How often do you wash?

[buttons]

:mad: I used to go 3-4 days between washes, but over easter break I experimented with a lot of treatments and had to wash more often. I washed my hair the day before last and today it already looked like an oil slick!

Just curious (and trying to convince myself this isn't a big deal) how often do you wash? Including CO, CWC, or whatever your regimen.

[ChloeDharma]

This thread talks about washing frequency...
http://www.forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=1542

I wash on average once a week or so but am trying to wash more frequently for an experiment i'm theretically trying ;)

The thing is i usually keep my hair heavily oiled so the hair turning greasy and making me wash it isn't a factor for me :p

[Cinnamon Hair]

I wash daily, meaning CO routine using White Rain or VO5 on scalp and something heavier (like L'Oreal Mega Moisture) on the length, put into a shower cap, then rinse it all out at the end of my shower while detangling the length. Shampoo once a week.
If you don't like the way your hair looks when extending your wash cycle, then it is perfectly acceptable and good for your hair to wash daily or however often you prefer. Hair loves moisture and water is that in its purest form. The only issues I see would be using too harsh products (ex: shampooing length daily) or rough-handling/manipulating your hair too much.

[Cloverleaf]

I usually wash every 3 - 4 days, average twice per week I guess - usually CWC with various brands for experimenting!

[CopperHead]

I just wash when my hair needs it. No set time. :)

[teela1978]

Pretty much daily. I get noticeably greasy about 36 hours post-wash. I've tried extending things a bit but I just can't stand the oil slick on my head!

[soobie]

I wash with shampoo once a week after exercising (Friday), and rinse with just water on the other two days of the week that I exercise heavily (Monday and Wednesday). I sweat a lot during spin class, and if I don't at least rinse, I get itchy.

Works for me, but everyone's different.

[mommy101405]

I wash daily. CWC mostly. I just dry to not to use SLS shampoo all the time. I have been working with CO some days but my hair gets very oily so by the end of the day its an oil slick without the shampoo.

[Lamb]

Daily. My hair needs moisture, my scalp needs to be cleaned. Heavily diluted shampoo and a small amount of leave-in works well for me.

[cindy58]

Usually CWC twice a week with diluted shampoo. Seems to be working fine.

[spidermom]

Usually CWC twice a week with diluted shampoo. Seems to be working fine.
That's my routine, too.

[Lizbot]

I was maybe two or three times a week depending on how my scalp is feeling. I use shampoo on my scalp and clip up my conditioned hair while I'm doing the rest of my super shower keep me clean duties. After rinsing out the conditioner, I'll do a cold water rinse then allow it to hair dry.

I've recently gotten into the habit of prolonging the time between shampoos by using my BBB to bring the oil from my scalp down to my ends. While I haven't been doing it for long, it seems to be helping all in all.

[Kunzang]

My hair does better when I was less frequently - now its every 5-6 days, or whenever my scalp gets too itchy. Shampoo the roots only then CO the length and comb it with seamless wide-toothed comb while rinsing.

[mommy2one05]

I normally s&c about 2-4 times a week...just depends how oily or itchy my hair is. I have been trying the co method but it feels like my scalp has been more itchy, but I was gonna try a bit longer and see if it takes a bit to get used to or it may not be for me.

[Growin' It]

CO once a week, or a week and a half. 2/3 WO rinses between times. I'm trying to do more WO than CO though.

[Moezland]

I used to wash about every 3 to 4 days, then I started stretching it to once a week to eliminate too much manipulation. Now, I'm thinking I might just go back to every 3 days or so - my hair really seems to miss the extra moisture.

[chrissy-b]

I CWC twice weekly and CO on the other days. It's working fine for me right now. I tried to extend my washes to 1 CWC a week and CO only twice weekly for about a month. Did not work for me. My scalp broke out something fierce and my hair was just too oily.

