Stretching Washes just isn't for me :(

[09robiha]

The title says it all. I just dont think stretchings washes is for me, my hair is ending up feeling about as dry as the sahara.

Is there anyother daily washers/ daily co washers who can share there experiances. Has is had any imapct on you breakage/sheeding/conditoner of your hair etc etc

[Ravenne]

I either do a co or a cwc every day. And despite my F/M hair and damage from years of dyes I don't think it's any worse for wear. I get a normal amount of shedding. Less than I did in my pre-LHC days, definitely. As far as splits... well I never noticed them before LHC, but they don't seem to be overwhelming me if I keep up with S&D every few days. I'll usually find between 5-15 per session.

Personally I don't think not stretching my washes has had a huge negative affect on my hair. I'd probably stretch them if I could but it's just not practical right now.

[peronella]

I know what you mean, though I am still holding out hope that I can manage to stretch them out a little when my hair gets longer.

right now I'm trying to alternate CO with CWC to cut down on damage, I would like to CO mostly but it takes so long I use a sls free shampoo...I figure if I have to wash every day, all these things are better than just using regular shampoo every day and every little bit helps, right?

[TXbarbie]

I wash my hair every other day... sometimes everyday but I try to mainly CO and CWC on weekends. My scalp is just too greasy to wash any less than that. Plus I enjoy my hair when it's "fresh" :)

My hair gets highlights every 6 weeks but I've found that most of my damage came from heat, not chemicals.

Years ago my stylist had to cut EIGHT INCHES off since I had been blow drying AND straightening my hair DAILY for a year. She's known me for forever and would have never cut off so much hair had it not been for severe damage.

So I wash my hair whenever I want to, but I save the blow dryer for special occasions and only use the straightener on my bangs when humidity gets the best of them :flowers:

[ravenreed]

I currently CO wash every 2 - 3 days. If I have nowhere to be on day 4, I might go that long, but it looks pretty bad at that point. If my hair is total yuck on day 2, I wash. I can't stand flat, stringy hair, so I would rather wash mine than feel bad about how my hair looks. Putting it up doesn't do much for me either. The scalp hair still looks stringy.

If I wake up on day 3 and my hair got greasy overnight, I will use a dry shampoo to get me through the day, or if I have time to let it dry, I will use a shampoo bar just on the scalp area.

[teela1978]

I usually wash every other day, sometimes more often if needed. I've got the greasy scalp as well. I tried stretching, not using sulfates, doing CO... pretty much every LHC trick to help stretch out washing. None of it ever worked for me, the hair near my scalp looks wet with oil by day 3. My scalp and hair like a good sulfate wash every couple of days. It works. I'm not worried.

[Princess Kitti]

Stretching washes is not something that I have ever considered, despite all the good reasons found on LHC. My hair just looks gross if I don't wash or CO everyday. In my opinion, there is little point in it if I'm not going to be happy about how my hair looks.

[Honestwitness]

I have gone from SC every day to CO every other day, thanks to LHC. However, I can't go any longer than two days or my scalp feels yukky. Every once in a while I do SC, when it feels like I need to clarify.

However, sometimes I wonder if CO is not really all that good for my hair, because of all the rinsing and squeezing I have to do to get it out. My hair is really fragile and it is getting a lot of taper as it grows toward BSL.

[LoversLullaby]

I wash my hair every two days using CWC and wash my bangs everyday. If I don't do that, my bangs get super oily and the rest of my hair is dry no matter what I do. *sigh* Maybe when my hair gets longer I'll be able to stretch the washes more, but right now it's what makes my hair most happy so I'm going to keep doing it.

[Fractalsofhair]

Yep, I wash daily, but scalp only.

[Flynn]

I don't wash daily -- I'd never have dry hair! -- but I do wash every second day. I don't like the look and feel of my hair when I let it go longer than that.

I don't think the frequency with which I was affects my rate of shed.

I do use a very mild shampoo, because of skin issues.

[FrannyG]

I think you need to do whatever works for you. If that means washing every day, then that's what you do. I don't think it's going to make a huge difference in your hair down the line.

Some people here can go a week without a wash. I need to wash every other day. Sometimes I can go three days, but not often.

Just do what you need to do, and don't worry about the "rules". :)

[Lamb]

You might be interested in this thread:
http://www.forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=37847 :flower:

[joiekimochi]

I can't stretch washes too. I wash at night, and if I go without a wash for a night, the next day my hair will be stiff with grease at the scalp and frizzy and dry at the ends. I have to wash everyday, and can only skip a night if I know I won't be leaving the house the next day.

