switching to daily washing?

[Kazazi]

I have washed my hair every other day nearly all my life, with occasional periods of daily washing, but the last one of those was ages ago. My hair always looks greasy by the end of day two, but recently, it has been getting greasier noticeably faster, to the point that I really don't enjoy day two anymore, hair up or not.

Question: Would it be a bad idea to switch to daily washing, at least for a while?

I don't think the increased grease has been caused by a recent change in hair care routine, at least not a bad one.

For the last five months, I have pretty much exclusively used dairy whip to wash, followed by a citric acid and vit c rinse and a tiny smidge of fox' shea butter creme on towel dry ends. Occasional other poos, sometimes with sulfate, thrown in prior to deep conditioning once a week or every two weeks.

My hair has been really good on this routine. No more frizz like I had on CO and poo bars, no more scalp sores like I used to get on sulfates, no more combs and brushes necessary because hair just detangles itself, pretty much. Plus, it's a dead easy and quick routine that uses very little product and packaging.

Because of all this, I am reluctant to change my routine, but the greaseball every other day is starting to get me down. I have tried leaving out the shea butter cream and it makes no difference.

On the other hand, I have a lot of growing to do still (approaching APL at the mo) and I don't want to risk my scalp's or hair's health by daily washing.

So what do you all recommend? Switch to daily washing for at least a while? Or do you have other ideas how to reduce the grease without a massive change in routine?

Many thanks in advance!

[spidermom]

I think you should wash your hair whenever you think it needs to be washed. There are no hard and fast rules that you have to obey.

[bunnii]

I agree with Spidermom, I wash my hair whenever it needs it, could be daily could be 7 days, I just try to go with whatever my hair likes.

[amaiaisabella]

If your hair needs the washing, then go for it. My hair is pretty dry, so I try to avoid daily washing as it can get even drier, but that doesn't seem to be the case for you. Just keep taking care of it (detangling gently while wet, avoiding heat if that's your thing, etc.) and your hair should be fine. I think the primary concern in daily washings is the fragile nature while wet, and as long as you are aware of that, then you're good.

[Misha]

Hi Kazazi,

Ditto to what the others said, and in addition:

I wash usually every other days as well. If I were to wash daily, the the measures I would use to provide a bit of protection from possibly stipping the hair too much would be:

- dilute the shampoo a bit
- apply shampoo to scalp only, and just let the shampoo rinse down the length
- reapply daily whatever leave-in or oil you usually use on the length after you've washed, if that's what your inclined to do.

[Toadstool]

If your scalp's oily I would think daily washing a good thing!

[Labs*R*Us]

Yeah, what the others have said.

Sometimes I'll wash mine every day (CO), just because it's relaxing (if it's stressful at work), or might not be as clean as I want, due to environmental factors (dust, pollen, even BBQ smoke from the grill...)

Then again, if all is well with the world, I might only wash once or twice. Just depends. You might have to be a little gentler, but as long as you're careful, why not?

[Elbereth]

If your hair needs to be washed daily, then so be it!:)
However, I second the suggestion of using diluted shampoo and washing only the scalp. You could also see if a plain water rinse instead of full wash would help. Everyone is different, so maybe daily washing is what your hair needs right now. In the long term though, as your hair grows, the long drying time might become an inconvenience if you get your hair wet every day. But, you'll deal with that when/if the time comes, not now!

Increased washing could also make the problem worse, if your scalp decides to respond to increased washing with increased oil production. So, I would suggest you to think about why your scalp does what it does. It may not be easy to find out, but still. Maybe it reacts to change in weather? Have you made any major changes to your diet? How about exercise and other lifestyle choices- maybe your activities cause your hair to become dirty?

I don't think that any oil or moisture you use for your ends can be the reason of the problem. At your length, they probably can use the extra oil and moisture.

[GoddesJourney]

I'm like you. There should be an oil rig on my head. I would be rich. Anyway, I was an every day washer my whole life. I've recently changed to every other day and I honestly don't like it that much. I'm suddenly getting dandruff or something. ACV rinses are helping, so you could try that. Honestly, though, I horribly mistreated my hair and it never have me any problems until around BSL. I think the CWC is the solution to that, and the occasional oiling. Wash it every day, and if you're worried about it, just pre-wash oil or apply conditioner before you shampoo from the ears down. There's nothing wrong with a clean head.

[RancheroTheBee]

Some people's scalps just seem to operate better on frequent washing. As long as your scalp still feels happy with it, I say wash away.

