The Official "Stretching Washes" Thread

[morecowbell]

So while having a search through the forums, I noticed that we don't have an Official thread for those of us trying to stretch washes (and I believe there are quite a few).

For those who don't know, 'stretching washes' is basically going longer between 'washing' your hair. That may mean conditioner only, natural herbs, shampoo and conditioner, or any other method of wetting and washing your hair.

There are tons of reasons why people decide to stretch washes. Cold weather, no hot water (lol), don't want to deal with the hassle of drying your hair, etc.

I'm hoping to gather information here for people just starting out stretching washes or those of us who need some tips/support.

If you've managed to lengthen the amount of time between your washing sessions, please share your routine, how long you go between washes, how long it took you to get there, your reasons (if you want), what helped you with the dreaded 'greasies', and any other tips/tricks/advice that you found helpful.

And if anyone has questions, feel free to ask away!

Thanks! :D

[morecowbell]

I've personally managed to stretch my washes from every day to every three or four days over a period of about three months. (And I can even wear it down on day two!)
I used to have super greasy roots by the end of day one! And because my hair is kind of thick and absorbent (thanks to my damaging pre-lhc ways) it takes forever and a day to dry.
My washing method is CO (conditioner only), which I've found really helps with reducing sebum production (because it's less drying/cleansing than shampoo, your scalp doesn't try to over-compensate as much).
I wet my hair down with a spray bottle filled with plain old tap water on non-wash days to style it, oil the ends, and usually wear it up in a bun for work.

Things that have helped hide/deal with the greasies:
French Braids
Slicked back ponytails
Wetting hair with a spray bottle (helps me spread excess sebum down the length)
and dry shampoo (on the last day before I wash)

As a side note, how do people feel about using dry shampoo while stretching washes? Is that 'washing'? I don't really tend to count it as 'washing' unless I wet my head, apply a product to my scalp and then rinse it out. But I'd love to hear other people's opinions :)

[aenflex]

I wash about 2 times per 7 day week, 3 at the most. With all the oils I use in my hair I need to wash it a few times per week. Wish I could get stretch it longer :) 4 years ago I washed every day or every other day. So glad I got over that, may hair has responded very well. I always swear that the best 3 things I've ever done for my hair/routine are washing less, using a satin sleep cap, and moisturizing with oils.

[Angeletti]

I usually CWC only once a week and so far my hair seems to be a lot softer and not as dry from when I used to wash it every other day before I started growing my hair out, not to mention it saves on my hair color. Usually the first two days if I go out in public I can wear it completely down but from day 3 and on I will usually wear it in a braid, bun, or with a hat that way no one will notice if my hair is slightly greasy.

I've tried a dry shampoo in the past and haven't really liked it. The one I got came out brown in color (I have black hair which doesn't look good with it) and smelled strongly of baby powder which eventually made me nauseous. It does seem to hide the grease somewhat but it makes your hair feel very stiff, so I don't really like using them. I would rather just wash the roots without getting the rest of my length wet, which I will do on some occasions if I don't feel like washing all of it and want to stretch washes further.

[lajsa]

This thread has the perfect timing! I was just thinking last night of how I should try and stretch my washes :D I washed Sunday, then yesterday I washed again. Now I think I won't wash until sunday again. It may look a bit greasy but I try to hide it :p Cocoa brushed through the roots seem to work nice if I get the right quantities.

I CO, and when I used schampoo I used to wash every second day, so this is pretty good progress for me :p When I get longer hair I might do more scalp washes; right now my hair's BSL, and it doesn't feel like many inches are left dry when I'm done with the scalp :D

[wanderwoot]

I am now washing my hair with shampoo every two weeks. It has taken me about 4 years of stretching to get to this, but it gets exponentially easier (for instance I just went from one week to two weeks by doubling the amount of time in between washes, which is essentially the same as going for every day to every other day), and I also haven't been trying really hard to stretch that entire time.

I do occasionally do other things to clean my hair in between times such as vinegar rinses and sometimes baking soda washes. However I do these things less and less, not for any hair reason but out of sheer LAZINESS. My hair takes forever to dry, and getting in wet in my shower in the morning ads about 20 min to my routine. Without it I can be ready to go in less than half an hour. So, it's much easier to put it off and off until, lo and behold, it's hair washing day!

I put cornstarch in once and that seemed to work pretty well -- I was worried it would make my roots look gray but it didn't seem to.

[pennyroyal]

I have a very sensitive scalp that requires lots of washing or i get a gross, itchy head. :mad: It's gross. I am trying to fix this. I started going from everyday washing to every other day & it was going ok until this heat wave came. Then my head felt sweaty every morning & i can't help but wash it. :( As soon as this heat wave is gone (which is supposed to be soon) i am gonna go back to every other day again.

[misstwist]

I've been washing once a week for a few months. My hair rarely looks like it needs to be washed on washday (Sunday).

I have left an interval of 11 days or so between washes and it did start to look greasy. I think I could wash every 10 days and be fine.

Frankly, though, it's easier to wash every Sunday than to keep track of a longer wash interval. I like easy.

I use Queene Helene Mint Julep shampoo. It's sulphate and cone free. Condition with White Rain Coconut, also sulphate and cone free. I usually put oil or shea butter or conditioner on the ends after washing and sometimes during the week if I think it's needed.

I clarify with Kenra Clarifying shampoo before I henna. The henna is mixed with Suave Coconut conditioner because that makes application easy, especially for roots. I use the Suave for this because it's thicker than White Rain. I don't condition again after removing the henna because I've had conditioner in my hair for several hours at that point. I usually don't damp oil after henna, either.

[angelfell]

I would like to go longer without washing my hair. Currently, I can only go a day; for instance, I will wash my hair Tuesday, and not Wednesday, but again Thursday. I only shampoo the roots, however, I have not shampooed the length for about a week and counting :). I think I will shampoo the lengths twice a month. The problem I have is that my hair gets greasy even in that second day. Part of that probably is that I apply a leave-in conditioner, but I apply very little, just enough. Soo.. I don't know XD

[littlenvy]

I'm now at 10 days without washing and it looks like I can go on for a lot longer. (I just don't want to yet. lol :))
My hair has slowly gotten used to less washing and my sebum production has slow down to the point where my hair just does not get greasy anymore. (started with WO washes and ACV rinses and cut out all SLS shampoo and it took me 6 months to get to this point)

I do however spend at least one hour a day on my hair to brush it and to massage the scalp.
Usually I start with wide brush to detangle.
Then I take a fine tooth comb and put fresh clean guaze over it until the teeth go through it.
I comb through my hair few times and then throw away the guaze.
Then I follow with BBB to make sure all the sebum is spread nicely down the hair shaft.
When I finally wash its home made shampoo: 1 Egg, 1 tsp of honey, 1 tsp of Aloa gel and few drops of oil of day ;) mixed together until well combined ... then I add few drops of lemon juice. Once in a while I will add 1/2 tsp of gelatine powder to the mix.
Put that on my head and keep for at least half an hour then wash out with water and rise with mild ACV rinse.

I found that while conditioner is great for your hair for the first 2 to 3 days ... its not so great for stretching washes. But that just may be my hair since its really thin and fine.

If my ends get too dry (it happens sometimes) I will use a bit of emu oil of shea butter on them.
Otherwise I keep my hair up during the day ... when I feel like it. lol It usually looks good enough to be down.
And sleep with unbraided hair but on a silk scarf.

Good luck to all who wish to stretch

[LaurelSpring]

Great idea for a thread. This is something I am working on also. I want to stretch washes to minimize damage to my hair and to attempt to cause my over oily scalp to stop producing so much oil. Plus, its just so much easier and more convenient and saves on products. I will also add that I hate having wet hair in the winter so that is also a huge reason to start stretching more now.

When my hair was shorter and layered I absolutely had to wash, blow dry and curl it before I left the house. Im so grateful those days are over!! I have noticed that using sls shampoo does cause more oil production in my hair. If I use sls my scalp is a grease ball on day two. If I dont use sls then I can go 2-3 days withouth too much problem.