[Jeni]

I CWC daily unless (like today) I'm spending the day in the house where no one except my roommate and cats will see me. If I try going longer that that my scalp itches like crazy! My hair stays better in updos when it is damp so I'd probably wash my hair everyday even if I didn't have too.

I do wish I could extend my washes for a few days and still look decent but only because I'd like to not look like I dumped my head in grease when I go camping!

[Birdsong]

I was washing every other day with CWC for about two months but my hair was still very greasy the day after. I now alternate CWC and CO. This routine works well for me. I tried dry shampoos on the days between washing but none make a good enough difference.

[Katurday]

I used to think that was the case for me, but now I'm getting second day grease on the third day. Thats my limit though, as it was during my childhood when I refused to bathe either way. It doesn't matter if I ALWAYS washed my hair weekly, it still got greasy on the third day.

[MsBubbles]

Stretching washes never worked for me either. After two years I am, in a way, still trying. Anyway, I usually alternate good days and bad days: first day washed & fresh, second day up in a bun with a greasy scalp. If I'm careful not to touch or comb my scalp hair too much on the 2nd morning, I can get away with it not being a grease pit until about halfway through that day.

My ends got dried and fried, though, even 'stretching' my washes to every other day. My ends were getting really ratty. Then I tried a scalp wash - it worked - and my dried, fried ends have been given a new lease on life. Scalp washes have made growing my hair beyond BSL a reality rather than an unrealistic dream. I do scalp washes for anywhere up to 2 weeks then have to wash the whole lot to get the oil off the ends.

[Tutti_Frutti]

It doesn't work for me either, I just decided to wash my hair more often again instead of 2 times a week. I stretched the washes for about 2-3 months but my hair gets greasy just a quickly as it used to do.

[anneisanne]

I wash about every other day, sometimes more, sometimes less. For me, the key to stretching washes is to not touch my scalp with a comb or brush or my fingers- if I do, I'm instantly greasy. As it is, I'm just careful to CWC so that I don't dry out my length too much.

[jivete]

I'm an every other day washer too. I don't actually wash with sulfates very often but I CO or CWC with a non-sulfate poo. If I keep my hands out of it, it looks better longer. I tried stretching it to 2x per week but just couldn't stand looking gross most of the the week.

[Honey39]

I CO-wash every morning, and have done for about two years. My hair loves it, so do I. I don't want to stretch out washes, but then I do enjoy the feeling of freshly washed hair each day. I think my hair is thriving - I put on a lot of leave-in conditioner afterwards, and that seems to be moisturising my hair a lot.

I suppose it depends entirely on what you like and your hair goals. I personally like wearing my hair down every day, and want to enjoy my hair. I actually hate having one 'good' hair day every three or four, and now I'm 41 I want to get as much pleasure out of my hair as I can.

My hair is thick, coarse and pretty curly - it's now mid-back length curly, and it likes this routine, it seems to me.

My advice would be to enjoy your hair, but maybe find someone here who has similar hair to yourself and see how they manage their hair - that worked really well for me!

[Aliped]

Me too - I CWC every day. I've tried stretching washes, but I just don't like it. I coat the length with conditioner, then wash my roots and scalp with my favorite shampoo .... then rinse, add more conditioner, finish up in the shower and rinse again. That is CWC isn't it? This really is the best routine for me and my hair and I'm not changing it any time soon!

[vividdreamer]

I wish I could stretch washes past 2 (max 3) days, but it just doesn't work that way. My scalp gets too oily. I've tried scalp washes, but they generally seem like more trouble than they're worth. And since lately I've been doing heavy overnight oiliings before every wash--and my hair is SO much more healthy and silky--washing is a fairly involved process.

I'm really jealous of people like my mother who can easily go a week without washing. Of course, she bleaches her hair every 4-6 week so it's fried, so I'm not jealous of that part.

The only thing that really bugs me is that my hair is so thick that if I wet-bun it, it doesn't dry until during the night when I take it down. So I have to air-dry with it down, and it gets in my way. Can't have it all, I guess!

[angelfell]

I wash every other day, so I skip a day in between. But I don't stretch washes because my hair would get dry, but rather, it would get really oily :p. Regardless, I'm sort of in your boat, and I don't think my hair quality suffers too much from it.