[Deborah]

"For the last five months, I have pretty much exclusively used dairy whip to wash, followed by a citric acid and vit c rinse and a tiny smidge of fox' shea butter creme on towel dry ends. Occasional other poos, sometimes with sulfate, thrown in prior to deep conditioning once a week or every two weeks."
____________________________

This is a little against the grain, but have you considered that you may not need the oil on your ends, or the deep conditioning?

When I oil the ends of my hair, I notice that the oil eventually ends up on ALL of the hair. It makes sense, as when you brush or comb, or bun or braid, you are handling all the hair, and the oil gets spread everywhere. I also never need deep conditioning at all. If you are not over-cleaning, you probably don't need to add any oils back.

Also, many say they don't need any added moisture with Dairy Whip, as it is very conditioning on its own. I would think this could be particularly true of someone with oily hair.

You may not need to wash more often, you may just need to stop adding oils and conditioners. Not everyone needs them.

Just something to think about. :)

[Kazazi]

Hi guys,

Many thanks for all the tips and reassurance. I will definitely try the diluted shampoo idea and also varying the leave-ins. The plan I have in mind for now is to wash as needed and make this daily as need be but to hopefully end up with a few days a week where I can get buy without, either because I don't care about the greasies or because I, say, wash later in the day one day and then my hair lasts until the evening of the following day.

I will also experiment further with foregoing the leave-in straight after the wash and perhaps add it the evening before washing in the morning instead, so I can get a better idea of whether the leave-in is contributing to increased oiliness without having to risk dry ends.

Cheers!

[ClareDee]

Kazazi - I'm similar; and have slipped back into daily washing again. I tried to stretch washes, but it's too tough going. By the second day, my head is an oil slick, and I feel grimy in general, to the point where I don't want to go out. In summer, the heat makes it all even ickier.

I'll just reiterate what the others have said. Washing daily is not necessarily a bad thing. If you use a mild shampoo, and concentrate on your scalp, it'll be fine. My scalp has never suffered due to shampooing (and I spent at least 15 years washing every morning), even when I used harsh stuff, undiluted... You may have an easy-going scalp too.

The obvious down side is having to dry it every day. I'm slowly going back to my hairdryer too. But then I only want BSL hair -- so I think that length will be able to tolerate more wear and tear than hip-length might.

I'm definitely leaning more in favour of enjoying your hair every day, and feeling good, rather than following every perceived rule about hair health. :toast:

ETA: I've found I really don't need much conditioner at all, and skip it about half the time. In winter I use more. Keep experimenting and you'll figure out what your hair needs. I keep it simple and quick --- lather once with one small blob of shampoo, warm rinse, cool rinse for shine. Gentle towel-dry and spray some conditioner on to the very ends (spray works best for me; less messy). Comb with a wide-tooth comb and dry.

[Honey39]

I CO-wash almost every day, and my hair thrives on that. I just like having fresh hair every day, and it makes me happy and enjoy my hair. To me, that's the main aim of having long hair, to enjoy it. I hated having to count in advance to whether my hair would look good on a day that I was going out in the evening, or if it would be a 2nd/3rd day etc. I never shampoo though, and my hair absolutely thrives on this routine.

I would do whatever you feel like doing - I know it's a bit of an 'in-thing' here to be stretching washes, but I say do whatever you want with your hair so long as you enjoy it! And if you're not enjoying second day hair, then don't have it!

[ravenreed]

My hair was fine until waist with washing every day. The only reason I am doing it every other day now is that my routine takes about 20 minutes longer, and as my hemline gets thicker, drying time is increasing as well.

[Sceleste]

I have to wash my hair either every day or every other day. I don't know what's causing it but my scalp produces less or more oil in phases. Now I wash every other day, a couple months back I had to wash every day.

I have never noticed any harm to my scalp or hair when washing every day. I use mostly shampoo bars or soapnuts, occasionally diluted shampoo. I also do a lot of scalp washes which probably keeps my ends in reasonable shape. I can't imagine wetting my hair every day - I've tried it and got tangly dry ends.

Don't be afraid to wash your hair daily. Washing often doesn't necessarily mean you scalp will suffer and start producing more oil. When I'm going through the greasy phase my scalp feels sore and I even get whiteheads to scalp if I don't wash daily, so for me it's necessary to wash often for healthy scalp.

And of course there's the beauty factor. Everyone with greasy scalp knows what it feels like looking to the mirror and seeing an oil slick. Seeing my greasy hair and knowing I can't hide it makes me feel unattractive, not pretty and definitely not my normal cheerful self. It's better to wash every day if oily hair affects your self esteem, like it does on me on bad days.

[hennaphile]

I wash everyday because of scalp issues. No problem, do what feels right for you :)