Do you really need to wash less?

[beckybourbon]

I posted a thread not too long ago about my dandruff. I had been washing every 3 days and had been oiling up my scalp and hair before every wash. Some of you on the thread told me to start washing it everyday since I mentioned my scalp was fine when I was washing it more. And since that thread I have been washing everyday and I have no dandruff now!! However, for some reason every time I wash my hair it’s in the back of my mind that “you’re hair won’t grow fast if you’re washing it everyday”.
If you google or YouTube “How to grow your hair fast” the first thing they say is wash it less. I’m just very confused and my ends do get dry but my scalp is good now. Can my hair still grow fast if I am washing it everyday?

ON ANOTHER NOTE: I do condition my whole head first, rinse, then shampoo, rinse(while trying my best to hold my ends up away from my head), then condition the ends one more time. This is so I can still be able to wash my hair everyday without my ends drying out too much.
Thanks!!

[Laurab]

In short, no! You don't need to wash less if it's harmful for your scalp.

It's all personal. Some people have dry delicate hair that can't be washed often, some of us have oily tempermental scalps that need more attention.
It's true that frequent washes strips the hair and CAN be bad for it, but that's just one part of hair care. If your scalp is itching forcing it to stay itchy is probably going to lead to more growth problems than frequent washing would.
If you do other things to care for your hair and avoid heat frequent washing won't be that big of a deal.

[Ylva]

Wash as often as you need to. Scalp health is always number one.

[pailin]

I never stopped washing daily, and I'm now at mid-thigh. So I say it's fine to wash daily! I condition twice and I'm very picky about conditioner. By the way, if you have dandruff issues, some people do not tolerate conditioner or oils on the scalp. I don't use either above my ears. But do what works for you! Keep your scalp happy.

My hair actually acts drier on day two if I skip a day, by the way. I don't know how that is, but both my scalp and hair stay happier with daily washing. I think one reason stretching washes is so popular is that many people feel it takes too long. But I do not find my wash and dry time to be a burden. It does help that I don't mind going to sleep with my hair still wet. I always figured if it got too hard to continue washing daily, that might be the time to cut it back. But I haven't found that point.

[Shorty89]

It really depends on the person. I get scalp eczema and find that it's better if I wash less. I also find that letting my scalp get oily helps the oil travel down my hair more and keeps my scalp happier. Some people like yourself, do better with washing frequently or even daily. There's no hard rule that applies to everyone.

[Lucy McLucyFace]

You should be very skeptical with things like articles about trendy hair and skin solutions, they tend to use faulty language or not work for everyone.

For example the whole thing of washing less to make it grow comes from the fact that some people don't need to wash it daily and for them it'd be detrimental for their scalp and therefore bad for growth. It also comes from the widespread myth that sulfates can remove moisture from inside the hair shaft which has no scientific basis. But someone with oily hair should most definitely wash it more frequently. If your scalp produces a lot of oil naturally then not cleaning it properly is going to give you bacterial overgrowth which in turn can lead to things like dandruff and even hair loss and other complications.

As everyone has previously said there is no one size fits all: do what makes your scalp healthy and it'll show in your growth :)

[lapushka]

Wash as often as you need to. Scalp health is always number one.

Yes, for me my dandruff (I have "extra" aka SD/seborrheic dermatitis) makes my hair fall out more.

So yes, scalp health trumps the bit of dryness that you could have with washing it more frequently. Conditioner to the rescue! :)

I used to wash my hair 2/3 times a week. It grew 1/2 inch a month.
I now wash once a week. It grows 1/2 inch a month.

It's all one big myth, IMO!

[Kat]

I posted a thread not too long ago about my dandruff. I had been washing every 3 days and had been oiling up my scalp and hair before every wash. Some of you on the thread told me to start washing it everyday since I mentioned my scalp was fine when I was washing it more. And since that thread I have been washing everyday and I have no dandruff now!! However, for some reason every time I wash my hair it’s in the back of my mind that “you’re hair won’t grow fast if you’re washing it everyday”.
If you google or YouTube “How to grow your hair fast” the first thing they say is wash it less. I’m just very confused and my ends do get dry but my scalp is good now. Can my hair still grow fast if I am washing it everyday?

