Does not rinsing out sweat affect hair growth/health?

[Rapunzel_to_be]

Hey everyone!! :)

I've been trying to google and figure out if sweating ( due to f ex workout) will affect hair growth or hair health in any way, but I keep reading different things, so I would like to ask you guys what your experiences and thoughts are on this topic ?

I workout 5 times a week, and of course I sweat, but since its not good to wash the hair so often, I do not wash it after workouts.
I thought about just rinsing it with water, but since I let my hair air dry it seems a bit too much to let it air dry every day, especially during winter, and its not so convenient either.

But if it affect the health of my scalp in any way, or slows down hair growth, I will do it, or if there is another way to get around the problem I'm open for any ideas.:o

[Hairkay]

I sweat a lot in summer but I also rinse my hair out everyday and air dry it so I'm not sure if that makes any difference to hair growth.

[Rapunzel_to_be]

I sweat a lot in summer but I also rinse my hair out everyday and air dry it so I'm not sure if that makes any difference to hair growth.

Oh ok, my logic tells me that it might be better to rinse it out with water everyday, but kind of hoping that I won't have to haha :p

[TatsuOni]

I wash my hair every other week and sweat doesn't affect my hair in any way :)

[Rapunzel_to_be]

I wash my hair every other week and sweat doesn't affect my hair in any way :)

Thank you for sharing your experience :) Your hair looks gorgeous btw !! :heartbeat

[mizukitty]

If you have oily skin/scalp, it would probably benefit you to tie your hair in a high but loose bun and rinse the scalp only with water. I have an oily scalp, and if I let the sweat dry and accumulate it causes my SD to flare up and I notice an increase in shedding. Excess oil isn't great for your scalp. However, if you have a normal/dry scalp, you can get away with doing nothing at all! (Lucky!)

[wo]

Only an anecdote, but I do heavy weightlifting four nights a week, and bodyweight workouts the other three, and I live in the southern US and workout in the garage with no A/C soooo... Lots of sweat! I wash my hair 1-2 times a week and have very happy and quickly growing hair. :)

[sumidha]

When I was running daily, or if I do something very sweaty I'll do a scalp only rinse with water when I rinse off in the shower. It's mainly because I find the feeling of dried sweat on my scalp to be unpleasant though, not because I noticed it negatively affecting my hair in any way. :)

[Nique1202]

The only way it would affect your scalp's health or hair growth is if the sweatiness/greasiness gets to a point where you develop some sort of fungal or bacterial infection (SD, dandruff, etc.) which would irritate the scalp and can cause problems. So long as you don't get itchy or red or flaky, and you don't mind a slightly greasier appearance, you don't have to rinse or wash your hair every time you sweat.

[Rapunzel_to_be]

If you have oily skin/scalp, it would probably benefit you to tie your hair in a high but loose bun and rinse the scalp only with water. I have an oily scalp, and if I let the sweat dry and accumulate it causes my SD to flare up and I notice an increase in shedding. Excess oil isn't great for your scalp. However, if you have a normal/dry scalp, you can get away with doing nothing at all! (Lucky!)


Thank you, that sounds like a great tip, I will definitely try it out. I actually do have an oily scalp, and I noticed that when I reduced my hair washing days to every 3rd day, I started getting dandruff and fungal infection, so I had to go start washing it every other day, which made the dandruff etc go away! So I think this might be the best solution!!:)


Only an anecdote, but I do heavy weightlifting four nights a week, and bodyweight workouts the other three, and I live in the southern US and workout in the garage with no A/C soooo... Lots of sweat! I wash my hair 1-2 times a week and have very happy and quickly growing hair. :)

Oh wow, you're so lucky!! If I washed just 1-2 times plus the sweat from when I workout, I would be walking around looking like someone poured oil all over my head :P


When I was running daily, or if I do something very sweaty I'll do a scalp only rinse with water when I rinse off in the shower. It's mainly because I find the feeling of dried sweat on my scalp to be unpleasant though, not because I noticed it negatively affecting my hair in any way. :)

Ok, good to know:) I think I will start rinsing it off as suggested above by mizukitty :)


The only way it would affect your scalp's health or hair growth is if the sweatiness/greasiness gets to a point where you develop some sort of fungal or bacterial infection (SD, dandruff, etc.) which would irritate the scalp and can cause problems. So long as you don't get itchy or red or flaky, and you don't mind a slightly greasier appearance, you don't have to rinse or wash your hair every time you sweat.

