Anyone who wash rarely?

[vintersaga]

Hi everyone. First I want to say that I love this forum and everybody's very gentle and kind here. I really appreciate that. :)

Now I have some wonders.

1. Is there anyone here who wash their hair seldom, like one wash/month?

2. Why is the reason that you do it?

3. And what do you do with your hair between the rarely washes?


The reason that I'm asking this is beacuse I'm thinking of trying to wash my hair just once per month and see how it responds to that as it grows out (I have very short hair now), because I don't like to wet my hair.

I'm thinking of washing it and making a good treatment once per month, and between the washes massage the scalp.
Please, if you too wash seldom, feel free to post. I would like to hear your thought and wiew of it.


Edit: With "seldom" and "rarely" I'm thinking more seldom than once a week.

[vintersaga]

Tonight I washed my hair for this month. Next time will be June 12th, and by that day it's also been two months since my buzzcut. So now I will not wash my hair for a month, just massaging the scalp, a little inspired by the NW/SO method and I will see how my hair responses to this. :)

[countryhopper]

Well, I wash twice a week so maybe i don't count as a "seldom washer", but I did go from washing with shampoo everyday to washing with dilluted baking soda water and tea rinses. I think I initially did it because I was tired of being a slave to shampoo every day, plus I had heard such good things about dropping the use of all chemicals on my hair and STILL being able to have soft, clean hair (not to mention, much cheaper, too!)

So my transition was a bit difficult (it took a good 2 weeks at least to get over the waxy greasies, which was helped very much by an egg wash). After that, I played with different washing materials/rinses (teas, vinegars, coffee, etc) to see what my hair liked the most.

I think it should be easier for you since your hair is shorter. If you feel that your hair NEEDS a wash, you could dillute a drop or two of shampoo and wash, do a WO rinse, or (what I do weekly), a dusting of cornstarch at the roots.

again, I have no experience with once a month washes, but have fun and experiment!

[toodramatik]

I wash about once every 10 days. The best reason I can come up with is "my hair doesnt like being clean".

It's coarse as it is so I don't like how it feels when it's just been cleaned. No-Cone didn't work for me, and I really hated no sulfate shampoos. So I usually just use supermarket cheapies when I do do it. It's too short to get considerably dirty or matted anyway so that helps.

[rusika1]

There are some people who don't wash their hair. They keep their hair clean by using a boar bristle brush. This cleaning method is called 'sebum only'.

You carefully scratch your scalp to loosen up dead skin and clogged pores. Then you brush to remove all the dust and flakes. Brushing also moves your hair's natural oils from your scalp to the ends of your hair.

Here's a link to the thread on sebum only: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=144

I don't know how well this works, I haven't tried it.

[embee]

I usually wash about once every two weeks, but sometimes that simply doesn't work out and I have to wait longer. Or sometimes there's a sweat/summer/gardening problem and my hair gets icky and I have to wash it. However, in that case, water only would probably do.

I did one winter with water only.
I did another winter with no wash, only brushing.

Water only worked better than no wash. Neither one really worked well come summertime.

My hair is long and I can wear it up to hide any greasy days. I couldn't have done it with short hair.

[-simply Venus-]

I do. I do it because otherwise my hair is super DRYYY. I half Baking Soda half Shampoo (Just so I can get rid of my shampoo, after that it's just Baking Soda) I do it to remove extra oil and buildup. I do an oiling treatment before this too, to deep moisturize my hair, and lesson the damage of Baking Soda.

Everyday I shower and just condition my hair.

[Rivanariko]

I don't know if I could go a month without even wetting my hair... I think the amount of sweat and grime that would build up in that time would gross me out, but then, I work in a barn. :D
I did try WO for about three months, just because I was noticing last summer how well my hair was doing with stretching washes with shampoo. Ultimately, the experiment failed and my hair became really tangly and stringy, so I went back to once a week washes and 2-3 WO rinses throughout the week. So far, that seems to work best for MY hair, but I'll be interested to see how your experiment goes for YOUR hair!

[Milui Elenath]

I do. I used to wash once a week with conventional shampoo and not because it was oily but because I had dandruff. Now I have switched to water only every two weeks, I'm only in week 6 or 7 but the only differences I notice are no dandruff and oily roots by day 14. Eventually I hope to stretch further.

My reasons are to cut out commercial products, to irradicate dandruff, to experiment and see what my hair really feels like.

Plus its winter almost here and I really hate wet hair - I get so cold.

