How much is too much?!

[Jessclewlow]

Hi guys :)
well as alot of you know im attempting to grow my hair! now in 3rd week of no straightners and i havent had a melting breakdown yet ( which is suprising) amazingly im seeing my hair feel lovely and soft and actually more manageable than i thought it would be.
AAaaaanyway.... ive been reading on alot of threads abotu hair washing.. personally i do mine every other day.. but it still gets wet in the shower everyday but not actually washed. is there a way to train your hair to not need washing so much? i see some people on here can go days! if i go anything longer than missing one day i look like ive dipped my head in a chip fryer!
another thing... when washing your hair i been reading about this scalp only and condition the lengths because shampoo can be damaging if you use too much... how on earth do you know how much to use?

Cheers in advance every1 :) xx

[*Aoife*]

I think scalp only is pretty handy but it might be really hard with your length hair. I can manage it occasionally but at least 1/2 my hair gets wet.

You should only use a very small amount of shampoo, I can't give the rough estimate because I can't remember the size of coins in the UK. Edit: I think I use a drop about the size of a pound coin when I shampoo.
Some people CWC, which is putting conditioner on the length (below the ears), shampooing the scalp only and then conditioning your entire head or just below the ears. That varies by person.

[Ravenne]

I wash my hair every day, occasionally skipping if I don't have to work. I do CWC and I only wash my scalp. Basically you use just enough to cover your scalp with suds. You can always use a little bit at a time until you feel like you've got it all covered.

I personally love this method. My ends are a world different from what they use to be.

[x0h_bother]

Like Ravenne I love this method. I also wash frequently, so this is the method that protects my hair the most while keeping my hair from looking like greasy bacon. I would say I use about half as much shampoo as I used to use, so about the size of a quarter for me, maybe a little less. But I also rub it with water in my hands first to get it on my fingers so I can just massage my scalp, which kind of dilutes it. I use a lotttt of cone free conditioner in the first C of CWC.
When I personally stretch washes, I wear my hair up which keeps the greasies at bay. GL!

[FrannyG]

When my hair was your length, I pretty much had to wash my hair every day as well. I find that the longer it gets, it's easier to go an extra day or two between washes, as the oil from your scalp can be brushed through to the ends. I wouldn't worry about washing frequently at this stage, as long as you're using gentle shampoos and conditioners and treating it well in other ways. There are people here with very long hair who still wash every day, due to their occupations, etc.

[mellie89]

I wash every 3 days, and it has to be up on day 3. I use a boar bristle brush to distribute oil throughout my hair so my scalp doesn't look too greasy.

As far as amount of shampoo goes, I use about a quarter-sized amount, and scrub it in to my scalp only. The suds that drip down through your length when you rinse your hair should be enough to get the length clean. :)

[Kristin]

I used to shampoo (actually CWC) every second or third day. This summer I've been working out every day, so I finally got the hang of CO washing. I haven't used shampoo in 4 days, but have CO washed every day and there is not one drop of grease/oil on my head.

Check out the CO wash thread for more info on that method.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=2898

[Cheeks1206]

I have curly hair, so I'm sure that makes a bit of difference in method, and I wash roughly every 5-7 days depending on my activity level throughout the week. About one year & a half ago I decided to start growing my hair out from a pixie cut and retrying the Curly Girl method of hair care. I started out by stretching out my washes to every 2-3 days with a SLS shampoo & -cone condish. Then about one year ago I switched to the no poo method of baking soda washes and ACV rinses. That continued on for a while and gradually I managed to stretch my washes out. I never forced myself to go X amount of days without washing, it was more trial and error I suppose. If my hair felt a little gross, but I could stand to put it up and go one more day, I would. I only washed it when I really felt like I needed it. Now that it's summer Ive switched to a sulphate free shampoo for a little extra cleaning and it hasn't changed my routine much at all. My point is that you can stretch ou washes but it will take time. Don't force anything or else you and your hair will be miserable.

P.S. Sorry about any typos. I'm on my phone and it's a little
more difficult to edit than usual!

[Cheeks1206]

Holy double post, Batman! Sorry about that!