At the moment I am working on stretching from every other day to twice a week. I want to do a full wash with a non sls natural alternative (DW, Shampoo bar, eggs etc.) on Sunday and then I hope to do a scalp wash on Wednesday and see how that goes. If I need to spritz my roots some in between or use cocoa powder I will do that. I am open to occasional sls to clarify if necessary.

This is the plan at the moment. I am starting to implement it now. So, we'll see how it goes!

[LaurelSpring]

I'm now at 10 days without washing and it looks like I can go on for a lot longer. (I just don't want to yet. lol :))
My hair has slowly gotten used to less washing and my sebum production has slow down to the point where my hair just does not get greasy anymore. (started with WO washes and ACV rinses and cut out all SLS shampoo and it took me 6 months to get to this point)

I do however spend at least one hour a day on my hair to brush it and to massage the scalp.
Usually I start with wide brush to detangle.
Then I take a fine tooth comb and put fresh clean guaze over it until the teeth go through it.
I comb through my hair few times and then throw away the guaze.
Then I follow with BBB to make sure all the sebum is spread nicely down the hair shaft.
When I finally wash its home made shampoo: 1 Egg, 1 tsp of honey, 1 tsp of Aloa gel and few drops of oil of day ;) mixed together until well combined ... then I add few drops of lemon juice. Once in a while I will add 1/2 tsp of gelatine powder to the mix.
Put that on my head and keep for at least half an hour then wash out with water and rise with mild ACV rinse.

I found that while conditioner is great for your hair for the first 2 to 3 days ... its not so great for stretching washes. But that just may be my hair since its really thin and fine.

If my ends get too dry (it happens sometimes) I will use a bit of emu oil of shea butter on them.
Otherwise I keep my hair up during the day ... when I feel like it. lol It usually looks good enough to be down.
And sleep with unbraided hair but on a silk scarf.

Good luck to all who wish to stretch

Thanks for your post littlenvy. We have a similar hair type and it is encouraging to know that you have accomplished this!

[mizsunshyne]

Until recently, I was stretching about 3-4 days. I'm a housewife, though, so I stay in most of the time and it doesn't really need it. Now school is in session and I'm constantly on the go, so my hair NEEDS the wash every other day. It always liked to be washed often, too, so now I only go a day or two without it.

When you first start stretching out the washes, you're going to notice your hair gets REALLY greasy. Give it time, it will stabilize and then you can figure out how far you should stretch your washes.

[morecowbell]

I would like to go longer without washing my hair. Currently, I can only go a day; for instance, I will wash my hair Tuesday, and not Wednesday, but again Thursday. I only shampoo the roots, however, I have not shampooed the length for about a week and counting :). I think I will shampoo the lengths twice a month. The problem I have is that my hair gets greasy even in that second day. Part of that probably is that I apply a leave-in conditioner, but I apply very little, just enough. Soo.. I don't know XD

I had the same problem when I first started out. If you go one extra day between washes the greasies will happen, but for me they only lasted about a month. I weighed the discomfort of greasy third day hair versus the ease of only washing once a week in winter (my goal). Maybe try a dry shampoo? Tresseme Naturals makes one, it's sold at most stores (including w to the almart) ;)

[missjessiecakes]

I am not really attempting to stretch washes completely but in the sense I am trying to stretch sulphate shampoo washes to about once a week and CO every day. My scalp gets horrifically disgusting scab type things when I go more than about 30ish hours without washing. So I am trying to see if I can maybe do CO to keep my scalp semi happy until the once a week wash.

[LadyLongLocks]

Great thread! :)
I have been stretching my washes for over 2 years now. I went from always 2 times a week to every 5 days and now every 6 or 7. I also cut back from shampooing 3 times to doing it once or twice(lather rinse repeat). I use dry shampoo once in a while (usually baby powder) but I hate to do that and It feels weird. It helps if I am in a pinch.
Sometimes I condition the last 18" in the winter, but I dont consider that washing since nothing touches the scalp. I like my scalp after a wash but hate the ends. When the scalp is oily my ends are good. Seems like right in the middle, say day 3, both should be good.
I am glad I only wash once a week. Much less wear and tear on my hair it seems.
I was never a daily washer. Usually twice a week was the max.

[Capybara]

Up until just over a year ago, I washed my hair almost every day. My hair didn't get greasy every day, but it just seemed to be "the accepted thing to do." I then stretched my washing to every second day, then every third day, and now I go from 3-5 days between washings (usually 4, but give or take a day depending on if I have an event to attend or something).

I'd like to stretch more - my hair sure could handle it, I have a pretty dry scalp - but I don't like how the length feels after a few days. If I want to wear my hair down, but it has asymmetrical braid/bun waves, it gets annoying. I can wear my hair down up until 4 days after a wash (have never tried to wear it down after that point :p), but if I want it to look nice, I'd have to wear it down all of the days before that, or make nice waves with careful braiding/bunning. Doesn't usually happen, oh well!

The reason I'd like to stretch washing more, though, is that my scalp LOVES it. I have mild psoraisis on my scalp, and it got so irritated when I was washing every day. Now, I barely notice it's there! I'd definitely recommend stretching washes to someone who has psoraisis - couldn't hurt to try!:)

[Witchy]

I can and have gone more than a week without washing my hair, and it still looks, smells, and feels clean. I will usually wash not more than twice a week, because if I don't, then the rest of my body feels dirty.

Stretching washes works really well, because I have chronically dry scalp. Long stretches between washes, and especially ditching the shampoo, seems to really help my scalp retain moisture without drying to a crisp.

[tinker bug]

I used to wash my hair every other day to every day before LHC, but now I'm known to stretch it to 11 to 15+ days between washes (I'm glad I'm saying this on LHC, cause anywhere else and I'd get the EEEWW :tbear: look).

For my first year or so onLHC I was WO with very minimal EVOO on my ends. when I was WO I usually went 3 days between washes.

Then the second year I finally learned how to PROPERLY CO wash (I thought it was just using conditioner on the ends and WOing the scalp), and I stretched that out to 8-ish days between washes. I would still look like a greaseball very rarely, but since my WO stint, it seems like its almost impossible for my hair to be oily without me putting oils in it.

This last year and some odd months, I've been COing, using diluted shampoo with my CO, or doing the normal S&C. I'm a whole lot more picky when it comes to greasy hair now--I can only stand it for a day maybe. So when I say 15 days between washes, its not me trying to stretch it anymore, its just the result of stretching--thats when my hair starts to get greasy.

For someone trying to stretch washes, I would reccommend using diluted shampoo (I use 1/4 suave naturals to 3/4 water) and oiling the ends ONLY :D

[BonnyJ]

Due to having Rheumatoid Arthritis etc. I have been forced to lengthen times between washes. I do CWC with sulfate free shampoo and lots of cones. If I am lucky I wash my hair every 2 weeks but have gone as long as 7 to 8 weeks due to surgery, flaring etc. RA has taken so much from me that I refuse to let it have my hair (as in cutting it to make it easier to care for).
I usually just do a cinamon bun with a hairstick and no one but me knows when I last washed it.
I have discovered an olive oil infused hair lotion at Walgreens that is wonderful to use on my ends.

[Kathie]

I'm currently washing every third day. But just over the last couple of weeks I noticed that on wash day I could probably go another. So I'm now hovering between every three-four days. I'd like to stretch washing to once a week.

[Igor]

When I first started stretching my washes I learned a little trick from anatomy that helped me a lot! I made an article on it here
Making washes more cleansing (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=77)

[morecowbell]

When I first started stretching my washes I learned a little trick from anatomy that helped me a lot! I made an article on it here
Making washes more cleansing (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=77)

Awesome! Thanks for sharing this! :grin: I think I'll add a cold rinse at the start of my shower, and see how it affects the 'grease factor'. I know it's geeky, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE stuff like this! Thanks Igor! :blossom:

[Luna Lavender]

When I first started stretching my washes I learned a little trick from anatomy that helped me a lot! I made an article on it here
Making washes more cleansing (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=77)

That sounds interesting! I'll have to try this next wash.