[vintersaga]

Thankyou ladies. It's very interesting to read your thought about it.

embee: You write that you usually wash your hair once every two weeks, but sometimes you have to wait longer. Why is that? :)

-simply Venus-: How seldom do you wash your hair? If it weren't because we had hard water here I may also would have done like you, wash seldom but perhaps conditioning my hair while in shower, or just doing treatments. :)

Milui Elenath: Oh, that's great. Eventually if my hair doesn't like this, I'll try washing my hair every two weeks instead. Do you do anything with your hair between your washes, like massaging the scalp? :)

[embee]

Sometimes I have to wait longer if my schedule does not permit proper drying time, I'm busy, I'm away, I'm sick. In winter I will not wash if we run the risk of a winter storm and electric power outage => no heat in the house. In summer I will not wash if I must go to bed with my hair wet. Slightly damp is ok, but not wet. So it's not a certain number of days, it's every other week as my schedule permits.

I could not have done this with short hair or when I was young - my hair and scalp and skin were quite oily and I would have had *terminal* zits on my hairline and scalp. Ick.

[GRU]

Not sure if you're looking to avoid shampoo only or just avoid getting it wet, but I haven't used shampoo since October 2009. I do "wash" my scalp it with conditioner pretty much every day, though, and condition the length as well. I have curly hair and I have to get it wet to style it.

Nobody believes me when I tell them that I haven't washed my hair in over six months, because it looks great -- not greasy or anything.

[vintersaga]

My experiment failed today - as I couldn't help I so much wanted to baby my hair with an oil-scalpmassage-then wash- then treatment. :: blushes ::

But please, feel free to post your thoughts about this anyway.:)

[restourceful]

How did it fail?

I "wash" somewhere between a week and 10 days for the most part but sometimes my wash is CO, sometimes shampoo bar, sometimes WO. I'd say I average shampoo bar use about once every three weeks. I use coconut oil on my ends and sometimes on my length and wear it up every day except wash day usually. Toward the time for a wash I use my BBB to smooth my scalp hairs before putting it up and it looks very sleek and shiny, but never dirty. This routine works really well for me.

When I first started this type of routine it took some getting used to. My perception of clean hair has changed. It can actually be oily and still be clean. My updos work so much better with three-plus-day hair than with freshly washed hair.

[vintersaga]

restourceful: Thankyou, that was interesting. I'm sorry if I haven't been clear enough. My experiment failed by that I washed my hair again though I already have had washed it for this month... but then I reconsidered it and thought I could just start over with the experiment, only it starts today instead. I've decided I'm gonna wash my hair the 12th every month, I chose this date so that it would be easy to remember washday. I will try this for a year approximately, so until april 12th 2011.

Maybe this sounds weird, but I have to have some hair projects while I'm waiting for my hair to grow out. :cool:

[Alcenaia]

I scalp wash every day. However, I just washed the length of it today for the first time in three weeks. That's the longest I've ever gone without washing it, and it seems to be happy.

Perhaps it will be a month until my next length wash. :)

[spidermom]

I know a lot of people postpone washes for a long time, and some don't wash at all, but I like clean, fragrant, shiny hair, and it seems to be in pretty good condition for being washed 3 times a week. I truly don't see the appeal of gunky hair/scalp.

[2peasinapod]

I stretch washes. I don't go by a schedule, just what my hair feels like (usually ends up being once every week to two weeks, but more during "that time of the month" (hope that's not TMI :o).

However, it never really worked until my hair got to about chin. Before that, the oil just traveled to the end of the shaft way too quickly. Since you said you have very short hair, don't worry if you can't do it at first. Try increasing the time between washings gradually as your hair gets longer and see if that helps. :blossom:

[Laylah]

I wash my hair once per week- it's actually shiny and fragrant, no gunk =) However I do run a bit of water over my scalp everyday.

[restourceful]

My hair always smells fresh, even toward wash days. DH comments about how good it smells all the time. My sister who shampoos and blow-fries every other day says her hair smells bad if the sun shines on it. Something to do with the heat. When I used a blow-fryer mine would sometimes have that hot odor, but never since I quit using it. I would certainly wash more often if I felt like my hair smelled bad or my scalp felt gunky. It doesn't, so I don't. :shrug: Perhaps it is the difference in some people's chemistry. When I washed every other day I had bad dandruff and itchies. Now my scalp is calm and happy. It works for me. And what works for me doesn't work for everyone, just as what others do might not work for me.

