Trade-offs and opportunity costs

[Tangles]

I'm applying the law of economics to hair care :p

Basically I just had a minor epiphany yesterday. I clarified with Suave and noticed my hair was fuzzy, frizzy, but clean. Today however, it's been thicker, lusher, just plain healthier looking than in a while.

My theory is this. Many of us have to choose between having clean hair that looks good on the second day, and well-conditioned hair that only looks good on the first day.

Might there be some truth to this?

[zen_oven]

I think so. My hair generally looks better on the second day too, but it's worth putting up with a day of being a fuzzball but having a clean scalp.

[nowxisxforever]

I think so. My hair generally looks better on the second day too, but it's worth putting up with a day of being a fuzzball but having a clean scalp.

Me too. :)

[Fencai]

I concur!!! Great theory!

[Amara]

I also don't care too much about first day hair, since I keep it up and damp as long as possible. By the time I've let it down, the frizz has calmed and it's all nice.

[amaiaisabella]

Very true. Anything that makes my hair feel well-conditioned the first day generally hangs limp and clumpy the next day. Depends on the hairtype, I suppose, but sometimes I deliberately don't condition as much just to stretch out my washes :)

[enfys]

I like my fluffy clean hair but I'd rather it be sleek day 1. Day 2 is limp and day 3 is wear a hat.

One day I'll find the right stuff, but for now my scalp sees minimal conditioner.

Except I did my first ever CO wash today because I wanted to get some hairspray out. I need a routine rountine, not a higgledy piggledy rountine.

[Tangles]

I need a routine rountine, not a higgledy piggledy rountine.

Exactly my sentiments. I'm dealing with soft water right now and if I use just a little too much oil, my hair gets unbelievably stringy and ratty.

[MsBubbles]

Maybe I am missing the point - but for me there is no such thing as clean and anything on the second day. Only the grease spill. I get my clean sleekness on the first day and the rest of the time it is disgusting!

[Tabitha]

I don't even count washday as a day - it takes 5-6 hours to dry, during which time it looks a mess. Once dry, until it's been slept on it feels really rough and looks dull. The next day it's clean, soft, bouncy and shiny.

[AnneAdeline]

That's so true!
My hair is horribly dry and tangly the first day, but so much better the second. Since I only wash once a week, I much rather the first day be bad than all the rest of them.

[redcelticcurls]

For me, good first day hair is critical for getting second day hair.

If my first day hair sucks, then second day hair is an updo since it won't be "good enough" to wear down.

[nienna42]

There's probably truth to it for the people whose hair starts looking greasy after a day or two, but not so much for me or many other people, I'm sure. It takes somewhere around 24 hours for my hair to dry, because I dry it in a braid. It takes about a week for my hair to start feeling greasy and about two weeks for it to start looking greasy or smelling odd. If I don't condition my hair well when I wash it, it isn't going to look any good until I wet it again and condition it.

[julya]

I usually wash my hair before bed, and let it dry overnight while I sleep. I don't notice much of a difference between wash day and second day hair, but sometimes my hair is still a bit damp on day two, so maybe that has something to do with it.

[Moonstruck]

I always wash my hair at night so that the first day frizzies are gone by the morning. At least, this seems to work for me. I feel like I cheat the system everytime I do it, too. Haha!

But yes, I think your theory sounds good in general. =) My first day with frizzies is worth sacrificing for really nice hair the 2nd, and hopefully third days.

[Laylah]

My hair looks bad the first day and sometimes the second. Then it stays good for the rest of the week, but when the weekend arrives again it's too greasy at the scalp.

[RocketDog]

I can skip the fuzzy first-day hair by braiding or bunning before my hair starts to dry after a shower. If I want to wear it down and show off the natural curl, I just deal with the poofiness. Due to the summer heat it's not worn down often, so I just dry it in an updo to avoid the frizzies... and my hair is so fine that I need to wash it every 2-3 days, especially if I'm doing anything outside where I'll perspire. Otherwise it looks and feels too dirty.

[Cinnamon Hair]

For me the equilibrium in that equation is to wash daily (CO). Or to put it another way, marginal cost (CO'ing daily) = marginal profit (happy hair daily).

[inertia]

I only have about 30 hours before my scalp is visibly greasy and starting to become sore. The best approach for me is washing at night, as late as possible. That goes a long way toward calming frizz/dryness on the length before the scalp turns into an oil slick.

[JamieLeigh]

I'd rather have more of the well-conditioned hair that only looks good on the first day. I wear it up most of the time anyway, and I remember all too well the scalp-centered frizz from when I used shampoo and conditioner twice a week. :eek:

[thankyousir74]

This theory is the reason why I alternate between S&C and CO :D

[lacereza]

................................

[Vrushali]

I usually have frizzy hair the day I wash my hair (usually early mornings) but all that frizz is gone by night so I guess that is a small price for great looking hair all week since I wash my hair just once a week. I also feel my hair looks best on the third day and keeps getting better each day till I wash it again. Anyone else feel this too?

[RoseRedDead]

I don't even count washday as a day - it takes 5-6 hours to dry, during which time it looks a mess. Once dry, until it's been slept on it feels really rough and looks dull. The next day it's clean, soft, bouncy and shiny.

AH!!! Finally someone who shares in my plight! My hair does EXACTLY this! I thought I was the only one...

Anyway, to the OP, I'm washing CO but doing it differently now. I don't let the conditioner sit as long and I don't rinse as long. My scalp is not as squeaky clean, but the rest of my length isn't as dry and fuzzy... So today, I washed it, and right now I actually have pretty nice first day hair....

I've only done this new washing method a couple of times, though, so I can't be sure if it'll work long term... time will tell.

[MunchkinBubble]

I'm a greaseball by the end of day 2 so I've just learned wash days are my days to wear my hair down (which it usually just gets put up anyways...) And I have no choice but to wear updos after that. This has been the case with CO and SC.

[may1em]

I voted for clean scalp over conditioning myself.

CO as primary washing method did not work so great for me, except when I used Suave Daily Clarifying. If they made that formula in a fragrance-free option, I'd go back to it in a heartbeat but I cannot abide the fake floral smell.

Now I use gentle shampoos.