Wash question.

[Shanarana]

What's the longest you went before washing you hair? Did you notice any difference when you wash good or bad?

[Aisha25]

Longest I went was 3 weeks then my scalp started to itch so thats when I knew I had to wash them;)

[AJoifulNoise]

The longest I went was a week. And even then I was wetting my head daily and smoothing in a leave-in. I was camping out in 100 degree (F) weather and the showers were a 2 mile hike so kinda pointless. I did notice a difference. I didn't smell and my hair was so light.

These days I can't get away with more than a day between washes. Maybe 2, but then I get itchy scalp.

[Bene]

maybe a week, until i couldn't deal with it looking so greasy

[mellie]

A week, which for me is a REALLY long time, because I am sooo oily.

However, when I finally did wash after that, my hair looked amazing!

[anniefish]

I think the longest for me was a week. And that only happened because I got sick when visiting Thailand and couldn't even get out of bed, much less get in the bathtub and clean myself. My hair was super-oily and felt really gross. That was back before I knew that oil can be a good thing. I didn't really notice whether my hair was in better condition than usual or not. I had gotten those little micro-braids done on the beach in Phuket, so all I really notice about my hair was its oiliness and the fact that it looked super crimped when I took out the braids. :D

[Magicknthenight]

A couple years ago when i lived with my mom we lost our gas in the middle of winter. so no heat and no hot water. I had read about sebum only but only really a little. I did that for..almost 6 weeks. However i didn't know about moving the oils down and such. When i washed it was soo soft. But i don't think with my scalp i would do it again. Other then that just lazy summers where i wash every week or two. :)
ETA: not washing made me feel pretty icky some days but it was better then washing my hair in ice cold water on an ice cold day(it actually burned). Walking to school and letting it freeze..then sitting in cold class rooms. Only to return later to the cold. -..- I don't like the cold. Its warm summers for me!

[Shanarana]

I thought there was a member here that did SO, I haven't seen her in a while so not sure if she is here or not. Don't remember her screen name.

I going to wash my hair tonight...went two weeks, but wonder what would happen if it wasn't washed at all. hmmm I'll have to do a search.

Yeah, I hear the itchy scalp thing which is why I'm going to wash. I wonder if that goes away after a while without washing.

[LadyLongLocks]

10 days, yuck! It was itchy and very oily before washing. I had to shampoo 3 times to get it clean. It came out fine. I did not see any benefits from waiting that long. If anything I itched my scalp way too much and too much itching has to be bad for the scalp.

[OhioLisa]

maybe a week, until i couldn't deal with it looking so greasy

Ditto. Yuck!

[sandigirl]

A little over a week. I HATED it. I know I should wash at least every 3-4 days but I get lazy if I won't be around anyone.

[EdG]

The longest I have gone without washing is a week. My hair gets very greasy after about the third day. By the fifth day, my scalp becomes somewhat fragrant, like :cheese: but without the dancing. By that time, I need to wash my hair before I can appear in public. :D
Ed

[Speckla]

what do you considering washing? shampoo or do you count conditioner only to be washing?

Two weeks without either for me.
________
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[EdG]

what do you considering washing? shampoo or do you count conditioner only to be washing?I'm not sure if you're asking me or Shanarana. :confused:

I consider applying water or water plus anything to be washing. I sometimes do a scalp-only wash. :)
Ed

[Speckla]

I'm not sure if you're asking me or Shanarana. :confused:

I consider applying water or water plus anything to be washing. I sometimes do a scalp-only wash. :)
Ed

the orig. poster

:)
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[joyellen]

The longest I've gone is about a week and a half a few years ago when I had a tonsillectomy. My recovery was rough and I couldn't get up and wash it. I usually wash every other day. If I feel very lazy I'll stretch it to 3 days, but I won't go out on the 3rd day.

[Shanarana]

what do you considering washing? shampoo or do you count conditioner only to be washing?

Two weeks without either for me.