[Anlbe]

My skin and hair do not like water and find it very drying, particularly in the winter. So I only wash my hair every 8-14 days in the winter - shampoo then conditioner, both designed for very dry and damaged hair, then light oiling on the lengths. This gets shorter in hot weather or if I do alot of sports (90minutes or more) but I don't think it ever gets less than 5 days.

[sahiba]

Every alternative day for me.

[Newniepg]

I CO every other day. I don't know if I need to wash it this often, but since joining the LHC I have been really looking forward to my wash days...

[aney]

I wash it once a week! I don't have an oily scalp currently so I can get away with it!

[KaeleyAnne]

I used to wash my hair every other day or so, but recently I've been trying to spread out my washings to every 3-4 days. It seems to be working, though I am still playing with different washing methods. I've never washed my hair on a daily basis - if I did, it would never dry in the winter; even washing my hair every other day would sometimes lead to washing my hair while it was still damp from the previous washing.

[pepperedmoth]

I only use water to clean my hair, and I do it whenever I hop into the shower, which is about every other day. When I shampooed I'd only shampoo every three or four days.

[Sillage]

I shampoo and condition everyday :D

[misspriss]

I wash my hair every 3-4 days on average. I shower and don't wash my hair pretty often, like maybe a couple of times a day. I just use regular shampoo and conditioner. I tried a CWC but my hair really isn't long enough.

I used to blow dry my hair every time I washed, I have started allowing it to air dry. That means a ponytail every day for me, until it gets long enough to look good in it's natural state. The last cut I got does not lend itself to curls or waves...

[Poolsoflaughter]

I have to wash every other day..if it's less than that, then things get ugly. ;)

[eresh]

I wash it every 4 days, longer than that it gets too oily on top.
First wash scalp only with shampoo for oily hair, second wash everything with a "for dailky use" shampoo.
And then an anti-tangle creme, work in and rinse out, done :-)

[Anje]

The last week or two, it's been daily or every other day. My scalp's been getting oily faster since January, and it just stepped it up another notch. Must be the weather (which I blame just about everything for). These are almost all CO washings, BTW.

I may need to start stretching washings again, but it's nice to have my skin producing some oil for once.

[Katze]

every 3-4 days, depending on how much it's been handled. Sometimes I can stretch to 5 or 6, but then I can't wear my hair down, and I LIKE wearing it down.

I also alternate CWC and WO washes, and alternate 'cone and 'cone-free products for my CWC washing.

[AJoifulNoise]

I wash 6 days a week. CO Mon-Fri, Shampoo/Condition on Saturday, No Wash on Sunday.

I've tried to stretch it out and wound up scratching my scalp bloody in my sleep. So, I'm just sticking with what works right now.

[Eden Iris]

Once a week with a shampoo bar, but my scalp has always been on the dry side.

[Isilya]

I CWC twice a week (on Wednesdays and Sundays) and I'm trying to stretch it to once a week (every Sunday).

[bellawave]

With shampoo every 3 days. I also CO 2-3 of the other days in the week, and no wash the rest of the time.

So over a week my routine might look like S, CO, NW, S, NW, CO, S... But it really works out to "whatever it feels like it needs." ;)

Edit to add: I always condition after shampooing, in that wash.

[Irishred]

I wash my hair once a week usually, but will occasionally throw in a mid week wash. I can't stand having all my hair wet everyday. In the summer when it is really hot I will just go stand in the shower but not wash (WO?) but then my hair will dry in less than half the time too.

Oh, I wash my scalp with shampoo and condition the length and very lightly the top (or I'd get a pretty halo - or more than I have now :lol: )

[Gecko]

Once or twice a week. I think for a few weeks I did wash only once a week like I wanted, but then this week I messed up... sort of, I really did need to wash my hair. But I'm going to only wash it once a week until summer's here and I start swimming...

[Chamomile betty]

I wash about 2x a week maybe 3x. Then I CO my length the other nights of the week. I am wavy/curly so I prefer to work with wet hair.

This is from someone who thought she had to wash daily for many years. Once I got used to not washing as much my scalp and hair are so much happier.

