was worried about drying (I know henna itself can by drying but this treatment isn't).


If washing at the frequency I'm doing so doesn't cause the issues I was worried about, at least for me, I may continue to keep things as they are. I have the routine I have because I use the volumising products and it does volumise well. I have looked at the CG method before, and I have tried flax seed gel.

As long as I keep getting compliments that's a good sign. :)

[jeanniet]

A lot of curlies wash at least every 2-3 days because they lose curl definition as time goes on (that is, they frizz out). If it works for you, continue your routine, but if you're getting too dry consider CO part of the time, using more leave in, etc. And be really cautious with the baking soda. Using a small amount infrequently as a clarifier might not be too bad, but it does tend to have aggregate negative effects. It's also quite abrasive.

[Foxylocks]

Just so long as your hair responds well to frequent washing, that is all that matters. My hair needs to be wet daily and shampooed every other day, and it has never been healthier.