How often do you wash?

[xkitxgirx]

hi everyone! I'm new to this forum and I was just curious how often everyone washes their hair? I wash mine once a week because if I do more than that my hair gets really dried out... I'm sort of curious as to what the best amount of time is to wait between washes. And what kind of treatments I can do to my hair to keep it as healthy as it is now. Any advice for me? I have farely thick hair with a natural wave, and it gets semi greasy in between washes so I don't know if I should consider my hair oily or not, since it doesn't really get greasy until a day or two before I wash it. How often should I be washing? And what kind of hair treatments work best?

[lapushka]

If you need to wash more than once a week, your hair is oily.
If your hair can stand to be without washing for a week, it's normal.
If you can postpone washing longer, even up to two weeks or to a month, then it's dry.

You need to watch when it gets oily, to determine what your best regimen is. Try and postpone washings but if it keeps getting oily fast, then you have oily hair. If you can stretch washing longer and longer, then you might have been washing too often. A lot of people wash too often.

Someone who has dry hair can WO (water only wash) very easily, whereas someone with oily hair can't even consider it.

People with dry, or normal hair can CO (conditioner only wash) very easily too, whereas someone with oily hair probably will have problems with the method.


Normally, I need to wash twice or more than twice a week. My mom, however, can go up to a month without shampooing. It's different for everyone.

[JamieLeigh]

I do CO (conditioner-only), so I wash every other day. And I do a clarifying wash with a small amount of clear shampoo, plus a hair mask after, weekly, but I think I'm about to try going a week and a half soon. My scalp and hair would get REALLY dry also, when I was using shampoo at every wash. Cone-free conditioner can cleanse the scalp quite well, as it will not leave such a deposit behind. :)

[Coriander]

Hi! Welcome to the forum!! I can answer some of your questions but there are many hair geniuses around who can probably answer better than I :)

I wash my hair once or twice a week and condition it anytime it gets wet. I also do a deep conditioning treatment once a week. You and I have different hair types so our routines might be different :)

Nice to meet you!

[Deborah]

I conditioner-only wash (CO) once or twice a week. I think your hair sounds normal, and once a week is probably fine for you. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! :)

[tina1025]

I wash it everyday with soapnuts.

[Beloved]

I wash everyday, sometimes skipping a day. Frequent washing is best for my scalp.

And I'm also loving soapnuts!

[tina1025]

I skip the weekends if i am going to be home. The only reason why i wash it everyday with soapnuts is because they are very natural and my scalp is very oily.

[tiny_teesha]

My skin and scalp is oily. If I don't wash every second day at least my hair will fall out copiously more then normal!
It's different for everyone really. Also depending on the method used too. I washed with herbs for i think it was 4 months which are really gentle, to try to get my scalp to produce less oil, but it never worked for me. I have always and will always have oily hair!

[LadyEliza]

I wash when it needs it, and sometimes that is more often then others, depending on what work I've been doing and if my head has been sweating more!

Say about once a week on average.

You asked what else you could do - I have thick, fine, wavey to curly hair and every now and then I slather on yoghut (the good kind, no fruit, not skim, full fat, greek) and wrap my head in some plastic wrap and leave it an hour before shampooing. Talk about soft!!!

[AmandaPanda]

I have very oily skin and hair. I have tried desperately to stretch out washes but it doesn't work for me. I wash between 1X/day- every other day although it really needs to be washed every day (at least just the scalp)

[jojo]

I wash every other day in soapnuts, but on the days I dont wash i wet it.

[amiaow]

I wash every day too- sometimes with shampoo and conditioner, and other times with only conditioner!

[Elphie]

I wash three times a week now and mist it a bit on my non-washing days.

[Simplicity]

I can barely make it every other day--start getting real oily at a day and a half. Been trying to stretch out from everyday washing since last April. Guess I'm just a grease-head.

[Peter]

I used to shampoo every other day when I had awkward-stage hair and never used conditioner. Then as my hair got past chin I started doing S&C every 4 days, but my hair would be itchy and very greasy on the last day. Now I've started CO and the itchiness is almost gone. I wash every 4-5 days now.