[n3m3sis42]

Usually, I wash twice a week except for in the winter (which in Atlanta is not all that long).

I think that every 3-4 days is the routine my hair is happiest with, as this is more or less what's worked best for me with "evil" SLS shampoos, no-poo, and now natural shampoo bars. I can stretch it to a week, but except in the winter, it's not all that pretty.

[Shanarana]

I try and wash as least as I can. Sometimes I can go 3 to 4 days, other times I'll have to wash it more often depending on how I wear it, and what product I put on it. I usually always wet down my fringe before going out. I don't worry to much about that because I trim them often.

[rossjen]

I wash every third day, and do a quick water rinse on the others.

[Silver & Gold]

Right now I was about every 3-5 days depending on what is going on in my life. I'm trying to stretch out the time a bit and I may even play around with WO.

[Leisha]

I wash once every two weeks or so.

My hair starts getting a small bit greasy after about 9 days but after two weeks it's still ok actually. I usually wash it then because I start to get a few flakes on my scalp.

ETA: I do regular S/C and don't wet my hair down in between washes (unless I mist but that doesn't happen too often)

[Rosepatrice]

Everyday I wet my hair down, add a heavy conditioner on the length and rinse. Every Friday I wash my scalp with shampoo, rinse, then add heavy conditioner to the length and an herbal rinse with Witch Hazel on my scalp. Since hair loves moisture, this works well for me.

[thetokenlady]

PeppermintPaddy, my routine is similar to yours. Hair gets wet every day in the shower, length gets a bit of V05 Conditioner to help detangle, cold water final rinse. About once a week I S&C, right now it's Lush's "Curly Wurly" shampoo and "Veganese" conditioner, but I think I'll just go back to V05 once the Lush conditioner is gone, it's not worth the money to me. It also gets a dab of either oil or shea butter on the very ends after the shower and right before bed (after misting). My ends are very dry and love all the moisture I can give them.

[ysmalan]

I usually wash once a week, my scalp produces almost no grease (quote from my envious BF), so I didn't have to extend anything, it just works. I think I could wash every two weeks and have no problems at all... I just like washing my hair, so every week it is. ;) Funny thing is, my hair also never gets real dry. Sometimes I use oil excessively, some weeks I totally forget about it, but my hair and even my ends almost always stay supple and sleek. :shrug: I use a very mild shampoo heavily diluted or a shampoo bar. Works fine for me.

[Trollkona]

I wash every day, beacuse I love the feeling of newly washed hair and the smell of conditioners :)

[freznow]

Once in a blue moon :p

Okay, perhaps a bit more often. But I went 7 months between my last two (WO) washes, and plan on going 2 months before I wash again, sooo yeah, not very often at all.

[Rosepatrice]

PeppermintPaddy, my routine is similar to yours. Hair gets wet every day in the shower, length gets a bit of V05 Conditioner to help detangle, cold water final rinse. About once a week I S&C, right now it's Lush's "Curly Wurly" shampoo and "Veganese" conditioner, but I think I'll just go back to V05 once the Lush conditioner is gone, it's not worth the money to me. It also gets a dab of either oil or shea butter on the very ends after the shower and right before bed (after misting). My ends are very dry and love all the moisture I can give them.


Hi Thetokenlady!

Oh yeh, I forgot the the dab of either olive oil or coconut oil OR Shea butter to the ends!! I would also agree with you about the Lush condish. it isn't worth the money when there just so many other great products out there now.
What do you mist with? I use rose water or just plain water with almond oil.

[brok3nwings]

I used to hear when i was young that i should wash my hair everyday because the scalp takes long to really dry and so if we washed the hair everyday it would make the hair fragil and it would fall more often. Anyone knows if this is true?

[thetokenlady]

Peppermint Patty, I mist with plain water. My idea is to get the hair damp before oiling, it works much better. Right now I'm using "Africa's Best Ultimate Herbal Oil," which looks to be mostly soy oil with a lot of others mixed in. It's pretty light and smells wonderful. If I use Shea, it'll be shea melted with coconut oil with some of the Africa's Best mixed in to keep the whole mess a bit softer. I use the shea mixture on both hair and skin and love it!

