Washing only part of your hair

[Alcenaia]

Backstory: The top quarter of my nearly classic hair gets oilier than the bottom three-quarters. I wash my hair it everyday, which seems to work best. However, the bottom three-quarters doesn't seem to need to be washed that often. My hair gets tangly when wet, and I detangle with conditioner. I'd like to try washing the length of my hair less than daily, to see if it will help with shedding.

Has anyone washed only part of their hair, without getting the other part totally wet? How did you do it? Did it work for you? Other thoughts? Thanks!

Couldn't find a thread related to this. If this has already been discussed thanks in advance for directing me to that thread. :)

[GlassEyes]

If you check the article section, amoretti has an article on scalp-only washing, if that's what you mean. However, if you mean only the canopy gets oily, then I don't know how to help you.

[enfys]

I've washed just the front of my hair by parting it ear to ear and putting the back in a ponytail. I then put the front section in a ponytail, but put the band about 8" from the roots.

I fill a sink with tepid water and dunk my scalp in, using my fingers I get the weater to the roots, dunk the front of my head in the sink again to rinse it, then drain the water and fill it once more to rinse off any residue.

The sink doesn't need to be very full, and I find the dunking gives more control than the shower head.

It's the same principle as Amoretti's full scalp wash, but on a smaller scale!

[Alcenaia]

GlassEyes, thank you for directing me to amoretti's article! That is what I was after. Now I know what it's called.

enfys, thanks for the smaller scale version. I have a small sink and a showerhead with a limited range of motion, so I'll have to see which works best.

The LHC is so helpful so quickly. <3

[Darkhorse1]

I do this too, but my ends do get wet. I tended to use condition/wash/condition to keep the ends from getting too dry.

Your hair is gorgeous!

[Beatnik Guy]

There are other methods too -- searching for "scalp wash" might help. I wash all my hair only every few weeks, but the oily part gets cleaned more often than that. Good luck! :)

[akilina]

I usually only wash my scalp in the front of my hair and at the nape...where i get oily. if I could get over the initial shock of oily hair for a week or so id probably start doing CO but i absolutely cant stand the look and feel of greasy.

[ravenreed]

My hair is not oily when I CO. That is why I am able to do it. I cannot stand when my hair gets oily.

I scalp wash sometimes when I don't have time for a full wash in the shower. My hair dries in about 30 minutes when I scalp wash, versus 5 hours when I do the whole thing. However, I typically only do the first 1/3 of my hair. I cannot figure out how to gracefully do the back without getting my ends wet as well. Besides, my ends like to get wet every few days, so I only do the scalp wash when I need to be somewhere in a hurry.

ETA:
Oh, and when I scalp wash, I use a shampoo bar. I like how easily it rinses out compared to regular shampoo.

[Fiferstone]

I scalp wash in between full length washings now. I use a shampoo bar (LUSH Trichomania), and I braid the length and stuff the braid down the back of my robe. I've got a handheld shower attachment so I can use that bent over the tub. So far, so good. I like the fact that I am not getting the length wet quite so often, and I can keep the scalp oiliness under better control.

[Juneii]

woah, I didn't even think that was possible... I am looking into this now - this might mean I won't have to go half of my day with my hair still soaking wet! :D

EDIT: so I read it... I don't think my hair is long enough to follow amoretti's article D: maybe later...

[may1em]

I scalp wash sometimes. Unfortunately, I have to use the kneeling in front of bathtub faucet while in bathtub method because the toilet blocks side access to the faucet and I don't have a handheld showerhead.

I usually use diluted shampoo in a bottle with a pointy nozzle, because it's easier to get it in there with one hand that way.

[MsBubbles]

woah, I didn't even think that was possible... I am looking into this now - this might mean I won't have to go half of my day with my hair still soaking wet! :D
EDIT: so I read it... I don't think my hair is long enough to follow amoretti's article D: maybe later...

Your hair is longer than mine and I do scalp washes. I wrap my pony tail in two shower caps, secured with several big, thick, loose conair ponytail holders. Getting the pony tail a bit damp doesn't bother me though...it's still better than having to rip a comb through wet ends to detangle.

I like Enfys' method of dunking in a sink. That'd definitely keep your ends dry.

[Kristin]

Yep, scalp washing is great. Especially if you have somewhere to be and don't want to walk around with wet hair all day.

I agree with everyone else. Pull length back in a pony. Dunk head in a sink or run water over. Shampoo, condish if desired, comb. And my hair dries faster at my roots, so it probably only takes 30-45 minutes to be dry.

[Beatnik Guy]

EDIT: so I read it... I don't think my hair is long enough to follow amoretti's article D: maybe later...
Your hair is long enough to scamp wash. Another method is to ponytail length, cover in shower cap (I slide it back and hold), turn to face forward into shower so just scalp gets wet, apply shampoo).

[enfys]

Huh, my scalp washes don't seem to dry than much faster! I'm jealous.

I have done my partial scalp wash since I was at BSL, but I think it could be done with shorter lengths.

Should I do an article on it since it's a bit different to Amoretti's version?

[MsBubbles]

Should I do an article on it since it's a bit different to Amoretti's version?

Yeah! Sure! :D

That's actually a good idea. There are many different variations of it I guess. When I ran my scalp wash poll a few months back I got lots of replies from people doing their own variation.

[enfys]

Get ready for some really quite unflattering photos then!

I'll try and do it later this week, maybe Friday/Saturday.

[MsBubbles]

Get ready for some really quite unflattering photos then!


Well don't feel too bad...I put pink and blue shower caps on my ponytail. And when I get out my scalp hair is so ruffled it looks like Simon Baker's (http://hairstylesdesign.com/gallery/photos/simon_baker_3311_5174.jpg).

But hey! It's all about preserving the ends...for me anyway. :)