I'm not very good at stretching washes, I try it though... I wash once every 3 days, so 2-3 times a week. I would love to go to once a week, but my hair starts getting greasy already the day before I wash (sometimes even the day after the wash). Then the next day when I wash, it's usually a big greaseball. I hate to go out with greasy hair, because it really shows, no matter what updo's I do. *Sighs* :rolleyes:

[Pixna]

I am now washing just once a week. I used to wash twice a week, so it wasn't a huge stretch. When I wash my hair, I do a thorough cleansing of the scalp (with VERY diluted Bronner's liquid baby soap) and finish with an ACV rinse (which I lightly rinse out). I oil ONLY from the ears down very light with jojoba oil while my hair is still wet/damp, and am careful when I comb it through to only comb from the ears down so I don't get the oil on the scalp or where hair tends to be oiliest. Then, I let it air dry and put it up every day in a bun. I found it to be a very easy transition to washing once a week by using this method.

[PrincessBob]

If my hair is starting to "look dirty" I might throw a scarf or bandanna over it, or at least dab my canopy and roots with said scarf or bandanna, which is usually cotton, to absorb some of the greasies.

[LouLaLa]

I wash twice a week but I must admit I can only wear it down on the day after I wash it (I wash of an evening so I can dry naturally). Then I have to rely on sock buns etc to get me through the rest. I do think its made my hair nicer and it also stops me obsessing with my hair. In an ideal world Id go to once a week but I like to oil my ends and at BSL I dont really have enough hair to really "oil distribute" to get rid of the greasy look.

When I used to have waist length hair I only washed twice a week and it was totally fine so I think that benign neglect/no dye/no heat is what my hair wants so im going to give it to it (I think it will be very happy)!

[bumblebums]

There's no place to discuss that article, but since you mention it... I seem to recall there was a thread a few months back that reported a reduction in shedding from washing in cold water. That certainly makes sense under the theory. Thanks for explaining!

As for stretching washes, I have found that when I massage the scalp, it makes it greasier. So now I don't touch it most of the week and only massage the night before a wash (I wash in the morning).

If my hair is getting unbearably greasy, I'll sometimes do a WO wash. It allows me to postpone a stronger wash by two to three days, usually. And, as many people in this thread, I finally managed to spread out washes only when I gave up shampoo. I use Indian herbs most of the time, with an occasional egg in-between. I think conditioner only attracts dirt to my hair, and it also seems to react with sebum to produce a horrible gunky mess. Obviously this varies from person to person; plenty of people manage to stretch out washes while using conventional products.

[morecowbell]

SNIP:
As for stretching washes, I have found that when I massage the scalp, it makes it greasier. So now I don't touch it most of the week and only massage the night before a wash (I wash in the morning).


Hm, I've been thinking about that lately. I notice that during weeks when I wear my hair down, it gets 'dirty' faster than weeks I wear it up most of the time... Maybe because the movement of the hair is 'rubbing' the scalp to produce more sebum?
I'm just wondering because I washed my hair Thursday evening (so this is day one and a half), and it's already kinda greasy looking... I'm thinking it's because I wore it down and played with it all day yesterday... :shrug:

[alwayssmiling]

I've only being trying this for a couple of weeks (gone from washing every day to every third day). The second day is fine but the third day my hair is starting to look really awful (hoping this will get better with time).

I have done fringe only washes (brilliant for when my hair is tied back)

Dry shampoo (great for one use but any build feels waxy and horrible)

Brushing hair back into a ponytail using a large BBBrush (this smooths the hair neatly making it look shiny rather than greasy, normal brushes just seperate the hair and you can tell its greasy.)

Going to try CO washing for the second day..

Now the weather is getting colder my good old faithful hats are coming out for the days when I don't have to be anywhere important.

What I have noticed is that when I do shampoo my hair it feels FANTASTIC, very soft and healthy and no frizzes, even when I used a clarifying shampoo (anyone else noticed this?). I'm hoping this will help with the breakage problem along with no heat. Will watch this thread with interest.

[bumblebums]

Hm, I've been thinking about that lately. I notice that during weeks when I wear my hair down, it gets 'dirty' faster than weeks I wear it up most of the time... Maybe because the movement of the hair is 'rubbing' the scalp to produce more sebum?
I'm just wondering because I washed my hair Thursday evening (so this is day one and a half), and it's already kinda greasy looking... I'm thinking it's because I wore it down and played with it all day yesterday... :shrug:

I've noticed that wearing it up seems to go with extending time between washes, too, but I don't know if this is the reason... It could also be that the hair gets just as dirty but it's not as noticeable, or maybe it's because sebum gets on the ends as well as on the roots? There may be something to your idea, too; maybe moving the follicles squeezes more sebum out (see Igor's article on making washes more cleansing). Whatever it is, it's yet another reason to wear hair up!

[rosek]

I extended my washes by one day. I was washing every three, but now I wash every four. I switched to a sulphate free shampoo, and for the transition I wet the top and sides of my head on the morning of the fourth day. Then hid the greasiness in updos! It took me about a month to be comfortable not needing to wet it and still be able to go four days.

[Kyaatje]

I wash every 5 days or so with shampoo in between I sometimes rinse with water but I do not consider that washing ;-)
I used to have really oily hair (needed to be washed daily) but after putting in dreads I was able to stretch it real easy !
Now it is normal I would say, not dry or oily nicely in between. I do put oils and things on my (short) lengths but that doesn't seem to make my hair dirty or oily

[morecowbell]

I'd love to hear people's stance/opinions on dry shampoo and whether it counts as a 'wash' or not?
I personally don't see it as a wash, because when I use it, it almost never gets on my scalp.
Anybody else? :)

[SharkDisco]

I guess something to think about is whether we'd be pondering if dry shampoo counts as a wash if it were called something like "oil removing powder" rather than "shampoo" ; )

I love dry shampoo, by the way. I have thin hair that loses a lot of volume as soon as it gets a bit greasy, and dry shampoo is the only thing that allows me to go a day between washes. And the more washes I skip, the happier and healthier my hair and scalp are looking and feeling. I want to send the lovely people at Batiste a big thank you card!

[morecowbell]

I guess something to think about is whether we'd be pondering if dry shampoo counts as a wash if it were called something like "oil removing powder" rather than "shampoo" ; )

I love dry shampoo, by the way. I have thin hair that loses a lot of volume as soon as it gets a bit greasy, and dry shampoo is the only thing that allows me to go a day between washes. And the more washes I skip, the happier and healthier my hair and scalp are looking and feeling. I want to send the lovely people at Batiste a big thank you card!

Hehe :) You could write my name at the bottom of that card too! Although, I'm liking the new Tresseme Naturals one fairly well, too. It's less expensive lol!
I'm trying not to think too hard about the 'washing' power of dry shampoo, and in my mind, when I use it, I'm kind of thinking of it as a half wash.

[Vermelha]

I'd love to hear people's stance/opinions on dry shampoo and whether it counts as a 'wash' or not?
I personally don't see it as a wash, because when I use it, it almost never gets on my scalp.
Anybody else? :)

Not really, but it depends on the type of hair you have. Dry shampoos help "sop" up oil in the scalp, but I feel like you may as well just brush the hair really good with a boar bristle brush instead, or rinse well with very warm water.

[Vermelha]

I wash weekly, rinsing in the middle of the week with warm water (my hair tangles if it stays dry too long). I roller set and I only use oil on my length. It gives me a long-lasting, versatile style to wear until my next wash day.

[LornaDoone]

Hi all! I am new here. I would love to stretch the time between washes during the winter. My hair takes about six hours to dry, so going outside after a wash is not a good idea.

My scalp tends to get greasy quickly. I currently do a full wash two (sometimes three) times a week with scalp washes on the in between days.

Is there anything I can do to help stretch out my washes? Or is this just a matter of putting up with the greasy hair until my scalp adjusts?

I've seen some of you mention dry shampoo? How well does that work? It seems like it would be a good way to get clean hair and avoid having to go out with wet hair!

Thanks in advance,

Lorna

[morecowbell]

<snip>

Is there anything I can do to help stretch out my washes? Or is this just a matter of putting up with the greasy hair until my scalp adjusts?

I've seen some of you mention dry shampoo? How well does that work? It seems like it would be a good way to get clean hair and avoid having to go out with wet hair!