[Neorah]

I wash three times a week- Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays in the evening. I've been doing this for almost 6 months, now, and my scalp is still oily on the second day, and intolerably so by the third! I usually do deep oil treatments on Sundays, which is convenient because my head is always an oil slick by then anyway, with my current wash schedule.

I just have very oily skin in general, and I guess my scalp is no exception... It's frustrating. I don't know if I'll ever be able to wash my hair less frequently, although I would very much like to be able to.

[Druid of Alba]

NEVER!!!!! Joking, haha. I wash every other day.

[flapjack]

I have to wash my hair every other day or the hair near my scalp gets pretty oily. My head just naturally produces extra oil, I guess. It's good in the sense that my hair is never dry feeling, static-prone and I have yet to find a split end. But I have to wash it pretty regularly. I use really mild shampoos with all natural ingredients and it's fine. The only brand I REALLY can't use is JASON. It made my hair soooo greasy, it was nasty.

[catfish]

My hair is wet everyday, it gets baby soap/shampoo about once a week, conditioner all the time. I live in the most humid place on the planet:D having wet hair everyday is inevitable.

[Yari]

It depends on the circumstances. On average, I wash my hair monthly.

[Michiru]

About every 3 days

[Magsi]

Usually every other day, sometimes daily. I wish I could go without washing for 4 days, but my hair gets too greasy.

[sahiba]

I prefer washing every alternate days.

[SolSara]

CO once a week. WO (sometimes condish on the lenghts) 1-3 times in between, depending on what the hair looks like. Shampoo like every 6:th week or so.

Right now I'm thinking about doing CO more often. Towards the end of the week, the hair still looks all right, but not anywhere close to how it looks the days after a CO-wash. :)

[Anlbe]

I just did a review of my shampoo and I remembered that it was only after I moved to a shampoo for very dry and brittle hair that I started being able to get past the 4/5 day mark. Before that my roots were alot greasier. I think maybe it was because the other shampoos were too harsh on my scalp and it would produce extra sebum to try and keep my head happy.

[magicatt]

After trying just about every kind of routine and trying to stretch out my washings, I am back to s&C every day. My hair is very fine and it looks oily by the end of the day no matter what I do.

[Amnell]

twice a week or every 3-4 day
I dont have a special routine so i use what i can find, shampoo, poobar or co

[citcit]

I wash my hair once, somtimes twice, a week. shampoo, conditioner and apple cider vinegar

[Ashley]

Still every other day... It's hard to break this habit! Especially because I have to work quite often and I need to look representable.

[Delenn]

I wash it when it needs it. Typically not less than once a week and not more than 3 times. It really depends on what I've been doing, the time of year (summer vs winter), and how I've been wearing it.

For the last 2 years I was CO, but recently I switched to CWC because my activity level needed more scalp cleansing.

[JCFantasy23]

I go by my hair. Sometimes every 3-4 days, most of the time every other day. Sometimes it goes in phases, especially during hormonal times, where if I don't wash it daily it looks like its coated with grease.

[korikat]

Typically, about once a week. But I can usually go up to 2 weeks between washes before it really starts to get oily. I currently do S&C, as I've always done. But I'm about to start CWC.

[julya]

I really don't like getting the length of my hair wet, but I wash my scalp about once a week. I haven't wet the length in a couple of months, I think.

[PetiteHatter]

I usually wash every 3-4 days

[Siava]

Used to be every day, sometimes twice a day! The meds I'm on has dried me up though so now it's about every 2 or 3 days. I could go longer, but I don't like to and neither do the curls.

[BlueRose4217]

Twice a week, but I am finding that I wet my hair down more often in the summer to apply leave-in. It helps to keep my ends moist.

[SarieQ]

I wash the full length once a week and scalp wash (the top half) once or twice in between.