Hair Schedules

[Leaha1290_s]

Hi all!
I was wondering does everyone have a set schedule during the week for their hair e.g coconut oil each week, or do you adjust according to what your hair needs that week.

I was thinking about this because I feel like I constantly change what I do each week, for instance washing every other day and then changing that to every 3 days, switching from focusing on hair masks one week the to oiling for another, and I don’t think I’m necessarily helping my hair much by doing so

[elfgirl]

For me, I just wash as needed. Sometimes that's every 3-4 days, sometimes it's every other day, it varies. We have a drought getting worse this summer where I live, so I'm likely going to not be oiling my hair at all for a while, but that's just due to my personal local/environmental situation. I can't use dry shampoos due to a corn allergy (most of them that I've seen in stores have cornstarch in them in some form) otherwise I'd go that option to keep hair clean whilst reducing water consumption.

[Bri-Chan]

I don't have a real schedule. I just wash two times a week. I rotate between a lighter and a heavier conditioner/mask. I clarify 2 times a month. I do a proteic treatment every 3 washes.
But I have this rhythm because it works for me. I clarify when I feel my hair needs it, same for the proteic treatment.

[Leaha1290_s]

Thanks for sharing your routines! I was starting to worry about my scattered hair routine, but it’s nice to know other people don’t follow a strict plan. It seems like most people here seem to have a set routine. I was thinking about this today in relation to my oily scalp, and whether a set wash schedule has an effect on oil production in hair 🤔

[SandyBottom]

Hi Leaha1290_s, welcome! I don't follow a schedule other than washing my hair once, maybe twice a week whereas a few years ago it would be every other day. The change was made gradually and my scalp adjusted and is actually much happier now. I do other things on an as needed basis (or if I just feel like spoiling myself). One thing you might find helpful is to check out "Ursula's Standard Newbie Advice" (if you haven't already). It has a lot of sensible suggestions for when you're trying new things.

[rosenester]

I still feel kinda ‘new here’ but over the last year I had a revelation about what my scalp prefers. I was waiting for my scalp to get really itchy, and skin thereafter painful, and then wash it. When I started paying attention I noticed that happened on day 5. So I put a ‘wash schedule’ in place for myself on Sunday and Wednesday: prevent the painful scalp, and remember when a longer shower needs to happen. Just a guideline for myself, not a strict rule. Usually I clarify & deep condition one of those washes, which usually doesn’t involve leave-in products after. I brush through my hair and decide what it needs, so no schedule for the rest of things, sometimes it needs a CO wash in between full shampoos, sometimes I do a microtrim, or ROO.

[baanoo]

I don’t have a hair schedule. I have tried to be organized, but this is not my nature or the nature of my hair! How long I go between washes really depends on many things - for example, did my hair dry loose or up/braided after the last wash? If I let it dry loose, I can go another day, etc etc.

Usually, I wash it twice a week; CWC or CWCC, shampooing scalp only with conditioner only on the lengths. Sometimes I wash it 3x/week, very rarely only once.

I also don’t have schedules for s&d, deep-conditioning treatments, clarifying washes, or, really, …anything else hair related, but just feel it out as I go - it seems to all work out just fine. I do add a little oil or coney serum to the ends pretty much every day, usually before I put it up for bed since I don’t sleep in a bonnet.

Edited to add: SandyBottom’s recommendation is spot on; Ursula’s standard newbie advice is a great resource :)

[RedIris]

For me, I just wash as needed. Sometimes that's every 3-4 days, sometimes it's every other day, it varies. We have a drought getting worse this summer where I live, so I'm likely going to not be oiling my hair at all for a while, but that's just due to my personal local/environmental situation. I can't use dry shampoos due to a corn allergy (most of them that I've seen in stores have cornstarch in them in some form) otherwise I'd go that option to keep hair clean whilst reducing water consumption.

I dont know what you have available where you live, but here in canada we have Dove dry shampoo and it's made with aluminum starch instead of corn starch! So maybe an option if you're looking for a dry shampoo :)

[Glitch]

I don't have any proper hair schedule at all, and just go with the flow depending on what I need. For instance, my hair might get greasy/need to be washed on day 2, and the next time, it might not need that until day 4, all based on my environment and what I've been doing (working out vs. being stationary etc.). Even my hair routine is often tweaked here and there depending on my hair's needs.

While I'm personally a hyper-organized person in general, when it comes to my hair, it's very much:


I have tried to be organized, but this is not my nature or the nature of my hair!

[Hedwig]

I don’t have a schedule either. My hair gets greasy fairly quick, so I typically wash every other day and use products like hair oil, dry shampoo or a leave in product for my ends as needed.

[Leaha1290_s]

Thanks! I’ll check that out, right now I’m just washing it when my scalp is visibly greasy and so when it starts to ‘hurt’ I guess - at the crown of my head. I’m still in two minds whether to go for stretching my washes or not

[Diana Prince]

I do have a hair schedule and I love following it. I wash it on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. I use medicated shampoo and a coney conditioner or a hair mask every time I wash my hair. Also, I use Olaplex no. 3 before my wash process on Sunday. I also oil it everyday, morning and night, before combing - and this made the biggest difference in terms of hair breakage (it doesn't break anymore).