[Myrrh]

I used to wash every day, then I started every other day and now I'm going to be only clarifying it once every two to three weeks if my hair will let me.

I last washed it Saturday night with Suave Clarifying shampoo, and so far it's been silky and smooth and soft without any other products. I hope to go a week. It hasn't gotten oily so far, if it does too much I'll condition it.

[viking_quest]

I used to wash everyday but now I just wash every 2 days (wash on the third). I'm hoping for 2x a week (maybe even once a week after I leave teenage hormone time period).

[teela1978]

My scalp is pretty oily so it gets washed every 2-3 days (sometimes 2 days in a row if I'm going somewhere, it's semi-greasy after 24 hours). I'd love to be able to stretch it out further, but my roots get very piecey very fast. If you are doing good with weekly washings, then keep on doing them :)

[Copasetic]

I wash whenever I fell like I need it. Its usually about twice a week.

[Honey39]

I CO_wash every other day/every day; if I don't wash it, then I soak the ends in any case. My hair loves water, and conditioner and water helps the curls and stops it from getting dried out.

[Charli800]

I CWC (condition-wash-condition, so only my scalp gets shampooed) every other day, but I'm still figuring out how long I can go between washes. CWC is much better for my length than normal shampooing, though!

[Hay22]

I usually wash 4 or 5 times per week. I wear it down during the work week (partly because it's pretty, party because I have no idea how to do up-dos) and prefer to wash it each morning before styling, then pull it back and let it do whatever it wants for the weekend unless I'm doing something special.

[Eden Iris]

Every eight days. Used to be a week, but I'm trying to stretch it out (the time between washings, not my hair). Usually the week before my period my scalp gets greasy and itchy a day or two before wash day; otherwise it's fine.

As others have said, do what works for you, and don't be afraid to experiment with it.

[RedStripe]

I used to wash it every other day, but after I started reading this forum I began trying to go longer between washes. Now I wash only the scalp area and condition only the length, and also ACV rinse and oil the length slightly when I remember, and this routine has been working out just right for washing twice a week. Any longer than that and I start to get dirty hair smell, which I really dislike.

[xkitxgirx]

I never thought to just use conditioner sometimes. In that case I can probably go much longer without shampooing. I can't wash my hair without conditioner though or I'll have a mass of knots. Luckily my husband is sometimes happy to brush my hair for me, lol. Does anyone use any specific treatments for their hair that work really well? I'd like to start doing some sort of treatment now and then. Right now I basically just use Nexxus shampoo and conditioner, which has done wonders for my hair. I used to buy some of the cheaper brands and my hair would get so knotted my husband HAD to brush it, or I'd get so frustrated I'd start ripping it out with the brush, lol. It's worth the extra money to get better behaving hair!! But anywas, anyone know of any good treatments? I read about some people using coconut oil. How do you do this? Just put it in and leave it in over night? Do you cover your hair with anything?

[Forever_Sophie]

On average, I wash my hair every 2 days.

[CrystalStar]

Oh I really should wash it once a week but I get so obsessive about it as I touch my hair way too much...

anyone got any tips on how to stop with the hair touching? :p

[xeternalsilence]

I CO once a week. I used to shampoo and condition everyday. My scalp produces MUCH less oil than it used to. I could probably go a bit longer if I really wanted.

[HildeMV]

I wash it every other day. My hair gets oily easily.

[autumnsakura]

I wash my hair around every 2-3 days. I pretty much only use a little bit of shampoo on the scalp, and then conditioner all over. I tried CO a while back, but I'm too lazy in the mornings to leave it in long enough to actually get my hair clean. I think I'll try to experiment more with only washing my scalp without getting the length wet, because the ends do tend to be dry. I don't really consider my hair oily (and my skin is uber-dry), but I have seborrheic dermatitis on my scalp, so I think it contributes to me needing to wash my hair more often than I'd like. I'd love to be able to only wash it twice a week or even less!

For those who go a long time between washes, what do you do in the meantime? I mean, in the shower, do you just wet your hair, or do you massage your scalp, or ...?