Thanks in advance,

Lorna
Firstly, welcome to LHC! :D

As for your question, I've yet to meet someone who didn't get a greasy scalp while stretching washes (unless they did it so very gradually that it was hours instead of days that they were stretching). Greasy hair isn't so bad, though. ;)

And concerning dry shampoo, here is what I can tell you:
Of the two products I've tried (Tresseme Naturals and Batiste), Batiste works much better... however, it's also twice as expensive. I use the Tresseme cause I'm cheap :P
Basically, it's dust that you spray into your hair, and then brush out (along with a good bit of the oil/sebum that was on your hair).
My experience with both of these is that they stiffen hair up a bit, and add quite a bit of volume (which is a GREAT thing for hiding the greasies).

I'm already planning on using dry shampoo more often than actually washing my hair come winter... no way can I go outside with wet hair!

[bumblebums]

And concerning dry shampoo, here is what I can tell you:
Of the two products I've tried (Tresseme Naturals and Batiste), Batiste works much better... however, it's also twice as expensive. I use the Tresseme cause I'm cheap :P
Basically, it's dust that you spray into your hair, and then brush out (along with a good bit of the oil/sebum that was on your hair).
My experience with both of these is that they stiffen hair up a bit, and add quite a bit of volume (which is a GREAT thing for hiding the greasies).

You can use plain cornstarch, or cornstarch-based baby powder. If you have dark hair and like a bit more scent in it, mix in plain, unsweetened cocoa powder. Some people add a few drops of essential oil to their cornstarch, too, but I never have, on account that I'm worried it would clump up and I'll end up with cornstarch paste in my hair.

[Aredhel77]

Hi everyone, I've been trying to stretch out my washes to every other day, but keep failing, I like how it feels when it's freshly washed! I wish I had more willpower!

This week I have washed it practically every day, although I've been using an Indian herb infusion that I made (aritha, shikakai, amla & a rosehip/hibiscus teabag!) for the last couple of days. I'm going to use up the last bit of solution tomorrow/ Saturday and then try again next week to stretch the washes out. I will either CO-wash or try water only on the days I can't bear it!

I bought Tresemme's new waterless foam dry shampoo recently to use on non-shampoo days, as I like to keep my hair in a curly style (and thus don't like powder shampoos as they involve brushing it out). It worked quite well for me. I put aloe gel on my lengths. Here's the thread if anyone's interested:) :
http://www.longhaircommunity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57170&highlight=tresemme

[bumblebums]

Hi everyone, I've been trying to stretch out my washes to every other day, but keep failing, I like how it feels when it's freshly washed! I wish I had more willpower!

This week I have washed it practically every day, although I've been using an Indian herb infusion that I made (aritha, shikakai, amla & a rosehip/hibiscus teabag!) for the last couple of days. I'm going to use up the last bit of solution tomorrow/ Saturday and then try again next week to stretch the washes out. I will either CO-wash or try water only on the days I can't bear it!

Hi there. I use almost the same Indian herb mix. I didn't put hibiscus in mine the last time I made it, but other than that, identical. I can only use that once every four days or so, though. It would be too drying otherwise, I think.

If you are intent on spreading out your washes, I would avoid putting any sort of product in your hair in-between. I find it really attracts dirt to hair and makes it clumpy.

[Aredhel77]

Hi there. I use almost the same Indian herb mix. I didn't put hibiscus in mine the last time I made it, but other than that, identical. I can only use that once every four days or so, though. It would be too drying otherwise, I think.

If you are intent on spreading out your washes, I would avoid putting any sort of product in your hair in-between. I find it really attracts dirt to hair and makes it clumpy.

OK that's interesting. Thanks:)

[LornaDoone]

morecowbell: Thank you for the welcome, I've been lurking for several months and decided to join the fun!


You can use plain cornstarch, or cornstarch-based baby powder. If you have dark hair and like a bit more scent in it, mix in plain, unsweetened cocoa powder. Some people add a few drops of essential oil to their cornstarch, too, but I never have, on account that I'm worried it would clump up and I'll end up with cornstarch paste in my hair.
I like the idea of using a more natural product.
I will probably go with the cornstarch or baby powder as my hair is dark blond/light brown. I bet the cocoa would smell delicious though!

[McFearless]

I try to stretch the days between a shampoo or CWC wash. Does wetting your hair only count as stretching a wash?

[Venefica]

I was my hair about 2 times a week, sometimes as little as 1 time a week, I do not do anything particularly with it, I wash it when it starts to look dirty. I however see no point in washing my hair every time I bathe if it do not seam to need it at the time.

[Anisaa]

I used to wash my hair every other day and now I wash it 2 times a week. I usually wash it on Fridays (if I AM GOING OUT AT NIGHT) or Saturday and then I don't wash it till Tuesday. I went from every other day to every third/fourth day. My hair does tend to look greasy about the third day, so what I do is I put it in a bun, and only wash my front layer or fringe. I am soo happy to find this thread because I need ideas on how to "maintain" dirty hair. I am NOT a fan of dry shampoos and I have tried baby oil but I did not find it to works very well for me.

[bumblebums]

I try to stretch the days between a shampoo or CWC wash. Does wetting your hair only count as stretching a wash?

Yes and no. WO (water only) is a wash, but a very mild one. Sebum is itself a weak surfactant, meaning it is somewhat water-soluble and gets washed off with water alone. (Here (http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2010/03/chemistry-of-skin-sebum.html) is a very thorough discussion of the chemistry of sebum, if you're into that kind of thing.) I would recommend adding an acidic rinse afterward to restore pH; the pH of water is neutral, whereas the pH of your skin and hair is slightly acidic.

Water also temporarily weakens hair--which is why it is potentially damaging to wet your hair often. This depends on your technique, hair texture, washing and drying method, and other factors.

Upshot: go ahead an wet it in the shower if it needs freshening up. But you probably don't want to rely on WO too much or do it daily. In my opinion.

[morecowbell]

Resurrecting this thread to ask a question:
How do you clarify if you're trying to stretch washes/lower sebum production?

It's my understanding (and I could be totally wrong on this one) that the less harsh cleansing you do, the less sebum your scalp produces. So if you clarify with something like harsh shampoo or baking soda, wouldn't that put you back at square one?

I clarify about once a month (give or take two weeks), and have definitely noticed that I can't go as many days between a wash after I clarify (with Suave Daily Clarifying). It does usually take me a week or two to get back to my three-four days...
My personal solution to this problem is to only clarify from my ears down (because I only use cones from the ears down anyway, and I only use cones for the last week or two before I clarify).

Has anyone else found a way to deal with this?

[Capybara]

That's a good question, more cowbell. I'm interested in this as well. When I clarify (about once a month/two months, now, but it changes - sometimes I have to do it more often, sometimes less), I just force myself to keep to my regular washign schedule, and put my hair up in a bun (including my bangs) to hide the greasies. I wonder if there's a solution to this, would no-cone mean no clarifying, and therefore erradicate the problem?

[bumblebums]

Resurrecting this thread to ask a question:
How do you clarify if you're trying to stretch washes/lower sebum production?

It's my understanding (and I could be totally wrong on this one) that the less harsh cleansing you do, the less sebum your scalp produces. So if you clarify with something like harsh shampoo or baking soda, wouldn't that put you back at square one?

I clarify about once a month (give or take two weeks), and have definitely noticed that I can't go as many days between a wash after I clarify (with Suave Daily Clarifying). It does usually take me a week or two to get back to my three-four days...
My personal solution to this problem is to only clarify from my ears down (because I only use cones from the ears down anyway, and I only use cones for the last week or two before I clarify).

Has anyone else found a way to deal with this?

I am on a no 'poo regimen so I don't really need to clarify to remove 'cone residue, but when my hair feels gunky, I use egg yolk. It probably will not work to remove 'cones.

Some people use baking soda added to regular shampoo to clarify. I don't think an occasional wash with a different shampoo is going to kill your results as far as spreading out washes, as long as it's relatively infrequent (less than once a month, if you wash once a week).

[Wally]

I wash once a week and it works out great. I work from home so I don't have to worry about how my hair looks. My hair is dry, course and has a mind of its own, so it doesn't start to look greasy until the end of the week. I wash my scalp only with an sls shampoo because I like the clean feeling and I get zits on my head if I don't.