I'm happy to hear that it does not affect hair growth, unless you have the problems you mentioned above, but since my scalp is oily and I have noticed dandruff previously when trying to cut back on washing days, I think I might have to rinse my scalp :)

[lapushka]

I think you'll be fine after work-outs to just leave it. Unless the sweat rolls off of you. Then I'd rinse.

[Arctic]

For me sweat on scalp and skin after exercising causes skin irritation.

[Upside Down]

I never had problems with sweat and irritation. Must be the skintype. If in doubt, rinse :lol:

I second a high bun + scalp only rinse!

[Rapunzel_to_be]

I think you'll be fine after work-outs to just leave it. Unless the sweat rolls off of you. Then I'd rinse.

I guess I should go with the rinsing then :( Cause it does kind of roll off of me haha :p


For me sweat on scalp and skin after exercising causes skin irritation.

Oh that does not sound so pleasant.. I've only experienced my skin feeling a bit dryer, but the only thing it does to my scalp is to make it look and feel greasier ... which is not really my go to look :p


I never had problems with sweat and irritation. Must be the skintype. If in doubt, rinse :lol:

I second a high bun + scalp only rinse!

Yes I think thats the best solution for me! High bun+ scalp only rinse is the way to go !:o

[Anje]

It seems like I get acne on my face if I don't rinse sweat off. (Turns out sodium chloride is rather comedogenic. Who knew?) If you're similarly sensitive, it's probably worth rinsing just to avoid the annoyance of scalp zits, whether or not it affects your growth.

I'm of the opinion that a bit of blowdrying on not-the-hot-setting isn't particularly harmful at least at the roots, and leaving the scalp wet constantly sometimes can cause issues. Otherwise, my hair always dried pretty quickly if I got my fingers in to fluff the roots several times and didn't bun it (though loose-ish braids dried acceptable fast).

[Chromis]

I wash my hair once a week or so and do not rinse it in between. It has not been a problem even with heavy lifting and running workouts and a lot of gardening and hiking. If anything, I think my hair must quite like the sweat since it is quite soft and shiny after backpacking trips! In the middle of summer I sometimes wash twice a week, my scalp lets me know, but in the winter I can go for two weeks very easily and I would say I average a week and a half.

[Dark40]

I think sweat does affect the hair growth and health of your hair. If I workout 5 times a week I have shampoo my hair that many times a week. I've heard many years ago back in the 90s that sweat and prespiration can cause hair loss, and that if you workout the sweat should cleaned from the hair and scalp. Because, sweat isn't nothing but salt. But if you shall do it daily. Just make sure you hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, and condition, condition, and condition.

[thunderseed]

I work out lots also and have to shampoo daily or else I get terrible scalp acne and itchiness from sweat but I have oily skin and I am 100% certain the itchiness of the sweat is caused by toxins coming out in the sweat.
Rinsing and swimming wasn't enough for me, I literally have to shampoo the scalp.

[Deborah]

I exercise five or six days a week, and I sweat. I just let it dry, and wash my hair once a week. My hair is very healthy and grows fast. For me the sweat has no bad effects on my hair or scalp at all.

[Rapunzel_to_be]

It seems like I get acne on my face if I don't rinse sweat off. (Turns out sodium chloride is rather comedogenic. Who knew?) If you're similarly sensitive, it's probably worth rinsing just to avoid the annoyance of scalp zits, whether or not it affects your growth.

I'm of the opinion that a bit of blowdrying on not-the-hot-setting isn't particularly harmful at least at the roots, and leaving the scalp wet constantly sometimes can cause issues. Otherwise, my hair always dried pretty quickly if I got my fingers in to fluff the roots several times and didn't bun it (though loose-ish braids dried acceptable fast).