[princessp]

I wash my hair about once a week (sometimes a little longer). I've done this almost my whole life because I guess as someone else said "my hair doesn't like being washed" either. After joining LHC, I switched to CO and cone free, but my washing routine is still about once a week.

[vintersaga]

I don't think this is something for me, though I very much want it to be. I'm torn between the feeling of not liking my hair wet - and loving it when it's newly washed and deep moisturized. Today I'm gonna fail 'cause I'll be making a treatment while in the sauna, and it's gonna be wonderful. :)

But I do want this thread to be a place for people who wash their hair rarely - so please, if you're one of them, share your experiences and thoughts!
I'll be following this thread. :)

[Cleopatra18]

lol i used to do that last year,and it got me to WL hair.
what i used to do is wash my hair with shampoo and conditioner,then head to the salon right after and have it blowdried and flat ironed straight.and thats it.i just keep it in a bun till the next month.
the reason i used to straighten it is because if i left my wavy hair just like that,it'll tangle to no end. going to the salon made me go the entire month without any tangles,i used occasionaly coconut oil on my hair and whenever i take my hair down it looked good.
I am actually considering going back to this routine again,but im hesitating because i need to use heat.i can only handle my hair when it's straight.

[vintersaga]

Cleopatra18: That was really interesting! Thankyou! :flowers: I am so glad for someone who actually did this, as seldom as once/month. Did you notice any other differences in your hair quality? Like less damage? :) If you go back to this routine we can encourage each other. ~*

I know I said just a few hours ago I failed but I'm gonna give it a last try. I really want to try this routine so Today I washed last time for this month. And I will not wash my hair for a month (it'll be June 12th) and then continue washing just a month. I will do this for a year. This is my third attempt and it will be the definitive. I really want to try it.

[Fethenwen]

My hair always smells fresh, even toward wash days. DH comments about how good it smells all the time. My sister who shampoos and blow-fries every other day says her hair smells bad if the sun shines on it. Something to do with the heat. When I used a blow-fryer mine would sometimes have that hot odor, but never since I quit using it. I would certainly wash more often if I felt like my hair smelled bad or my scalp felt gunky. It doesn't, so I don't. :shrug: Perhaps it is the difference in some people's chemistry. When I washed every other day I had bad dandruff and itchies. Now my scalp is calm and happy. It works for me. And what works for me doesn't work for everyone, just as what others do might not work for me.
Yeah, that is so weird! My hair also smells good when I DON'T use shampoo :) I guess it have something to do with shampoo creating some imbalance in the scalp and therefore might start to smell if not washed frequently. Now when I WO it always is very odorless.

[Jessica Trapp]

Since joining LHC, I've cut back to twice a week. The ends would probably be happier with even less, but my scalp likes to be washed.

:) jes

[Rivanariko]

Since joining LHC, I've cut back to twice a week. The ends would probably be happier with even less, but my scalp likes to be washed.

:) jes
This is what I discovered during my WO experiment! Although, my ends did eventually decide that they'd like some conditioner, but they never got oily, just a little more brittle and tangly. I only shampoo the scalp now, and either CO or catnip the length. My hair seems happy with this balance.

[Linnykinz]

I would say, I wash pretty seldom..only because I have been washing seldom and definitely plan to keep it up..I love the results ! I went from the daily shampoo and condish, to CO, to NW/SO then I fell off that wagon and went to WO (my hair just wasn't ready). Now it's been weeks since my last real wash. Whenever my hair starts to get too greasy and nasty, I just take a nice warm shower and give myself a long scalp massage to get rid of the nasties. And viola, my hair is lovely again :)

I started transitioning to WO and hope to be NW/SO one day because I'm the kind of person that's way into natural care. I wanted to cut off my dependencies from the commercial products I was spending all my money on that only destroyed my hair. And beyond that, I have read about how wonderful your hair can be naturally once your transition is complete. A combination of all of this really made me want to try to go a while without washes.

I'm doing the "Wear your hair up" Challenge, going for 3 months, so basically my hair is always up unless I'm washing or BBB'ing it. So between washes I give myself scalp massages and BBB it 2x a day, 3 if I have time for it. I also use coconut oil on the ends and the bottom half (it's been bleached and dyed so many times, the bottom half of my hair is very sicky) and just wear it up in a half ponytail/bun-like..thing, for work. Besides that I just LITHA !

I do agree, since your hair is short it will take no time at all for the sebum to reach the ends and you will be left with a very icky feeling..my hair is at 8" and the sebum reaches my tips very fast. You may want to start by slowly stretching out washes as your hair grows and can take it.

