Trying to stretch hair washing Need support group!

[Lara1]

Hello everyone! I haven't been on LHC around one month and missed it very much!
I appologise if a similar thread was already posted and I missed it.
I wash my hair every day. I tried to do it every second day, but my hair gets oily, as many of you experience it already. Another concern is that my hair looks darker when I don't wash it. The longest I went without washing is two days. I want to try it again and I need a support group, even if it is only one person. I hope that when I manage to stretch washings my hair will become less oily. I plan to do CO washings for at least one week...well at least 3 days for a start.
Any suggestions on how to achieve my goal would be appreciated.

[LittleOrca]

Hey there! I have the same problem that I love to wash my hair and I need to put the halt on it. We are going three days without washing our hair? Done, I'll work on it with you! :) The more people that work with you the more successful you will be.

[Lara1]

Hey littleOrca!
Thanks for answering. I am very happy that you will join me. I guess we start tomorrow, I just washed my hair :)
I am sure we get better results if we are not doing it along!

[LittleOrca]

That is fine with me. I just washed today too and did a mayo treatment and omg... I want to cuddle in my own hair. lol

[Catladyintown]

Lara1 hang in their. If you need to wash how about WO if you need to wash your hair.

[Coriander]

Hi Lara1 :)

It's tough to go without washing if you're so used to it, but I agree with Catladyintown - try rinsing with water if it gets funky on you :D I do this if I feel I can't stand it another day.

[HairColoredHair]

Find fun ways to disguise 'bad' hair.

Contrary to what you may think, not everyone will notice. :)

Maybe putting your hair up or pretty scarves, a buff, etc, etc.

[Catladyintown]

HairColoredHair those are great idea.

[LittleOrca]

I have a cute little twisting thing I do with my hair in the summer that I learned from my old yoga teacher. I will have to post a how-to and that would work great on hiding hair that feels gross. :)

[rose_in_bloom]

Ahh, I feel your pain!

For me, the best way was to go cold turkey. I went from washing every day to once a week. Putting up with the greasy hair was hard, but worth it! My scalp calmed down after about 2 weeks. I survived by putting my hair up and wearing a wide cloth headband or a scarf to hide the oil.

My other suggestion is, make sure you're not leaving any buildup on your hair. When I was first making the transition, I switched back to a sulfate shampoo (Lush Karma Komba) so my hair would be totally clean. The only downside to that is it might make your scalp itchy if you have sensitivities. I am sensitive, and got pretty itchy, but giving myself a good scalp massage helped a lot.

Good luck with stretching out the washings! We're here to support you. :)

[neveen]

Well it's not always the products / shampoos we use that make hair dry or oily. Diet and environment can really have an impact on the condition of hair too. Make sure to drink lots of water - this works for all types of hair. I'm guessing you're after the naked / natural approach? This isn't that new, but you can always try the powder dealie. On lighter shades of hair only, brush some baby powder or something similar from the roots to ends. It will absorb excess oil. The catch - you might have a prob if wearing black clothing!

[karisaf]

Good luck! The WO suggestion is a good one if you feel it's just too unbearable - I do that sometimes to get another day. You might try only washing the hair right around your face too, at least for me that is what gets oiliest the quickest. Brushing with a good BBB really helps to distribute the oils. And wearing your hair up helps too. I stretched out my washing very slowly. A year ago I was washing every single day. First I went down to every other day. Now I am every 3. I also find that a mild gentle shampoo helps sice if you use something really stripping then your body tends to produce more oil to compensate. Using no products makes a big difference too (dirt sticks to mousse, hairspray, wax etc).

[RavennaNight]

I stretched slowly, weekly. I went from once every other day to 3 then 4 and now I am up to once a week. Scalp massaging helps redistribute the scalp oils to the rest of the hair. I don't plan on stretching any further, as I like to wear my hair loose a lot.

[LittleOrca]

Hey Lara1, here is a link to the hairstyle I mentioned in an earlier post dealing with bobby pins and a head scarf. It takes a while to do it, but it can be left in all day and I have even slept in it with out any problems.

Just a Little Twisted (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=111)

[neveen]

Using no products makes a big difference too (dirt sticks to mousse, hairspray, wax etc).
You'd think that'd be the case but it's actually the opposite for me. I use volumizing products in conjunction with hairspray (I'm sure a chunk of you folks are cringing right now lol.) I can go almost a full week with only 1 wash. But if I sport the nekkid look by laying off the product, I get greasy after a couple days.

[Katze]

Hi Lara,

I'm currently able to stretch my washes to 8 + days if I feel like it, but have been washing every 6-7. However, I am also a firm believer in washing when you feel your hair needs it! There is nothing to be gained from walking around feeling like your hair looks terrible!

