stretching washes

[buttons]

No, I don't mean "stretching" as in bending over and touching your toes :p
I'm trying to go back to my previous "once a week" CO washes, but having a hard time. After my last wash my hair got greasy the day after the next, but I've just thrown it up in a bun to hide it.
Does anyone have any tips on how to get my hair to adjust a little better? Should I go for once every 3-4 days for the first few times and then ween myself off to once a week?
TIA

[jojo]

the best thing to do is let your hair decide, it takes a while to stretch the washes out but it is do able. I wash mine twice a week but if your hair needs more thats fine too. In summer I CO wash every other day and just poo once a week, yet in winter my hair needs poo on it to behave.

Hope this makes sense and is of help to you x

[CurlyOne]

I don't really know but I would love to hear an answer. I am trying to stretch washings out too and my roots are pretty oily. So far I am going from daily washing to every other day. I woul like to to be around 3 days eventually.

Is it better to gradually build up or just jump right in it?

[buttons]

the best thing to do is let your hair decide, it takes a while to stretch the washes out but it is do able. I wash mine twice a week but if your hair needs more thats fine too. In summer I CO wash every other day and just poo once a week, yet in winter my hair needs poo on it to behave.

Hope this makes sense and is of help to you x

Of course it was helpful, thanks :)
I'm so jealous of those people who can:
1. Wash frequently without their hair getting dry as hay.
2. Wash rarely without their hair getting oily as a slick.
I'm somewhere in between, maybe every 3-4 washes are for me.

[jojo]

do you use oil at all? this will help with the dryness, my hair used to get dry on the ends but now i put just a few drops rubbed between my hands and apply it to soaking wet hair, the difference is amazing. Coconut oil or jojoba are good ones to start with (ears down only, not to whole length).
glad to be of help xx

[dontcallmejessi]

In summer I CO wash every other day and just poo once a week, yet in winter my hair needs poo on it to behave.

:misskim::misskim::misskim:LMBO! What must someone coming here for the first time (that doesn't speak LHC) think reading this? :misskim::misskim::misskim:Just couldn't resist!

[buttons]

:misskim::misskim::misskim:LMBO! What must someone coming here for the first time (that doesn't speak LHC) think reading this? :misskim::misskim::misskim:Just couldn't resist!

ROFL!
I didn't understand that til I re-read the post.
"They put WHAT? WHERE!?" :p

[jojo]

ROFLAO!!

the senna is working as i type! and horse muck helps grow roses, so why not hair??? LOL!
*i am giggling uncontrollably here* thats the second time tonight, i have typed without thinking!:D

eta-i betcha somebody whos from another forum is typing a ' new hair growth secret' as we speak!! that is so funny!

[amaiaisabella]

I CO every 3 days, but my hair is very dry and soaks up the moisture to the point that my ends remain dry. I'm going to try doing a second C just on the ends.

I have also found that I sprinkle the tiniest amount of baby powder and rub between my hands before I rub my hands all over my scalp and really massage it in. My hair is dark so it would show very easily. That soaks up a bit of the oil (the hair can look really dry if you use too much!) and I can go another day from there. :)

[dontcallmejessi]

THANK YOU for that though! I NEEDED THAT! Still giggling :D

[jojo]

same here Jessica, that is the best belly laugh i have had in years!

[Shell]

Stretching out washes is pretty easy. First go every other day, wear it up on day two it it's awful. Then after a week or so, stretch to every third day, again, wear hair up if it's greasy. Do this for two weeks. Then go to washing every fourth day, wear up on days that it looks bad, or just braid. Do this for two to three weeks. Repeat as needed! I generally wash every five or six days, but I have gone for ten days, and I didn't even have to wash then. I do dampen the length of my hair nearly daily, and add conditioner and oils to keep my hair moisturized (I have dry hair--not damaged, just dry).

[Lamb]

:misskim::misskim::misskim:LMBO! What must someone coming here for the first time (that doesn't speak LHC) think reading this? :misskim::misskim::misskim:Just couldn't resist!
Holy ewe, LHC is cheering me up tonight... :lol:
To the OP: the question is, *why* do you want to stretch out washes? What do you hope to achieve by washing less frequently?
I tend to get the impression that many people here regard a routine of infrequent washings as an ideal, a sort of longhair etalon to aim for. Is this really the "longhair thing to do", to wash as little as possible?
My answer would be: nope, the ideal goal is to work out what helps your hair *and* scalp and what doesn't. If you find that COing every 3 days keeps your hair and scalp happy, and, equally as important, makes you happy with the condition and overall appearance of your head, go for it.
If I stretch out washes, the result is a catastrophe. I could never grow long hair whilst only washing twice a week. (major dryness and a very itchy-smelly scalp)

[jojo]

i know my friend goes a fortnight at times without washing, she is Asian and has beautiful thick long hair which grows like weeds, we both started growing at the same length, she is past waist now and im not even BSL! wonder if less washing=increased growth? like the natural serum takes over? afterall we have serum for a reason