[morecowbell]

That's a good question, more cowbell. I'm interested in this as well. When I clarify (about once a month/two months, now, but it changes - sometimes I have to do it more often, sometimes less), I just force myself to keep to my regular washign schedule, and put my hair up in a bun (including my bangs) to hide the greasies. I wonder if there's a solution to this, would no-cone mean no clarifying, and therefore erradicate the problem?
Thanks :) I've been thinking about it for awhile now, and hoping for some input.
I don't ever notice any build up during my no-cone weeks, but I feel like my damaged ends look better with cones, so I put up with it.


I am on a no 'poo regimen so I don't really need to clarify to remove 'cone residue, but when my hair feels gunky, I use egg yolk. It probably will not work to remove 'cones.

Some people use baking soda added to regular shampoo to clarify. I don't think an occasional wash with a different shampoo is going to kill your results as far as spreading out washes, as long as it's relatively infrequent (less than once a month, if you wash once a week).

I wash with conditioner, which is why clarifying my scalp causes increased sebum production. I guess I should have been more clear and asked how non-pooers deal with it. (which you already answered)

[nemileo]

I really want to stretch my washings from every other day to maybe once a week at first, and WO is my ultimate goal...and I was really happy when I saw this thread.

But; my hair doesnt really look greasy, but it gets very flat and unmanageble two days after a wash. Any tips on how to "boost" your hair without hair products? When my scalp sebum starts workin`it doesnt really help to put the hair up in a bun eiter, because it doesn`t hold. It gets all too slippery. Anyone that experience with a vinegar only routine? Could it be damaging after some time? Or hard for the scalp?

[GrowingGlory]

Desert Essence Lemon Tea Tree Shampoo and Conditioner help me to stretch washes from daily to once every five days.

[melikai]

I went from washing every 2 days to about once a week. It varies, depending on how lazy I am, or if I have something new I want to try out. :p

The night before wash day, I do a scalp massage, thorough brushing with my BBB, and oil the ends fairly heavily with oil (coconut or camellia).
I usually do CWC, but sometimes just SC, with non-sulphate shampoo and non-coney conditioner.

It took me about a year and a half to stretch washes this long, so it does take time. The front of my hair in particular used to get greasy in half a day. I blame sulphates and cones for most of my excessive sebum production, as as soon as I stopped using them, I was able to stretch to every 4 days. The sebum my scalp produces now is also of a less oily consistency.

morecowbell: I don't find I need to clarify my hair very often - I haven't for over a year and my hair is fine. If you have an effective shampoo and a conditioner that doesn't cause heavy build-up, you won't need to as often.

I did need to clarify more frequently when I used 'cones and sls.

[jujube]

Thanks so much for this thread. It's helped me so much trying to cope with the second-day greasies that I got when trying to go from daily to other-day washing.

[aenflex]

I've probably posted here before. I just wanted to add something that worked for me, helped to stretch washes - SLS based shampoo. Something strong to remove the 3+ days worth of oils and whatever else I've put in my hair. The weaker the cleansing, (for me) the more I wash. The better the cleansing, the longer I can stretch. Currently using (and loving) Sauve Natural Rosemary Mint shampoo, ingredients:
Water (Aqua), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Betaine, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil*, Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Leaf Oil*, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice [Aloe Vera]*, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil [Lemongrass]*, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil*, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower/Leaf Extract*, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Flower Extract*, Fragrance (Parfum), Polyquaternium-10, Tetrasodium EDTA, DMDM Hydantoin, Citric Acid, PPG-9, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone

[morecowbell]

I've probably posted here before. I just wanted to add something that worked for me, helped to stretch washes - SLS based shampoo. Something strong to remove the 3+ days worth of oils and whatever else I've put in my hair. The weaker the cleansing, (for me) the more I wash. The better the cleansing, the longer I can stretch. Currently using (and loving) Sauve Natural Rosemary Mint shampoo</snip>

That's interesting, aenflex. I can see what you're saying, and I've been thinking along the same lines myself lately. I've just heard so often on this site that using a harsh or very cleansing cleanser causes your scalp to overcompensate and produce even more oils... I started using regular shampoo again when my beauty supply ran out of my CO conditioner, and I might be having very slightly increased sebum production because of it.
Anyone else want to chime in on this one? :)

[Anadyomene]

I have been managing to stretch washing of my length to once every two weeks or so. When my scalp starts to look or feel oily then I do wash just that part about every 4-5 days. This makes my length very happy:cheese: and when my length is happy I am happy.

[sleepingIn]

I am someone who used to wash every single day (and blow dry) and somehow I had BSL hair (dyed blonde too). That was years ago though, now its another story.

I usually wash on Saturday with SLS free shampoo, plus a light CO rinse and sometimes spray detangler.

Usually I air-dry and occasionally I'll blow dry on cold setting to get some volume/shine in my fine hair.

On day 2, I just spray in some dry shampoo. I've tried using cornstarch and a makeup brush and applying to the roots, which works ok - particularly because my blonde hair disguises the light color. But it doesnt do anything in terms of "refreshing" my hair and certainly nothing for the scent. My fave, reasonably priced dry poo is Batiste (from amazon or sally beauty). The tropical one smells like coconut and pineapple - but obviously it smells artificial - and the Pink can "blush" smells floral and clean. My fiance LOVES the smell of the pink one, I am so immune to it now I never smell it once its applied.

Here are the ingredients for the Batiste:

Butane, Isobutane, Oryza Sativa (rice) Starch, Propane, Alcohol Denat., Parfum (fragrance), Coumarin Eugenol, Limonene, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Linalool, Distearyldimonium Chloride, Cetrimonium Chloride.

Now obviously the Butane does raise a red flag for me for the health matters, but I am going with what has worked for me so far. I have stretched my washings (no water whatsoever, just oil on the tips) for up to 4 days between shampoo.

I have tried the CO wash and despite multiple attempts with varying results and several different methods, I just cannot get it to work for me. I am a chronic hair twirler and insist my hair feels at least semi-decent, and it weirds me out too much the way my hair feels with the CO wash. I Wish I could get it to work for me, as I have mildly wavy hair that can be coerced in to pretty beachy waves with some scrunching.

I am bad though, and wear ponytails due to playing sports...

Just my little addition to the thread :)

[curlycrown]

I currently wash my hair once a month with regular suave shampoo. I deep condition the length every 2 weeks. My hair seems to be happy with this.

[nena_shawty]

i have started doing that 2 months ago but my scalp is really oily and i wash it one day and by the end of the next day my hair is oily and it may be healthy for your hair but you know i dont want to look like a grease mop so soon and im pretty sure im washing the right way but i dont know maybe im doing it totally wrong can somebody please tell me the proper way to wash hair lol that would be very helpful:) thx

[curlymarcia]

Hi nena shawty, there is no a universal proper way of washing hair. I mean, what works for me doesn't have to work for you. You have to try different styles from (CO, WO, CWC, WC, etc) and let your hair tell you what is best for you. The right shampoo/conditioner is also important. Good luck finding your correct way to wash hair, and let us know how it works!!

[bumblebums]

I currently wash my hair once a month with regular suave shampoo. I deep condition the length every 2 weeks. My hair seems to be happy with this.

Wow, that's amazing! I used to think that only 3s and 4s could get away with this. But then I saw that Madora (who is a 1 or 2 something) also only washes once a month...

There are no rules, are there.

[curlycrown]

It took me a while to get to this point. When I first cut off my relaxer I cowashed everyday but now that my hair is longer, cowashing on a daily basis is not an option.

[Lianna]

Wow, that's amazing! I used to think that only 3s and 4s could get away with this. But then I saw that Madora (who is a 1 or 2 something) also only washes once a month...

There are no rules, are there.

Some people don't wash at all, so there aren't any rules! That's why I wash everyday, and I like it.

[bumblebums]

Some people don't wash at all, so there aren't any rules! That's why I wash everyday, and I like it.

Yes, I know, but there is a categorical difference between washing with shampoo very infrequently and NW/SO.