Hope I was a little bit of help in your decision! :) Linny

[vintersaga]

I would say, I wash pretty seldom..only because I have been washing seldom and definitely plan to keep it up..I love the results ! I went from the daily shampoo and condish, to CO, to NW/SO then I fell off that wagon and went to WO (my hair just wasn't ready). Now it's been weeks since my last real wash. Whenever my hair starts to get too greasy and nasty, I just take a nice warm shower and give myself a long scalp massage to get rid of the nasties. And viola, my hair is lovely again :)

I started transitioning to WO and hope to be NW/SO one day because I'm the kind of person that's way into natural care. I wanted to cut off my dependencies from the commercial products I was spending all my money on that only destroyed my hair. And beyond that, I have read about how wonderful your hair can be naturally once your transition is complete. A combination of all of this really made me want to try to go a while without washes.

I'm doing the "Wear your hair up" Challenge, going for 3 months, so basically my hair is always up unless I'm washing or BBB'ing it. So between washes I give myself scalp massages and BBB it 2x a day, 3 if I have time for it. I also use coconut oil on the ends and the bottom half (it's been bleached and dyed so many times, the bottom half of my hair is very sicky) and just wear it up in a half ponytail/bun-like..thing, for work. Besides that I just LITHA !

I do agree, since your hair is short it will take no time at all for the sebum to reach the ends and you will be left with a very icky feeling..my hair is at 8" and the sebum reaches my tips very fast. You may want to start by slowly stretching out washes as your hair grows and can take it.

Hope I was a little bit of help in your decision! :) Linny


Thankyou Linny for your report :flower: How often do you go between your WO-washes? I would like to try WO sometime but since we have hard water it's a little difficult. Also I love CO so much and wouldn't trade it away. I'm afraid my hair would get too dry with Water Only.
Anyway, I don't think my short hair will be such a big problem. I'm thinking this way, that since my hair is so short it's easier for it to get used to not being washed so often. But I don't know. I can be wrong. Let's see what happens. :)

[Linnykinz]

Thankyou Linny for your report :flower: How often do you go between your WO-washes? I would like to try WO sometime but since we have hard water it's a little difficult. Also I love CO so much and wouldn't trade it away. I'm afraid my hair would get too dry with Water Only.
Anyway, I don't think my short hair will be such a big problem. I'm thinking this way, that since my hair is so short it's easier for it to get used to not being washed so often. But I don't know. I can be wrong. Let's see what happens. :)

I've been able to go a week or two without any water whatsoever. I'm actually on a week and a day hehe..but I don't tell anybody that ! I've got somewhat hard water in my area too, but for some reason, I don't notice any problems with it..:confused: My hair is getting a bit greasy so if my BBB doesn't fix that, I might have to WO in the next couple days. I thought mine would get really really dry, as it's very damaged, but it's actually very moisturized. It's getting that soft, "wet" look even when it's dry. I think it's because the sebum and oils build up and aren't completely washed away in the water, so you still have a protective coating on the shaft ? :shrug: Either way, I was surprised. As long as I keep the ends lightly oiled, every other day or so, I don't seem to have a problem. No tangles, knots, or split ends for me.

And actually, that's a great point I didn't even think of that !! If you grew your hair out like that..it would definitely be more used to it..and you would too. It does take some mental adjustments hehe and you wouldn't have to go through the greaseball phase, while your scalp adjusts. Hmmm...

[Fethenwen]

Thankyou Linny for your report :flower: How often do you go between your WO-washes? I would like to try WO sometime but since we have hard water it's a little difficult. Also I love CO so much and wouldn't trade it away. I'm afraid my hair would get too dry with Water Only.
Anyway, I don't think my short hair will be such a big problem. I'm thinking this way, that since my hair is so short it's easier for it to get used to not being washed so often. But I don't know. I can be wrong. Let's see what happens. :)
If you would eventually want to try out WO, it might work even with hard water if you use a little bit of citric acid in your rinsing water. That is what I have started to do now, and my hair feels like it would have been washed with soft water even if my water is quite hard :)

[Linnykinz]

If you would eventually want to try out WO, it might work even with hard water if you use a little bit of citric acid in your rinsing water. That is what I have started to do now, and my hair feels like it would have been washed with soft water even if my water is quite hard :)

Citric acid, where can you get it from...say lemons or other citrus fruits ? Or is there something you can actually get...sorry, IDK much about adding things to rinsing water like this :( I would think that would lighten or dry your hair out a bit though, no ? Otherwise it sounds like something I might try myself, just to try. :D

[Hiriel]

I've been washing with shampoo and conditioner about monthly lately, but I do WO-wash my hair at least once a week (usually more like two or three times). I wear my hair up all the time, so it doesn't show if it's greasy, but it doesn't really get that greasy anyway. And I don't really have a reason for why I do it, it's just the routine I fell into after trying 100% WO for a while. My hair was great on WO, but only if I kept up with the brushing and scritching and all those things that I tend to be too lazy to do properly for more than a week at a time. So I needed to wash occasionally.