[Feline]

It averages about twice a week, but depends on how dirty/sweaty it gets, or if it needs conditioning.

[dearladydisdain]

I wash my hair 3-4 times a week, but I don't try to follow a schedule or anything - I just wash when it looks too icky.

[Sissy]

I shower every day, except Saturday. I am only using shampoo about once per week now though. It's CO washes the rest of the time.

[rose_in_bloom]

I try not to wash more than 3 times a week. I use shampoo for only one wash per week and on the other wash days, I CO or use soapnuts.

I tried washing only once or twice a week, but it made me shed a TON, and I didn't like that at all. I guess that just wasn't good for my super fine hair.

[MAO]

I wash 1-2x a week. I try to go for only one if I can possibly help it due to an extremely dry scalp and the ends of my hair are damaged from previous evil chemical concoctions. And when I do wash its with sulfate-free shampoo or some sort of herbal mix. Today I did my first CO and am on the fence about the results......

[dalriada-lady]

I usually wash twice a week with poo and condish, i also try to CO once a week. it depends on how greasy or dry my hair feels. I wash with alberto V05 honey and almond poo, I use a mix of 3 different conditioners ( Herbal Essences hello hydration one wash, pantene deep moisture repair, another wash and L'oreal nature's therapy mega moisture treatment condish on another wash. ) plus i CO with V05 honey and almond condish.

I also dab a dime sized glob of Shea Butter, Aloe Vera Gel and almond oil mix on damp hair for moisture. My hair was always greasy as a teen, but changed into kind of dry as i grew older and now i stay some what dry, specially the bottom half of my hair sometimes feels quite dry.

I normally keep my hair either braided or bunned 98% of the time. it helps keep damage and tangles away.

HTH.

[lizzyjo]

My scalp is oily (I had terrible acne as a teenager) so I used to have to wash everyday. Now I've cut back to washing every other day, and on the days I don't wash it doesn't look too bad. Each time I wash I use shampoo on the scalp and conditioner on the length.

[Heavenly Locks]

I wash with S&C (soon switching to CWC) once a week, sometimes two if I get oily/itchy. :) Most of the time it's 5-6 days between washes. I also only shampoo my scalp and condition from the ears back.

[Katze]

I normally wash with the CW or CWC method about every 7 days - more often if my hair needs it. The longer, and healthier, my hair gets, the better shape my scalp is in and the less often I seem to need to wash.

I do wash with sulfates fairly frequently - every other week or so. This seems to prevent buildup and keeps my hair softer and shinier, though I have found it is better to alternate sulfates with non-sulfate shampoo.

Sometimes, I WO wash.

In between washing I put my hair up and, if the nape hairs get wet, I oil them after showering or bathing. This seems to be helping my coarse, brittle, very wavy nape hairs get longer and softer.

[mira-chan]

I wash as needed so about once every one to two weeks. My hair is dry and doesn't get oily, I need to wash for the scalp, to remove the crud buildup (dry sebum). I use either sulfate free shampoo (when I'm lazy:p) or herbs.

[LadyLongLocks]

I wash my hair about every 4 days. I pre condition with coconut oil, conditioner and water and then shampoo 2 times. I only let the shampoo run down my hair one time though and concentrate on the scalp the first shampoo. I follow with lots of conditioner. I try to wash as little as possible and stretch out the shampoo depending on my schedule and activities. If I have a special occasion, I will wash my hair around it so it looks it's best.
I also try to comb my hair as little as possible to cut down wear and tear, so shampooing too often would be bad for me.
Since I am blonde, adding a bit of baby powder to my scalp if it's oily can stretch out the washings too. I only do this a few times a year though in a pinch.

[AJoifulNoise]

I wash my hair every day or every other day. But, even if I skip one day I become an oil slick.

[Katla]

I used to wash my hair once a week, but after I started to use a milder shampoo and conditioner, it dropped to every 5 days (and it was definitely getting oily on the fifth day). Now I'm working my way back up to once a week again. It's just easier to remember when I know that Sunday afternoons are for pampering my hair :D

[PeachyKeen]

I was every 3-4 days because my hair is super oily by the 4th day.