[Hana212]

I have recently switched to a cone/sls free hair care routine using only natural products and I have noticed that since doing this I need only wash my hair twice a week as opposed to my usual 3 times a week... I just make sure to wear my hair up on the last day in a nice looking bun.. :D

[Lianna]

Yes, I know, but there is a categorical difference between washing with shampoo very infrequently and NW/SO.

This thread seems to mean any kind of wash though, just conditioner stretching washes too...

I just said an example to illustrate the no rules remark. I wash with sulfates everyday and works for me...another example of no rules. That's all I meant to say. In fact when I wash everyday my hair grows way faster...And must be sulfates, I did CO for several months...

I feel bad that the frowned upon option works best for me, but it is what it is.

[the.fee.fairy]

I was mine probably once a week, maybe twice depending on the weather.

I'm a bit confused about the scalp washing thing...i never spcifically put shampoo in my lengths. I always shampoo the scalp only...does this mean i haven't been washing my lengths at all?

I shampoo once, then condition all of it, put hair into bun and leave it with conditioner in it for about 10 minutes and then wash it out. Then i give the whole lot a cold rinse, then spray in leave-in conditioner on the lengths, and a leave-in cream on the ends.

I'm a bit confused as to whether the lengths get cleaned, or CO'd. I've always had the ipression that by cleaning the scalp with the shampoo, there's enough run-off to clean the length.

[morecowbell]

I was mine probably once a week, maybe twice depending on the weather.

I'm a bit confused about the scalp washing thing...i never spcifically put shampoo in my lengths. I always shampoo the scalp only...does this mean i haven't been washing my lengths at all?

I shampoo once, then condition all of it, put hair into bun and leave it with conditioner in it for about 10 minutes and then wash it out. Then i give the whole lot a cold rinse, then spray in leave-in conditioner on the lengths, and a leave-in cream on the ends.

I'm a bit confused as to whether the lengths get cleaned, or CO'd. I've always had the ipression that by cleaning the scalp with the shampoo, there's enough run-off to clean the length.

Your length doesn't need any 'real' kind of cleansing on a regular basis. When you rinse out your shampoo, it's being washed down your length and cleansing it :) For the most part, your length only needs to be specifically suds-ed up when you have buildup (ie clarifying) or if your ends touched something icky ;)

[allurose]

I'm new... :D

I wash once or twice a week (every five days or so). My hair usually gets greasy after day 2 or 3, but since it's so long (thigh-length), I always have it in updos anyways. So the grease doesn't show. I do wash my fringe/bangs every other day, partly for the grease and partly because they will start to stick out stupidly. :mad:

With fringe washes and updos, I can go a loooong time without being bothered. Even after more than a week, my length is still bone dry, from about chin length down. I just started using some almond oil for the length & ends.

I joined the community a week ago and am now starting CWC and next step will be CO. I also want to try rinses & making my own shampoo, but I'm trying to do one thing at a time! But before last week I used regular shampoo and conditioner.

[bumblebums]

I feel bad that the frowned upon option works best for me, but it is what it is.

Why? I don't think it's frowned upon. There are plenty of members here who wash daily or every other day, and they do fine.

There are other reasons to not wash your hair every day, besides the argument that it's better for the hair (which I accept but not everybody would). One is environmental: you use a lot less water, and put much less product in the waste water, if you wash only once a week. Another reason is that you save time if you don't wash daily. Some people find washing and drying to be such an ordeal... I am one of them. There is also another (controversial) argument about health effects; some dermatologists recommend washing less for psoriasis and such.

Anyway, you should do what works for you, and don't feel bad just because someone else does things differently.

[Lianna]

Well, you just listed some reasons that make me feel bad and ask why?

I don't wash it because I like it, I NEED to...I hate dealing with wet hair everyday. I'm here on this board reading hours a day for quite some time now...I've tried a lot of stuff.

There's also the issue of going out in public with wet hair everyday, I made a thread about that.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=59310

[Jezerellica]

I would love to stretch my washes!! I CWC as little as possible. My ends have been thanking me too. They are mostly uneven rather than damaged. What fun! On the subject of dry shampoo~I'm not a fan. Baby powder and commercial dry shampoos just look unnatural on my hair. Since I am very short, it is obvious to most everyone who looks down. lol. I have pretty dry scalp, so greasy hair just does not happen to me as much as the average LHCr.

[Blueneko]

I wash 2 times a week, but not because I need it. I like freshly washed hair, but my hair looks pretty good on days 4, 5, and 6. I bet I could go a full week at this point, I just lack the discipline to not touch my hair.

[<3OnHerSleeve]

I have all my life been washing my hair daily or every second day. In the past two months I went to washing my hair after deep conditioning treatments/oil treatments strictly 2 days a week (with an occasional extra). My hair seems to go pretty darn dry, but in combination with everything else I'm doing my hair seems to like it for growing faster. I think my "natural" hair likes it, but my dyed, bleached, highlighted, permed, relaxed bottom half of my hair hates it.

[Topaz]

My problem with stretching my washes is not my scalp, but my length. My scalp and upper part of my hair stay clean just fine, but the bottom half of my hair gets super limp, flat, and piecy. The top half will still be clean and curly looking, the bottom half starts looking like something that died. I don't put anything extra on the ends --- after COing, my hair from top to bottom gets the same amount of organic shea butter and aloe vera gel. I know my ends are thinner than the top, but I don't think they're THAT much thinner. I have tried simply rewetting the bottom half to reactivate my curl, but that just creates FRIZZY limp, flat, piecy hair. Anybody else have this kind of problem in stretching their washes? Right now I wash twice a week but would like to stretch it to only once per week.

[SilvraShadows]

My problem with stretching my washes is not my scalp, but my length. My scalp and upper part of my hair stay clean just fine, but the bottom half of my hair gets super limp, flat, and piecy. The top half will still be clean and curly looking, the bottom half starts looking like something that died. I don't put anything extra on the ends --- after COing, my hair from top to bottom gets the same amount of organic shea butter and aloe vera gel. I know my ends are thinner than the top, but I don't think they're THAT much thinner. I have tried simply rewetting the bottom half to reactivate my curl, but that just creates FRIZZY limp, flat, piecy hair. Anybody else have this kind of problem in stretching their washes? Right now I wash twice a week but would like to stretch it to only once per week.

I'm in a forced situation... our pump in the well house broke the other day, so I can't wash my hair until it is fixed biting nails I have to remind myself others are doing this with their wits intact, so I can too.

But I have experienced what you are, even though my hair is a completely different type. The top half is coming along just fine, a bit oily but no extra shedding to my surprise, but the length got very dry... dry and frizzy... not piecy as you mentioned though.

So I rinsed with the spring water I am hauling in and conditioned just that section. Braided it. When I took out the braid, it was soft and lovely and blended well with the rest.

One thing I dislike in this overall experience, is the fact that my hair feels heavier, my scalp is obviously oilier, and I don't like that. One thing I do like is the fact that my hair has a nice sheen to it, top to bottom.

I am thinking after you wet the bottom half, perhaps you can re-condition it as well (with just a tiny bit). Maybe that will bring your curls back and define them better.

[feralnature]

I am washing and conditionish about every 7 days. I do not work away from home so I have less worries about appearance than some of you do. Even so, it looks and feels just fine. In the heat of the summer though, I must wash it much more frequently as I do outside work.

[StraduX]

I try to stretch all of my washes as much as I can because my goal is to end up with a WO routine once every few days. I have struggled with it for quite a while, but recently I have started using less conditioner in my CO washes to help keep more natural oils on my scalp.

[SilvraShadows]

Just an update on my unwanted, unplanned saga of not being able to wash my hair till the pump gets fixed... which broke on Sunday. It's been since Friday! Since I washed my hair! Oh man o man... not good. I usually wash every other or third day...

What I find quite interesting is the fact I am barely shedding. Excessive shedding is something I struggle with a lot. I am curious now to see if I shed even more when I do wash my hair... it could be a few more days, but we have a service call scheduled for tomorrow to trouble shoot.

I have been combing my hair in the morning and evening with a Creative comb, I can wash these better than the wooden ones. Also I am thinking the cellulose acetate comb distributes the oils from my scalp better than the wooden combs because wood actually absorbs oils to some degree, as minute as it would be. Still the oil on the Creative comb would be absorbed completely through out the length which is always dryer. I will say my tresses are taking on a lovely sheen, although the scalp is a bit heavy looking.