[vintersaga]

I've been able to go a week or two without any water whatsoever. I'm actually on a week and a day hehe..but I don't tell anybody that ! I've got somewhat hard water in my area too, but for some reason, I don't notice any problems with it..:confused: My hair is getting a bit greasy so if my BBB doesn't fix that, I might have to WO in the next couple days. I thought mine would get really really dry, as it's very damaged, but it's actually very moisturized. It's getting that soft, "wet" look even when it's dry. I think it's because the sebum and oils build up and aren't completely washed away in the water, so you still have a protective coating on the shaft ? :shrug: Either way, I was surprised. As long as I keep the ends lightly oiled, every other day or so, I don't seem to have a problem. No tangles, knots, or split ends for me.

And actually, that's a great point I didn't even think of that !! If you grew your hair out like that..it would definitely be more used to it..and you would too. It does take some mental adjustments hehe and you wouldn't have to go through the greaseball phase, while your scalp adjusts. Hmmm...

Hmm, Linny you really got me thinking of this. Maybe I need to do a visit at the Water Only Thread... Thanks for your sharing your story:flower:

[Cleopatra18]

Cleopatra18: That was really interesting! Thankyou! :flowers: I am so glad for someone who actually did this, as seldom as once/month. Did you notice any other differences in your hair quality? Like less damage? :) If you go back to this routine we can encourage each other. ~*

I know I said just a few hours ago I failed but I'm gonna give it a last try. I really want to try this routine so Today I washed last time for this month. And I will not wash my hair for a month (it'll be June 12th) and then continue washing just a month. I will do this for a year. This is my third attempt and it will be the definitive. I really want to try it.
well i did retain ALL my growth,but that was before i even started taking care of my hair,so i never did a s&d and rarely trimmed,which made me end up with alot of splits thanks to frequent frying.although i believe my hair was in a good condition untill summer when i got too lazy and even ran out of coconut oil which i believe saved my hair from alot of damage.i do think you should totaly go for it,especially that you still have short hair now.it's very very low manipulation,no products needed whatsoever.I wish i could go back but i'm trying to get myself to workout atleast 3 times per week which makes me NEED to wash my hair.

[hmmm]

I really wish I could do this, but because it's so hot and humid these days I'm finding it impossible to go more than three days without washing my head.
I might try it if I ever move to a cooler place though.

[Linnykinz]

Hmm, Linny you really got me thinking of this. Maybe I need to do a visit at the Water Only Thread... Thanks for your sharing your story:flower:

I'm really glad to hear that..it could be a great experience, and maybe you could even compare pictures your hair once it's grown out a bit in WO or rare CO to the condition it was in before. I would love to see something like that :)

Update for you: I gave in last night in the shower (and I was so proud of myself earlier that day too !) to a heavy scalp massage and then, a spritz with a concoction I made of 1/3 HEMP conditioner and 2/3 green tea (I told you I love natural things hehe) that I rised out and well, I regret it. My hair got so used to WO and was build up with sebum, my hair felt waxy and nasty after all was said and done.

I woke up this morning and my hair was very full and thick despite it all. Moral of the story..if you do decide to go WO, get used to WO, because if your hair is anything like mine, it will NOT be happy when you surprise it with a mini-wash ! LOL however, I am still very happy with WO. Never again...live and learn :rolleyes:

[Artsy]

I used to be washing my hair about once a week or a little more than a week until about 16 y o, not because my hair loved it, but because shampoo was expensive and hot water not always available. My hair was getting pretty nasty after day 3, but I wore it braided all week long. I couldn't wear it down as it would tangle. My ends were as dry as they are now when I wash 2-3 times a week, but my skin definitely suffers if I stretch the washes. So I just put more oil on the ends, and it smells amazing as well. I swithced to CO wash for 3 month now, and my hair is not getting as greasy the next day after wash, otherwise I would wash everyday:confused:

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[cobblersmaid]

I wash once a week. CWC. My hair needs water, but the process causes damage. This is sorta a compromise.