Should I be washing my hair more?

[Arwenlily]

I have been loving what washing less has been doing to my hair. I have been washing my hair twice a week now and my hair is feeling smoother and overall less frizzy. However, I'm not sure if washing less is good for my scalp. I have always had dandruff (not sure why) but it has been so much worse since I have started washing less. My scalp is very itchy and has white flakes all over, mostly from no wash day 3 and on. The flakes aren't noticeable to others but when I separate my hair and look closely it is visible. Also since I have been washing less I really think I have been shedding more hairs ...

Should I be washing my hair more frequently?

In addition, I'm worried it is affecting my hair growth as well. It didn't grow at all this month.

[ravenreed]

Switch to washing more and see if it helps. Not everyone benefits by stretching washes. My hair gets really dry if I go more than three days.

[Drosmand7]

Are you using any dry shampoos? or just not washing? What about oiling, what's your oiling schedule like??

[ARG]

Stretching washes isn't for everyone, and I know people with seborrheic dermatitis definitely benefit from washing more often.
If your scalp is telling you it needs a washing a bit more often, do it! You can try scalp only washes, which will help protect your length.

As to the lack of growth hair goes in phases where it will grow tons, or not at all.

[PiXiEmandy]

I can not go more than two days without washing ,try going down too two and see how that does and try washing your scalp and leaving the conditioner to the length.:knit:

[Arwenlily]

Are you using any dry shampoos? or just not washing? What about oiling, what's your oiling schedule like??

I don't use dry shampoo. I usually just don't wash for 3 days or so and then I spray my hair throughout on day four and add a little leave in conditioner. On day 5 I wash with eco sevi pumpkin seed shampoo followed by an ACV rinse. Afterwards I comb my hair, apply a little cone-free leave in conditioner and a little of coconut/olive oil mix. I don't really "oil" because I don't think my shampoo needs a prepoo because of how gentle it is. I may be mistaken though. I only apply a little oil after washing, rewetting, or to tame frizz. Maybe I'm doing something wrong...

[Arwenlily]

PiXiEmandy What happens to your hair if you don't wash enough?

[crystalkiss]

1. Your hair is GORGEOUS. *envy*
2. My scalp gets oily and disgusting and full of dandruff if I don't wash it often enough, so I do scalp-only washes every other day to every day :) I tried stretching washes and it didn't work and my hair never adjusted; it's not for everyone!

[Stormynights]

I washed my hair every day for most of my life. I started skipping a day and then every third day. I worked my way up to going a week between washes. I have no problems now but the first time I went 3 days I scratched my head until it bled. My hair is better now that I am stretching washes.

[Arwenlily]

crystalkiss Awe thank you :) You just made my night. When you do scalp only washes do you wet all of your hair and then just shampoo the scalp?
Stormynights I wish that would happen to me. How long did it take to get better?

[PiXiEmandy]

It gets supper puffy and curly and tangled any chance you have a cure?

[Stormynights]

It took a while. I did 2 days until it got easy then 3 days until that was easy then 4 then 5 and on to a week. It wasn't a quick process at all.

[Dreams_in_Pink]

I think you should try exfoliating your scalp. In my experience, having scalp with buildup (flakes, gunk etc.) increases the shedding. You can use sugar mixed with water, apply it to problem areas and massage it in then rinse.

[Panth]

How about actually getting your scalp condition diagnosed and treated? A flaky, itchy scalp can be a symptom of many different scalp conditions and the treatments for some will make other conditions worse, so correct diagnosis is critical. Hair growth is never going to be optimal if the scalp is not healthy.

[chen bao jun]

You should see a dermatologist. You might have something like seborrheic dermatitis.
I could recommend oiling your scalp a little if its really dry, but I would check first that its not something a dr can help you fix.

[Arwenlily]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I am planning to see a dermatologist but wanted to see what you all thought too because you guys know so much :o I may have seborrheic dermatitis because my scalp gets worse the longer I go without washing. I read somewhere that this may be because (warning: gross) the fungus on the scalp is feeding off the sebum, so the more oil that is there the worse it will get.

PiXiEmandy I don't necessarily have a cure per say because that happens to me sometimes as well. But I have recently gotten the advice to rewet my hair when that happens with a spray bottle and then apply a little conditioner. That has totally worked for me.

Dreams_in_Pink Thank you for the recommendation! I was actually thinking about trying this the other day, maybe I will give it a shot.

[HairFaerie]

I have the same problem when I go three days without washing. I can only do a maximum of two days, then I wash. If I go longer, it seems my hair follicles get clogged and I shed a lot more than usual. I noticed that there is a large, white bulb at the end of the follicles on those shed hairs. (Larger than usual). I also notice less growth. I agree that it isn't for everyone.

[Arwenlily]

That is exactly what happens to me too. Not all the time, but sometimes the shed hairs have a large white bulb at the end ... looks gross to me. It looks like I'm going to have to wash more frequently but I think that will be fine because my shampoo is very gentle.

[HairFaerie]

Just experiment and find out what your hair likes! You will find a nice routine that you and your hair will love! :)

[PiXiEmandy]

Arwenlily thank you