Maybe some good will come of this. I can't even remember when I went this long... when I was a little girl?

[morecowbell]

Just an update on my unwanted, unplanned saga of not being able to wash my hair till the pump gets fixed... which broke on Sunday. It's been since Friday! Since I washed my hair! Oh man o man... not good. I usually wash every other or third day...

What I find quite interesting is the fact I am barely shedding. Excessive shedding is something I struggle with a lot. I am curious now to see if I shed even more when I do wash my hair... it could be a few more days, but we have a service call scheduled for tomorrow to trouble shoot.

I have been combing my hair in the morning and evening with a Creative comb, I can wash these better than the wooden ones. Also I am thinking the cellulose acetate comb distributes the oils from my scalp better than the wooden combs because wood actually absorbs oils to some degree, as minute as it would be. Still the oil on the Creative comb would be absorbed completely through out the length which is always dryer. I will say my tresses are taking on a lovely sheen, although the scalp is a bit heavy looking.

Maybe some good will come of this. I can't even remember when I went this long... when I was a little girl?

Wow, it sounds like you're having quite the adventure/experience! Something to help lift your spirits a bit; the longer you go like this, the less sebum your scalp will produce, the longer you can get away without having to wash in the future! :)
I almost wish I had an excuse like that to go without washing my hair for two-three weeks... but like you, I have issues with greasy/oily scalp.
Sending good thoughts your pump's way ;)

[SilvraShadows]

Well... I thought I would die. But it ended up being a wonderful enlightening experience. My scalp did get quite oily, but not as bad as I thought. At one point I tapped just a teeny-eeny bit of NightBlooming's Triple Moon Anointing oil on my scalp, I believe it is medicinal with the eo's she uses and I do believe it helped with my scalp not getting stinky.

The combing was needed and helped if my scalp got itchy and it smoothed the sebum/natural oils down through the length in time.

By the time I did have water running I was tempted to just keep going. My hair looked good... and bad... and maybe a bit ugly, but it also had a nice sheen to it. Top to the tippy ends!

I must say how surprised I am with how very little I shed during these past few days. One day was next to nothing! Happy? Yes, I am. And when I did wash, again, I could almost say there were no losses. Very unusual for me. We had our water back (for 4 hours)... so I caught up on everything! And I admit, my freshly washed hair looked and felt so wonderful!

morecowbell ~ Thank you for sending good thoughts! Our pump is good! We don't have to fork out the $3500.00 to fix it (our well goes down 500 feet where the little pump is nestled at the bottom) and I am soooo relieved! I should be bald for the worry of what might have been. It was the pressure tank, all fixed now.

As of today we have water!:wethree:

[terrylillyd]

Thank you for sharing this Igor! I am excited to try this the next time I wash/rinse in two days :)

[JewelSM]

Hi I am new at LHC and this thread has been very interesting and informative. I would like to stretch the time between washes, and it sounds like brushing to spread the oils helps a lot. However, I am confused about the different washing techniques and if they make a difference on how clean your hair feels. Right now I wash every other day, but by the end of day three (when I stretch because I've slept in or am too lazy to wash it in the morning) my hair is super greasy. And my ends get dry and staticky, any tips?

[morecowbell]

Hi I am new at LHC and this thread has been very interesting and informative. I would like to stretch the time between washes, and it sounds like brushing to spread the oils helps a lot. However, I am confused about the different washing techniques and if they make a difference on how clean your hair feels. Right now I wash every other day, but by the end of day three (when I stretch because I've slept in or am too lazy to wash it in the morning) my hair is super greasy. And my ends get dry and staticky, any tips?

Welcome to LHC! :flower:
As for your question, in my personal experience, a good way to help with dry ends is a 'refresher'. I use a spray bottle filled with plain old tap water and spritz my hair down every morning to dampen it. I find that it really helps with styling, dry ends (especially if you use a bit of leave in after you dampen your length) and frizziness.
The amount of information on this site is overwhelming, so don't be afraid to ask questions (like you just did) :)

[TheBluffs]

What I learned from my stretch washing experience:
(Okay, it's from exams, and the lack of time :D )
Your hair goes nuts at first, but igore it. After two months of stretch, I can go 2 weeks without washing, and it only starts to look bad 10 days in. I only have to wash my hair every 9/10 days, and it looks fresh for 4 days straight.

[Ligeia_13]

Since I can remember myself, I've only had to shampoo twice a week. On the occasional lazy summer, I might go 10 days without either. Its gross though :p so now I condition once a week and shampoo once. There's really not much difference between the two, regarding how fresh it is afterwards or how long it lasts. I'm tempted to see how long I can survive on just conditioner. :)

[beccababesx]

I managed to stretch my washing from every other day to once every 7-10 days. I am still using a low sulphate 'poo, which I intend to stop once I get a condish that works for me.
My life savers are using a boar bristle brush to distribute the sebum, batiste dry shampoo, and if it just looks awful and I can't do anything with it, I use Igor's base ponytail method to make a high ponytail or bun, which I really like the look of anyway, and the extra oil just makes it lay flatter and nicer!
When I started, my hair would get greasy a day after I washed it, but now my hair looks freshly washed until day 4 or 5. It's really interesting to actually see my scalp adjust - isn't the body amazing!
The benefits of stretching washes are amazing - less damage to the hair, as well as if I do some kind of styling to make waves or curls, it stays somewhat for the week - whereas if I wash it, the curls would come out. Also it's just less hassle.
It's interesting to are other people's reactions to stretching washes - my non LHC friends and my mum especially think its 'disgusting'.

[JuliaDancer]

I wash my hair every 2 to 3 days now. I used to wash it every day with 2 in 1 shampoo/conditioner, then conditioner for the length. When I first started skipping, my hair would be greasy by the next day, but I would cover it with a nice scarf wrapped like a bandana/headband down to my forehead, and I would do a half ponytail, braid, or bun in the back. After a couple months, I can leave my hair down even the next day after showering and oiling the ends, and it looks fine. I use a boar bristle brush, which helps spread any oil at the top of my head, but there isn't much the next day. By day 3, it starts looking more oily, so I put my hair up, usually in dutch pigtail braids (loose or in a bun). My braid buns actually hold much better when my hair is oily, and the dutch braids help hide the greasiness. It actually looks nice and shiny without looking greasy, probably also thanks to finishing with my brush. If I just use a comb, you can start to see the comb lines, which make it look greasy, rather than the smooth shiny look the boar bristles give.

[JuliaDancer]

But I do shower more often than I wash my hair. I've just been using a plastic bag bobby pinned to my hairline and clipped at the back of my neck with my hair in a bun. For some reason, the Duane Reade near me doesn't sell shower caps, and I've been too lazy to go looking for one. The plastic bag is working fine. =)

[kaned_ferret]

I currently wash every 4 days or so, but honestly if it wasn't for the fact that a couple of patches on my head get flaky and itchy (residual damage from my box-dying days coupled with stress reactions) then I would rarely have to wash at all - I never get greasy hair :)

Having said that I do enjoy the pampering I give myself when I do wash lol. I'd like to be able to get back to when I was a kid and only wash once a week... it's enjoyable, but time consuming!

[Amber_Maiden]

The longest I've been able to go is a week and a half without washing my hair (10-11 days about). I wash it once a week usually, but sometimes I do CO twice a week to get various potions out of my hair. :)

[RachieBaby]

I would love to be able to stretch washes! At the moment im doing cwc everyday! For the past week however i've been washing my hair every other day.
I'd like to get to washing my hair every 3 days as i think that would probably help loads with the condition.