Part of what helps is getting used to your hair looking (and feeling) a different way. Mine also looks significantly darker when it is 'dirty' and when I have put conditioner on all of it (see profile pic = post SMT). When I wash with sulfates and only condition the ends, it's lighter. While I do prefer the light color (blondes have more fun after all!) I can do more things with 'dirty' hair (it is less frizzy) so I am learning to enjoy it. Brushing (only on 'dirty' days) helps make it smoother.

Sulfate washings seem to help my hair get cleaner and stay cleaner longer. I alternate sulfate and no-sulfate shampoos, and sometimes WO wash (but for me this is washing, as it is getting my fine, fragile hair wet and thus risking stretching or damage...)

Oh, and scalp massages make my hair get dirtier faster. My scalp is at its happiest if I DON'T touch it.

My #1 barometer is my scalp. If it is NOT itchy or flaky, I can get away with brushing my hair and putting it up. If my scalp is crusty, itchy, or has buildup, I wash.

hth!

[OhioLisa]

Just wanted to wish you both good luck. You know, it looks like both of you have hair long enough that you could just do scalp washes in between full washes. That way, your scalp stays nice and clean, and your ends stay more protected. Just an idea. :)

[MsBubbles]

I don't have a practical tip for you, but I do have a perspective:

My scalp is very oily and I only get 24 hours of 'clean' hair after a wash. I wash every other day right now. However, my ends are beautifully soft if I don't wash every day. On the occasion I felt like I needed to wash it two days in a row, my ends didn't like it at all and they were just too dry. Oiling helps but I'd rather give the ends the natural grease that's pumping out of my scalp :).

I write off my 2nd day as my 'ugly' day :p. It's actually not as disasterous as I believed for twenty-odd years. I think this would apply to washing every 3 days, or 4 ...

[Denebi]

Are you using silicones? If so, then try to go without, it might help. I switched from 2 days to 3 days immediately when I started to use cone-free shampoo without problems. Some people's scalp just does not like it.

Two other things you might try: Put oil on your scalp and let rest for an hour or something like that, before you wash. I heard of people who trained their scalp to produce nearly no sebum anymore with this method. Second idea: Use less shampoo. You can dilute it with water to spread it on your head more easily. Both things reduce the need to produce sebum, so your skin will slowly adapt to it.

Good luck to you! I'm on this way also (currently washing every four days)...

[MimiKeki]

Hey Lara :) Thanks for starting this thread 'cause I'm totally in the same boat. I have also just decided to start stretching my washings. Like you, I have always washed every day. Now I just want to see how far I can stretch it, and how beneficial the natural oils of the scalp can be to the health of the hair..

Basically, my method is to slowly stretch them out. Like, this week I've started to wash every other day. Next week I may try to stretch it every 2 days (using a dry shampoo if I really need it, 'cause my hair seems to get oily after the first day).
I'm also curious about trying CO... I've never actually tried it before, so I don't know if my hair will take to it. We're in this together :D

[Vainjane]

I am a washer too. I wash (diluted poo or co-wash) every other day. I would like to get 2-3 days in between as my hair is so fine and fragile. So far the longest I have gone is 2 days between wash. I think I need to go back to co-w-co since my ends are so dry.

[SimplyLonghair]

Good luck in stretching your washes, but heads up, sometimes stretching will cause greater shedding. Not always, but it's a reason that I only go so long between washes.:rolleyes: I now go about every 3 days not the week that I was doing. Mainly scalp washes and not the length, but I just can't go too long.:o:D

[Lara1]

Hi everyone,
here is update on my progress. Actually, I washed my hair yesterday... please don't be angry at me. I just didn't feel good about not washing my hair and I couldn't sleep, so I washed it. Although I have an urge to wash it today, I manage not to give in...at least so far. It may sounds strange, but it is really difficult to stretch washings for me.
So, I am going for my second day without shampoo. I will try to CO tomorrow.
Thanks everyone for support! I love this friendly community! I actually feel really guilty for washing my hair yesterday.

[teela1978]

I find that diluting my shampoo a lot kinda helped me wean myself out to every few days. I kinda think it was more me getting used to not having squeaky clean hair more than my scalp adjusting to not being washed as much, but that might be something to play around with.

And when I say I dilute, I mean a lot. I have an extra bottle I keep in my shower to dilute whenever I wash (because cold old diluted shampoo is not fun). I fill it about 1/2 way and put a small squirt of shampoo in.

[LittleOrca]

Alright so I only made it 2 days, sorry Lara1! My hair was just too greasy and it had a gun to my head and was telling me to wash it... my hair is dangerous when it doesn't get what it wants!