ON ANOTHER NOTE: I do condition my whole head first, rinse, then shampoo, rinse(while trying my best to hold my ends up away from my head), then condition the ends one more time. This is so I can still be able to wash my hair everyday without my ends drying out too much.
Thanks!!

Why would washing your hair have any affect on the growth rate? :confused:

It's true that if you're damaging your hair and causing breakage, you will lose length, but that still isn't your hair growing more slowly.

If washing every day works for you and you're not seeing damage, wash every day. If washing every day works for you and you're seeing damage, try to figure out what's causing the damage and see if you can still wash as often as you want to with less damage. What you need to do and what I need to do and what that person over there needs to do are all different (see my signature). As someone else pointed out, give the miss to anything that tells you one method or product is universally good for everyone.

[GoddesJourney]

I was washing with a mild shampoo maybe twice a week and CO on the other days. I switched to a similar shampoo that is slightly oilier and the matching conditioner. I now wash every other day with those and CO with my previous conditioner the other days. My scalp is super happy and I feel like my hair is actually growing just a touch faster because of it.

It's important to note that I am also a lot more careful now when I do wash my hair to shampoo and scrub every inch of my scalp as well as rinse my scalp more thoroughly. I make a part every inch or so as I'm rinsing to be sure to get it all out. It works great and my hair and scalp appear to be very happy. I used to get dry hair if I shampooed too often but I was using products that my body didn't like and I finally learned.

So to answer your question, you can wash as often as works for specifically you. There are people on this forum that do not even actually wash their hair and it reportedly works for them so it's clear that we all have different hair and scalp needs.

[AutobotsAttack]

I’ll agree with the others here. Very dependent on the individual. I have hair that begins to get perpetually more and more dry almost as soon as I step oIt of the shower, but my scalp produces sebum that’s very thick, and it produces quite a bit of it. But most of it doesn’t get passed my curls at the roots, so it’s just contained right there. Being in Houston it’s hot and humid most times, and I’m sweating, so I need to wash either every day or every other day.

I have a bit of SD, so I use a medicated shampoo, keep it solely on my roots, and condition everything else, along with multiple deep conditioning treatments, since I have Afro textured hair.

[The Lizard Wife]

I can tell you that back when I washed my hair every other day with harsh shampoo (which is Not Good for my scalp), my rate of growth was exactly the same as it is now when I stretch washes for weeks (So Very Good for my scalp, got rid of my flakes). So in my case, washing my hair more or less or doing things that were bad for my scalp didn't slow down my growth.

Your method of trying to avoid getting too much shampoo on the ends while making sure they get conditioner does sound sensible to me for trying to protect them from getting too dry from daily washing.

[beckybourbon]

Thank you everyone!! 😊🥰

[Firefox7275]

Research shows that the key issues with shampooing are

1. anionic detergents - sulphates, olefin sulfonates -erode the surface lipids (18-MEA) and cause the cuticle to raise
2. repeatedly swelling and shrinking the hair with water leads to 'hygral fatigue'.

HOWEVER these are primarily a problem for hair that is already damaged, already overly porous. So likely not the virgin hair closest to your scalp but probably the old ends of very long hair.

Research also shows that oiling reduces the swelling and shrinking as hair is wetted and dried, and that damage to the cuticle can be patch repaired with hydrolysed protein and/ or a modified form of 18-MEA. These ingredients can be found in haircare products.

Anyone with seborrhoeic dermatitis ('greasy dandruff') should be cautious about using natural oils or butters near their scalp. This is because the main irritant is the fatty acid oleic acid and other fatty acids in oils/ butters/ own sebum feed the culprit yeast Malassezia.

HTH!

[lapushka]

Anyone with seborrhoeic dermatitis ('greasy dandruff') should be cautious about using natural oils or butters near their scalp. This is because the main irritant is the fatty acid oleic acid and other fatty acids in oils/ butters/ own sebum feed the culprit yeast Malassezia.

My SD is *the* reason I never use conditioner on my scalp, or any oils, or even try to avoid shampoos with silicone. I do have some, but they are in the vast, *vast* minority!