[Cheeks1206]

Stretching washes isn't for everyone and that is fine, you jut have to do why is right for your hair. I'm a twice-a-week washer, but I condition my hair everytime I get in the shower as well as slather on a little V05 condish as a leave in before I get out. The texture of my hair makes it more prone to dryness in general so I am fairly sure I could never get away without conditioning at least every other day

[Chestershire]

I guess I should, because my hairs tends to be very greasy. I now wash it 3 times a week. But I still have a long way to go to classic and I don't want to trim it every month :|

[spidermom]

It worked to a point, but it was a matter of changing my habits rather than my hair becoming any different. I used to lather up every time I got into the shower (pretty much every day). Through LHC, I figured out that my hair doesn't need to be washed that often, so I discovered shower caps. I'd like to wash my hair once a week or less because it's such a hassle to have it wet, and it takes hours to dry on its own or an hour to blow-dry on warm and cool. However, my hair needs to be washed every 2-3 days, and no amount of holding off for a week has done anything except give me limp, greasey hair and an itchy scalp.

[eezepeeze]

I never heard anybody say that stretching washes can make hair dry at the ends... I wonder if that is what is going on with my hair dryness? I have been stretching to washing once a week because I thought that would help with the dryness, but maybe I should change my routine and start washing every other day or even every day for a while to see if it helps with the dryness. Maybe my hair needs the extra moisture from the water? Whatever, I'm willing to try it. My scalp really doesn't get greasy at all until I put the coconut oil in pre-wash. Very interesting thread:-)

[twopoints]

Before, my hair would be greasy after 1 day. During summer vacation, I just left my hair unwashed for a very long time. Now I can stretch to 1-2 times a week.

[baaaad_kitty]

The most I can go is washing every other day. Other than that I feel totally disgusting. With the weather here in Manila, you can't not wash everyday. It's humid, polluted, and so hot. I can do water only on my in between days, and then baking soda and vinegar on my wash days. If I'm lazy, I just use an organic shampoo and conditioner.

[TrudieCat]

My hair also gets very dry if I go more than 2 days without washing. Doesn't matter if I'm cone-free or coney. Putting oil on my hair when it's still wet, along with my regular conditioner as a leave-in, seems to slow down this process but I still wash every other day. Otherwise, my hair will feel like straw. I think my hair is just really porous.

ETA: Just thought of something else. When I wasn't brushing or combing my hair except right after I washed it, I found that the drying out process happened a lot faster, presumably because I wasn't moving sebum down the hair shaft to seal the hair. I think this is a big downfall of the no-brushing/combing method of wavy and curly hair care - or at least, it is for me.

[daydreamer]

I can't do it either. I tried. Even when I experimented with things like baking soda, CO, water only, etc. I still had to do it every day. Otherwise my hair is a nasty oil slick and I'm not going to be miserable even for the sake of my hair! These days I mainly do a scalp wash with shampoo, and condition the length. If I get buildup, I'll shampoo the length a little too.
I think like others have said here, you just have to do what works for your individual hair. As long as you are happy with how your hair feels and looks, then who cares about the "rules"?

[Anje]

I hear you. My scalp stretches washes very nicely. My hair, on the other hand, likes getting wet and conditioned regularly. I tend to CO wash when the ends feel dry or the scalp gets oily, whichever happens first. Silicones make the hair dryness a lot worse for me.

ETA: Once hair gets sufficiently long, it's quite feasible to put a bit of conditioner on the length and wash it off after a while, without wetting the scalp. Makes for a good in-between treatment, if the ends are being intolerably dry.

[kristymarie87]

I CWC everyday. I can stretch to everyother day if i'm not going out but by day 2 its greasy and stringy. Putting it up doesn't hide the grease, it makes it worse!

I use a sulfate shampoo and my hair likes it. I like the fresh, just washed feeling. I also deep condition once per week to sort out any dryness. I dont have alot of shredding from it, just chemical damage.

[09robiha]

o wow! I completly forgot about this thread. I am glad its still around and being of use to people. I still wash daily/every other day. I hate the feeling of a greasy scalp plus it just makes me itchy. Mind you I am an oddball around here (I use chemical dye and my diffuser regularly as well as styling products and my hair is just fine as it is) so maybe my routine isnt for every one.

[x0h_bother]

Not washing increases my shedding and makes my scalp nasty. Not washing also didn't make my hair any shinier, but perhaps I didn't do it long enough for it to take effect. Either way, I wanted to keep my hair!

[SharkDisco]

I used to get horrible dryness at my ends the second day after washing. I switched to Garnier Tripple Nutrition Conditioner (cone free with three different types of oils), and occasionally oil my hair thoroughly before I wash it, and now my second-day hair is smoother and nearly as soft as my first-day hair. Still can't make it to three days, though! I'd love to, because I can see a huge difference in the health of the hair that has grown in since I started stretching washes. It has a sheen and body to it that I've never seen in my hair before.