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View Full Version : 2x shampoo once a week, or 1 shampoo twice a week?



Tabitha
April 17th, 2010, 11:21 AM
I usually wash my hair once a week or so (every 5-8 days depending on where I'm going, the weather and how I feel). I like the really clean feeling that "shampoo, rinse, repeat" gives me. And I'm one of those people who hate washing their hair - although now it's a bit less hassle than when it was just below waist.

I'm starting to wonder though, whether it would be better for my hair/scalp to be cleansed less thoroughly, more often?

Each wash would take a little less time, but I'd be dealing with having wet/drying hair more often - I've been led to believe that wet hair is more fragile. I rarely blowdry (sig pic was taken right after a salon trim & blowdry) normally leaving it to air-dry wavy, which takes up to 5 hours, a bit more in winter, a bit less in summer.

I'm presuming that if I washed twice as often, I'd get the clean feeling I like from just one application of shampoo - I do like to feel the squeak :p. I always apply conditioner from the ears down, sometimes I do shampoo the scalp only and put cheap conditioner on the ends during the washing part (I'm not up for scalp washing though I do sometimes wash my fringe separately to get a clean look and feel between washes). In general, my scalp will hurt and first few inches of hair will feel and look stringy and greasy long before the ends look in need of a wash - though I don't know if this could formally be classified as "oily scalp, dry ends" or is just normal for most longer hair.

I use sulphate shampoos as this is what my hair and scalp prefer. I actually found non-sulphate shampoos felt harsher and made my hair feel stripped. I do a dry-hair, long-soak CO in between washes every so often, but can't CO twice in a row without my scalp feeling gunky and my hair feeling and looking lank.

There's a lot on here about stretching washing, but I haven't read much about people who decided to wash more often. I'd be interested to read people's thoughts and experiences.

NuclearMosquito
April 17th, 2010, 11:37 AM
I say do whatever makes your hair feel best, and gives you the best results. You could try washing twice a week with one application (which is what I do, incidentally), but if you find you prefer once a week with a double shampooing, and your hair likes it too, don't feel bad. I've had to do two applications of shampoo in one sitting several times, especially if it had been a while since I washed.