[shelomit]

Lately I've been able to do hair things as needed, largely because I'm working in-person only two days a week. That way, I can afford to take the extra time on a weekday to wash my hair if it feels like the time has come. In previous years, though, working standard nine-to-five jobs, I found that a weekly schedule was really helpful. I would work through the week, take Saturday as just a fun/restful day, oil my hair on Saturday night, and wash it on Sunday. There were times where I felt that I wanted to wash it more frequently, but having a baseline schedule was less stressful than waiting until I NEEDED to wash my hair and then scrambling to make the time to do it.

[MusicalSpoons]

Yes and no? I've settled into a routine that fits with my life and what my hair and scalp need, but it's not a strict schedule and I vary it if need be. So a full wash is usually every two weeks, usually on a Monday night, and I'll scalp wash in between if I need to but that's as and when (or even IF), no schedule for scalp washes. I don't comb it every day, and usually only when I feel I need to (it's always bunned). I prefer to do my full wash routine when it's a full wash because that's when my hair is happiest, but it's okay to vary it sometimes if need be.

(Contrast with when I first came to LHC, my scalp *needed* to be washed every other day, and as I was leaving the house every day I stuck to that to look presentable. Over the years my life has changed drastically and my scalp has gradually tolerated longer and longer without a wash - though I do still look oily by the end of day 3, or day 2 depending on hormones. So scalp washes are useful for looking presentable!)



I was thinking about this because I feel like I constantly change what I do each week, for instance washing every other day and then changing that to every 3 days, switching from focusing on hair masks one week the to oiling for another, and I don’t think I’m necessarily helping my hair much by doing so

It depends. If you're doing different things because you feel like it, that's fine. If you're doing all different things as experiments, that still won't hurt your hair but you just won't learn anything from the results.
Edit here: actually, that's not quite true. By doing different things you'll have experience of how long things take, whether they're easy or complicated, whether you enjoy doing certain things or not, etc. By doing lots of different things you won't learn anything about how exactly your hair responds (unless something Very Obviously makes your hair feel absolutely terrible) but you will learn useful info about the practical side of doing them.

[lapushka]

I have a fixed routine, IMHO, it helps me focus better where I no longer have to think about it, I rinse & repeat, so to speak. LOL

But it doesn't have to be that way, to have great hair. :shrug:
Whatever floats your boat...

[Joules]

I have a fixed schedule which I hardly ever break (like, there has to be a very very good reason for me to break my hair care schedule). But I think that has more to do with me being a huge fan of schedules in general. If your random routine works for your hair, then it's fine.

[knobbly]

I prefer having a schedule because my brain works better with predictability but the past couple of years have not been very predictable in ways unrelated to my hair (for the most part.) So I currently am just winging it which isn’t my preference. Oh well.

[Shorty89]

Schedule? What's that?

I'm kidding, sort of. I wash my hair about once a week but I go more by feel than by time. Sometimes I was every five days, sometimes every ten. I do try to henna monthly but even that is flexible depending on when I have time.

[-Aithne-]

Hello :) Great question! I wonder, too!

I have a schedule. I wash on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday…unless something comes up. I tried a once a week thing for a few months once (because I was curious), but I couldn’t handle it. My hair got too oily and never seemed to get less oily. I should deep condition every once in a while because it makes my hair feel really nice (I used a Joico thing and it was a revelation!)…but because I haven’t set up a schedule for it, I just keep forgetting, procrastinating, etc. Schedules just work better for my brain.

[Mariekeeee14]

I wash my hair based on my needs, and not on a set schedule. Every other wash I use Jessicurl Deep Conditioning Treatment cause it works so well and makes my hair soft.

However every night I spray my with leave in detangler, brush my hair, put oil or cream in my ends and then braid it for the night. I secure it with a scrunchie and sleep on a satin pillow case. So that is a schedule of some sorts.

[Jane99]

I pretty much wash on schedule, 3 times a week usually. Lately it’s been monday wednesday friday but I do vary a little. I oil before 90% of washes and only don’t if I’m exhausted the night before. If I’m doing a mask it will be on Monday since that’s my day off so I usually try to do something that day. I’ll use SLS shampoo one of those days in the week and chelate at the beginning of the mont (or in this month’s case, at the very end)

[sipnsun]

I have a loose schedule... I usually wash on Wednesdays and Saturdays and oil before shampooing each time. Sometimes on Saturdays I'll do a SMT pre-shampoo if I have time. If I have a special event or if my hair gets dirty/oily (yard work or excessive sweating) I'm fine with shampooing off schedule as needed. Sometimes a CO wash works in-between to freshen it up as well.

[alewyn]

I have more of a rhythm than a schedule--certain things that I do most days, and then an approximate length of time I usually go between washes (typically between 10-15 days, though sometimes more frequent in the warm months). Overall, though, I mostly respond to what my hair needs on any given day.

[lapushka]

I definitely don't let my hair dictate my every move. I wash my hair when it's time, so whether or not my hair is ready... I don't care. It needs washing every week, that is when to do it. I could potentially sometimes go a day longer, but I think the back and forth every time might send me into an SD flare-up so I'm not doing that.