[jojo]

Holy ewe, LHC is cheering me up tonight... :lol:
To the OP: the question is, *why* do you want to stretch out washes? What do you hope to achieve by washing less frequently?
I tend to get the impression that many people here regard a routine of infrequent washings as an ideal, a sort of longhair etalon to aim for. Is this really the "longhair thing to do", to wash as little as possible?
My answer would be: nope, the ideal goal is to work out what helps your hair *and* scalp and what doesn't. If you find that COing every 3 days keeps your hair and scalp happy, and, equally as important, makes you happy with the condition and overall appearance of your head, go for it.
If I stretch out washes, the result is a catastrophe. I could never grow long hair whilst only washing twice a week. (major dryness and a very itchy-smelly scalp)

i agree listen to your hair!
as for the poo thingy i will never live it down, i seriously feel like ive done a million sit ups with laughing, you guys are the best!

[buttons]

Holy ewe, LHC is cheering me up tonight... :lol:
To the OP: the question is, *why* do you want to stretch out washes? What do you hope to achieve by washing less frequently?
I tend to get the impression that many people here regard a routine of infrequent washings as an ideal, a sort of longhair etalon to aim for. Is this really the "longhair thing to do", to wash as little as possible?
My answer would be: nope, the ideal goal is to work out what helps your hair *and* scalp and what doesn't. If you find that COing every 3 days keeps your hair and scalp happy, and, equally as important, makes you happy with the condition and overall appearance of your head, go for it.
If I stretch out washes, the result is a catastrophe. I could never grow long hair whilst only washing twice a week. (major dryness and a very itchy-smelly scalp)

Once weekly was at one point when my hair was happiest. No, I don't think washing "as little as possible is the long hair thing to do, i'm just trying out different between-wash periods til I figure out what makes my hair happy now.

[Lamb]

like the natural serum takes over? afterall we have serum for a reason

Sebum, you mean? ;) I don't think that would help grow hair more quickly in itself. (An oily scalp usually makes my hair fall out so I'd rather not experiment too long.)
There are probably countless other reasons why your Asian friend's hair grows faster (think genetics, or, blood is thicker than sebum...sorry for this lame joke) . Besides, Asian women usually have strong, coarse hair and the coarser one's hair is, the less visible the greasies are in it.

[Angellen]

I used to wash every other day, and now have gotten it to a week/week-and-a-half. I find that bunning hides excess oil now, and my hair is getting to the point where I can extend it to a week and a half or two weeks without washing if I so choose. However, I don't like washing in the middle of the week, so it varies for me.

Anyway, towards the I-NEED-to-wash-NOW! time, putting it up really helps. I find I can usually extended it by a day or two just by putting it up. I don't have any other real suggestions, though. Good luck!

[jojo]

Of course it was helpful, thanks :)
I'm so jealous of those people who can:
1. Wash frequently without their hair getting dry as hay.
2. Wash rarely without their hair getting oily as a slick.
I'm somewhere in between, maybe every 3-4 washes are for me.

:eyebrows:

[CaityBear]

Hahahaha! That poo thing is hilarious!! Oh my...they would think we're crazy here...

So far I can only go every other day. Longer then that causes really oily roots. As it is, I can just *barely* make every other day.

[Katze]

When I first came here I stretched out to a week, and my hair was very soft and smooth and shiny...and flat. I tended to get greasy crown and puffy, bumpy length.

Since I like wearing my hair down I am at washing every 3-4 days. I can stretch it longer, but generally then do have to WO wash at least to make my scalp happy.

Over longer periods of time, CO made my problems worse. My scalp didn't get clean, and I started getting crusty buildup. Since then I have gone back to using shampoo (in a CWC) every other wash - which means 2x, or so, a month - and WO every other wash - as I see fit. Now that I "know" my hair a bit better, I prefer just doing what it seems to want to sticking to a rigid routine or schedule.

While I think you should baby fine hair (the OP is a finie, right?) and try to keep as much of its natural moisture in it as possible, I also think it is much easier for our hair to get weighed down and start looking greasy. So it's a balancing act - wash enough so that the hair looks and feels good, but wash less so the hair is happy and doesn't get staticky or dry. Ultimately, you need to figure this out for your hair.

Your frustration is totally normal, I can't even count the number of times I posted here hating my not-one-thing-but-not-the-other, temperamental, wispy, weightless hair. It IS getting better, though, slowly, with LHC help.

good luck! :flower:

Katze

[jojo]

Sebum, you mean? ;) I don't think that would help grow hair more quickly in itself. (An oily scalp usually makes my hair fall out so I'd rather not experiment too long.)
There are probably countless other reasons why your Asian friend's hair grows faster (think genetics, or, blood is thicker than sebum...sorry for this lame joke) . Besides, Asian women usually have strong, coarse hair and the coarser one's hair is, the less visible the greasies are in it.

LOL! yes i did mean sebum, >>>>>>going off to change username to 'foot in mouth'