Rinsing hair between washes

[Amenahh]

Does anyone rinse their hair with water in between regular washes? If so, what is your experience? Does water rinsing help you prolong the time between shampooing?

Will water rinsing make hair more fragile by simply being wet more often, or will it help it stay stronger by delaying the regular shampoo washes?

It's hot here atm, and I'm finding it hard to only wash my hair every 5 days, as I normally do. I'm thinking of just rinsing my hair with just water every 2-3 days to see if it helps.

[Sweet_Decadence]

I find that if I throw in a water rinse or two I can stretch my actual washes from 7-10 days to about 14-16. My hair seems pretty happy and i haven't noticed any changes doing this.

It's probably worth noting I live in Scotland, so high quality and soft water. I understand that for some hard water can cause some build up and damage.

I'd give it a shot, your really not going to know how your hair takes to it without trying it.

[Mariekeeee14]

Sweet_Decadence exactly said why I don’t do it. I get calcium deposit on my hair very easily so I would have to do an ACV rinse every time too and I don’t enjoy the smell enough to put myself through that. I wash twice a week anyway, so I don’t do it to stretch washes.

[florenonite]

I have extremely hard water, even with a water softener (I miss the soft Scottish water, Sweet_Decadence - even though I lived there for a decade and never figured out how to wash my hair properly there :lol: ). If I want to rinse my head in the shower, like after a workout when my scalp is sweaty but my hair doesn't otherwise need washed, I'll gently massage my scalp under the shower and then do a final rinse with Nightblooming's alluvial (https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/600148600/alluvial-chelating-crystal-rinse-255g). It doesn't "clean" hair in that it doesn't contain anything to remove the sweat and oils, but it helps avoid hard water buildup on my hair and stops the water from irritating the eczema on my scalp.

[lilbee]

I have made up my own intermediate methods : I alternate normal shampoing sessions (using diluted shampoo), with very light herbal rinses + ACV washing sessions, using whatever plant inspires me. Green tea or rosemary infusion, very light soap nuts infusion, or just a tablespoon of chick peas flour or ayurvedic herbs such as shikakai or else. The advantage is that I can adapt the quantity of plant (= the strength of the infusion) to the oiliness of the hair, from "almost nothing" to "quite a bit".

It means I will shampoo one day, then herb-rinse a few days later, then shampoo again several days later, and so on so forth. Sometimes I shampoo twice before I alternate with a herb-rinse, or on the contrary I herb-rinse several times before I use sampoo again. Totally flexible method and works wonder ! :wink:

[SelenVinland]

I always gently scrub my scalp with my hair under the shower head when I shower between wash days. I don't know if it actually makes a difference, but psychologically I feel better.

[Feral_]

Sweet_Decadence exactly said why I don’t do it. I get calcium deposit on my hair very easily so I would have to do an ACV rinse every time too and I don’t enjoy the smell enough to put myself through that. I wash twice a week anyway, so I don’t do it to stretch washes.

Interesting. I have very hard water yet do water only. Out of interest, what does a calcium deposit actually look like in your hair? I wonder if some hair holds onto calcium more, if it's to do with porosity etc :confused:

[Shorty89]

I tend to rinse my hair with water (usually finishing with a vinegar rinse) every two or three days. I find my hair behaves better plus I can add oil to the ends when it's wet.

[Mariekeeee14]

Interesting. I have very hard water yet do water only. Out of interest, what does a calcium deposit actually look like in your hair? I wonder if some hair holds onto calcium more, if it's to do with porosity etc :confused:

I think it has more to do with the fact that I stopped using silicones in February. My hair gets a dull look and I can feel it mostly on my ends.

I tried an ACV rinse in December and it did nothing noticeably for my hair, but I remembered when I felt this build up, and I’m so glad it worked. I dislike the scent but it works too well not to do it.

[AuNaturel]

I rinse and condition every 3-4 days, and shampoo about once a month. I'm considering using silicones again (to help my ends gain strength to retain length and stop breakage and thin ends), however. I'm not sure if a monthly shampoo will be enough if I start using daily silicones. But with my current routine, where all my products rinse out with just water, yes. It works very well for me.

[Fimu]

My shampoo frequency is atm inconsistent but it's usually less than once a week. When I rinse my hair fully without shampoo, I do cowashing and detangling, which I also classify as "wash day" for me.

[Amenahh]

Thanks for all the replies, those are plenty of different methods and ideas that I look forward to trying out as well.
I also have quite hard water here (i think), so we'll see how it goes. :)

[Amenahh]

I tried rinsing with water only, and it made my hair look and feel dirtier somehow. Maybe the water isn't great for this here.

[Feral_]

I tried rinsing with water only, and it made my hair look and feel dirtier somehow. Maybe the water isn't great for this here.

I find washing it with warm and scrubbing scalp, before then rinsing with cold is better than warm water alone.

[Fimu]

I tried rinsing with water only, and it made my hair look and feel dirtier somehow. Maybe the water isn't great for this here.

If your water also contains heavy metals and added chemicals like chlorine and fluorine, then a shower filter might already help. To reduce calcium and magnesium and lower the pH from like 8 to 7, you need to look for a water softener system or Showersticks.