Yeah, I agree, I think its better for me to rinse, cause my skin is acne prone and i do see that my skin does not react well if I do not rinse off the sweat, so probably better to keep the same rule for my scalp :)

[Rapunzel_to_be]

I wash my hair once a week or so and do not rinse it in between. It has not been a problem even with heavy lifting and running workouts and a lot of gardening and hiking. If anything, I think my hair must quite like the sweat since it is quite soft and shiny after backpacking trips! In the middle of summer I sometimes wash twice a week, my scalp lets me know, but in the winter I can go for two weeks very easily and I would say I average a week and a half.

Omg you are so lucky, I wish my scalp would be able to go that long without washing!! But anyway I'm glad to hear that sweat does not affect your hair growth and health, and your hair looks amazing so that makes me feel better if I were to not rinse once in a while !! :)

[Rapunzel_to_be]

I think sweat does affect the hair growth and health of your hair. If I workout 5 times a week I have shampoo my hair that many times a week. I've heard many years ago back in the 90s that sweat and prespiration can cause hair loss, and that if you workout the sweat should cleaned from the hair and scalp. Because, sweat isn't nothing but salt. But if you shall do it daily. Just make sure you hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, and condition, condition, and condition.

I read this as well, thats why I got so confused ! But hearing from the other ladies that it does not affect their hair growth and the health of their hair, made me think that it might not be like that for everyone. But in my case since my scalp is oily, I think its best if I rinse anyway :)

[Rapunzel_to_be]

I work out lots also and have to shampoo daily or else I get terrible scalp acne and itchiness from sweat but I have oily skin and I am 100% certain the itchiness of the sweat is caused by toxins coming out in the sweat.
Rinsing and swimming wasn't enough for me, I literally have to shampoo the scalp.

Oh Im sorry to hear it affects you in that way.. must be very annoying with itchiness and acne :(for me its enough to rinse, although my hair does not look 100% clean, but its not so bad, so I do not think I would have to shampoo it .

[Rapunzel_to_be]

I exercise five or six days a week, and I sweat. I just let it dry, and wash my hair once a week. My hair is very healthy and grows fast. For me the sweat has no bad effects on my hair or scalp at all.

Thats great to hear :D I'm happy to see that it does not have any negative affect on a lot of people !! :)

[TatsuOni]

Thank you for sharing your experience :) Your hair looks gorgeous btw !! :heartbeat

Thank you! :flower:

[lithostoic]

I live in south Florida and do not wash my hair every day lol. Today however it's 47 degrees F so I won't be showering at all. Too cold!

[Epie]

Honestly, I think it depends on your scalp type. If you have the type of scalp where you HAVE to shampoo and condition twice a week (like myself) - it might not be a good idea. But it depends how often you work out.

For instance, if you work out 2-3 times a week and shampoo and condition 2 times a week - you could might be able to get away with it because it is not like you are accumulating 3 days, 4 days etc. of sweat and oil.

On the flip side, I would say if you are working out 3 plus days a week - more days than you shampoo and condition per week - it would be wise to give it a good hearty rinse. Keep in mind, water dries hair out those, so I would spritz the ends with a light leave in conditioner after the shower. Good luck! 😊

[Rapunzel_to_be]

Honestly, I think it depends on your scalp type. If you have the type of scalp where you HAVE to shampoo and condition twice a week (like myself) - it might not be a good idea. But it depends how often you work out.

For instance, if you work out 2-3 times a week and shampoo and condition 2 times a week - you could might be able to get away with it because it is not like you are accumulating 3 days, 4 days etc. of sweat and oil.

On the flip side, I would say if you are working out 3 plus days a week - more days than you shampoo and condition per week - it would be wise to give it a good hearty rinse. Keep in mind, water dries hair out those, so I would spritz the ends with a light leave in conditioner after the shower. Good luck! ��

Yes I workout 5 times a week, and I normally wash my hair every other day, cause my scalp is oily, so working out only contributes to my scalp looking even greasier :p
Thanks for the tip:), I do actually use a leave-in every time I wet my hair ! :)