I think CO is about the same as washing. ;)

[Heavenly Locks]

I went a week before I switched to CO for this month. It was actually a little difficult to do the CO partly because it was my first try and I had to get the technique right, and because it was pretty oily and it was hard to get enough massage and rinsing for the CO to work. :)

I've noticed less wear on my hair when I leave it unwashed for longer, because mostly, after the 5th day I just keep it up. LOL

[Cricket1]

I dont know if this counts but I haven't been using shampoo, only conditioner, for the past 3 months

[Soniasonia]

Longest was 2 days, I couldn't handle it. I like my scalp refreshed daily. Ahhh..Especially in this hot CA weather!

[Copasetic]

The longest I have ever gone without shampooing my hair was about three weeks. No ill side effects that I noticed. That was a while ago, though. I normally shampoo my hair every four days, or so.

[Nevermore]

If you don't count water only as washing, then three weeks or thereabouts. If you're talking about not getting one's hair wet at all, probably a week and a half or so. I feel gross if I don't wet it down and rub my scalp, but the actual greasiness doesn't bother me if it's been rinsed.

[Carolyn]

I've gone 5 days a couple of times. My hair was so stinky and awful and my scalp HURT so much. It's was like my pores were in pain. My hair hurt! It was such a relief to wash it.

[punky]

I can go three or four days tops. It gets greasy and sticks to my head and looks yucky, not to mention it itches.

[viking_quest]

The longest I've gone is 4 days. I can't stand looking at my hair after that length of time because it looks disgusting.

[Calanthe]

Longest was 10 days. I usually wash every 7 days but I didn't feel like washing due to being lazy. It was still ok-ish - I mean fine hair looks flat anyway no matter what so there wasn't a huge difference. It's worse when I wash too often, though.

[Katze]

I have gone 9-10 days several times, when my hair hadn't been touched much and was looking mostly "OK." I regularly go a week without washing and don't notice much other than a flatter scalp and more scalp cleavage, though I can't wear my hair down after day 5 or so.

For me, CO, WO, etc. are all washing...because the point is they are "cleaning" the hair somewhat. When I get my hair wet, I have to be gentle with it, so I prefer to get it wet less often.

My hair does look better on a 4-5 day cycle at the moment...

[Gumball]

I've done WO for at least two months before (starting up another WO bout at the moment, too), and my hair looked no worse for wear really. I just started washing again after that because it helped take care of some lint that was getting caught and causing tangles. I'm better at dealing with that stuff now and have a horn comb instead of a static (and lint catching) inducing comb.

[Heidi_234]

10 weeks :D
It was fun!

[JamieLeigh]

The longest I can remember going is probably about a week or two when I was on bed rest for pregnancy with my 5th child. I could get up daily and shower, but I couldn't be on my feet for long enough to wash my hair properly. So I waited a long time between washings and just kept it in a braid. This was also the period when I was incapable of trimming my ends by myself, and I was on prenatal vitamins, so there were a lot of factors that influenced my hair's condition. In other words, I have no way of knowing whether decreased washing made any difference whatsoever.

I just realized I have been absolutely no help to the OP. Sorry! :o

[MsBubbles]

The longest I've been between washes since my hormones kicked in around 12 or 13 years old, is 5 days. But by the time I washed my scalp hurt like crazy and I had heavy shedding for a week afterwards. I usually don't go longer than every other day.

[ZadenWillowfyre]

I think about 2 weeks? I normally wash once a week or so so my hair didn't really care...it was just a tad more oily than normal.

[catfish]

A whopping six months:o I broke my back and was flat in bed for the time. My hair was about BSL and stayed in two braids the whole time. I got heavily oiled and brushed, then re-braided about 3 times a week. My hair grew normal and my scalp was fine. I stayed greasy, but my hair really didn't suffer from it.

[lynnala]

A week for me. But I routinely go 4-5 days before washing. I use rice powder on my hair to soak up the oil in between washes.

[blondecat]

Yes, a whole month [after major surgury].

My hair felt incredabily soft and clean, finnally.