[proo]

I wash once a week with half a gallon of distilled water - never in a million years would have thought this possible, but at 52 my hair is finally soft, long, shiney and frizzfree on this routine. Thanks LHC

[gthlvrmx]

I've experimented last week and not washed for 9 nine days, i love the feel after 5 days, but after that i feel the ends are dry and i tried a small leave in but i put too much i think!!!! It looked much too greasy! Only my ends needed it i think :p But so far, so good, the only thing i miss are my curls
But my scalp seems to like washing down some oils off at least once a week but i might be able to get away with that by scalp massaging :) Going to attempt another week, 7 days, might be the magic number!
Oh, and washing less and just using conditioner as a little touch up seems to be great for my hair, less splits and damage

[IanB]

Well it's once a week for a "proper" wash with shampoo for me, and rinses in warm water in-between

[angelshair]

I would love to stretch washes, but my problem is not that my hair gets oily normally, it's just that I work out pretty often and then I have to wash it because I'm all sweaty. Problem is, if I do a WO after exercise, my hair goes all wrong and poofy, so I think I need conditioner so maybe my regular CO routine would be best. This leaves me CO washing a few times a week which is definitely more than I'd like. Anyone deal with this? It has been a while since I WO'd and I might try it again to check, and I know that WO is supposed to be a very mild form of wash, but it also doesn't protect the hair like conditioner does, so I'm a bit torn on this issue. If not for my jogging schedule I can easily go a week without washing, and that does sound really great because it must be so much less damaging. On the other hand I don't feel like giving up all my hobbies for my hair :P (though I do admit to trying to plan my running schedule around it :P)

[Venefica]

I find that five days to a week between washes works well for me, but if I go any longer I get scores and irritation in my scalp, so about 5 days is ideal for me between washes and I really can not go longer than that.

[elbow chic]

I'm super happy to be down to twice a week! I remember how gross my hair would look on Day 3 back when I first started trying to stretch washes. Even Day 2 wasn't a "good" hair day.

but now I can go three or four days with no problem.

(in fact I am not sure exactly when I last washed my hair. I'm sure it was this week. Tuesday, maybe? ...or was it Monday?) I'm probably washing it today because I mowed the yard and got pretty sweaty, but it doesn't LOOK greasy. :cheese:

[Amber_Maiden]

Hey everyone! I have a question!

I've been stretching washes for about 7 days. I can go longer, to about 10, and am planning on making day 11 my wash day from now on- washing my hair only 3 times a month.

My question- around day 4-5 I start getting flakes in my hair. It's not dandruff, doesn't itch, isn't everywhere, but I do get them. I'm wondering if anyone else gets this and what I can do about it? I wear my hair up most of the time, and you have to get pretty close to me to notice the flakes, but even so... I want them gone!

Also any tips on stretching washes past 7 days would be appreciated!

[jacqueline101]

I stretch mine to weekly washings.

[Amber_Maiden]

Is this thread dead? :(

[Druida]

I'm fairly embarrassed about asking this, but does anyone here have advice on how to stretch washes but not let their scalp get... well, smelly? I can go three to four days with my hair looking fine, but by day four I need to wash my hair because my scalp just doesn't smell so fresh any more. :(

[cooklaezo13]

Hey everyone! I have a question!

I've been stretching washes for about 7 days. I can go longer, to about 10, and am planning on making day 11 my wash day from now on- washing my hair only 3 times a month.

My question- around day 4-5 I start getting flakes in my hair. It's not dandruff, doesn't itch, isn't everywhere, but I do get them. I'm wondering if anyone else gets this and what I can do about it? I wear my hair up most of the time, and you have to get pretty close to me to notice the flakes, but even so... I want them gone!

Also any tips on stretching washes past 7 days would be appreciated!

You could try exfoliating the scalp by scratching the scalp with a comb (scritching). That might get the flakes out.

[Rilig]

I'm fairly embarrassed about asking this, but does anyone here have advice on how to stretch washes but not let their scalp get... well, smelly? I can go three to four days with my hair looking fine, but by day four I need to wash my hair because my scalp just doesn't smell so fresh any more. :(

Go about stretching your washes more slowly. Give your scalp time to adjust to the change. Wash every other day for 2 weeks, then every 3rd day the next two weeks, and so on.


Currently, my goal is once a week washes, which is what I did when I had dreads. Right now I'm changing from every other day to every 3rd day. My scalp is already happier! :D

[Lunarise]

Just started stretching my washes about three weeks ago. My hair is almost to the point where it looks OKAY on day two instead of a greasy disaster, so probably will start trying to stretch to 3 days soon! Thank you shampoo bars <3

[Johannah]

I washed my hair every other day, now I'm stretching it to the 3th day. You don't see it's greasy anyway because I'm wearing it up.

[gazelle]

I want to strecth washes, too. But I strongly need to wash at the third day, not because of the condition or greasiness; but mostly because of personal comfort. I will really need to stretch my washes in 1 month time, because of little opportunity for taking a shower, in the area that I will live. So it is better to start now, but it is difficult

[Amber_Maiden]

You could try exfoliating the scalp by scratching the scalp with a comb (scritching). That might get the flakes out.

Yep, already tried that. It's not dandruff like flakes, it's more like cookie dust on top of the hair- not on the scalp, but obviously from the scalp.:(

[highlightedmess]

Fine haired person here attempting to overcome the greasies..

I've managed to stretch my washes from every day to every other day, and I would love any additional tips on how to maybe get to every 3 days.

I'm doing baking soda/ACV washes and using light baby powder in my hair on day two. Head scarves/hats aren't an option for me at work. I could maybe make a sturdy cloth headband that ties underneath, all others either hurt my head or slip out.

I also have zero talent at doing any kind of hairstyle more complicated than a ponytail. I don't like to wear my hair up though because it looks glued to my head and its hard to not have gaps where my scalp shows.

I read something about silk pillowcases/sleep caps? Would that make much of a difference? Also maybe if I fingercomb instead of brushing/combing? I've also been trying to massage my scalp well when I wash.

[citadel]

I started stretching washes half a year ago because I knew daily washing + blow drying was killing my hair. At first, it was hard and I had to wear my hair in a ponytail or bun for the second day, and the third was just gross. The greasiness slowed down gradually--I never even noticed when it stopped getting oily so fast--so I now just wash it twice a week. I leave my hair down for the first two, sometimes three days, and for the fourth or third day, I wear it up. If my hair is straight, I can only go three days without washing. If I sleep with braids and wear it wavy, I can easily get four days.

[gazelle]

I need to stretch washes, but my problem is:it becomes itchy after a few days, not very greasy. I can stand greasy hair for a while, but I can't stand itchy scalp. And nothing helps except washing

[Amber_Maiden]

Is this thread still alive???!!!

I'm switching from washing my hair once a week to once every two weeks. I'm at 12 days currently!!! :D

[suzye]

I've currently gotten up to 3 or 4 days without washing. I want to go longer though! I'll be experimenting with going up to a week or two weeks over the next month or so.

[kaiakai]

I don't go out as much as I used to.. that has made it easier to stretch washes.
I oil my hair, then it's greasy "on purpose" and I can wear it up and not be bothered by it.

My question is (and sorry if it's already been answered somewhere, I don't have time to read all the posts), what do you do about lint and dust that accumulates between washes? Before my last wash, I had stretched longer than I think I had before, and what drove me to wash was the lint, not even the grease, so much!

??

[neverever]

kaiakai: I just brush that out if it bothers me, but the dust is not really a problem for me... I dont care to much about it.

I wash my hair once a week, but I would be able to go longer without washing because I never get greasy hair, at all. After a few days my hair gets super dry, even though I oil the ends every single day. :o I really feel that I need to wash it to put some moisture back in the hair, and I dont understand how that can be possible? I mean, oiling should make the hair less dry and even greasy after a week. And I'm not talking about light oil, I'm talking about olive oil and almond oil. Anyone that has same kind of dry hair?? :rolleyes: I guess its not a big problem and its nice to never have greasy and oily hair, but I think my hair is more damaged than I thought... and that sucks :(

[Amber_Maiden]

I don't go out as much as I used to.. that has made it easier to stretch washes.
I oil my hair, then it's greasy "on purpose" and I can wear it up and not be bothered by it.

My question is (and sorry if it's already been answered somewhere, I don't have time to read all the posts), what do you do about lint and dust that accumulates between washes? Before my last wash, I had stretched longer than I think I had before, and what drove me to wash was the lint, not even the grease, so much!

??

I brush it out as well. Doesn't bother me.


kaiakai: I just brush that out if it bothers me, but the dust is not really a problem for me... I dont care to much about it.

I wash my hair once a week, but I would be able to go longer without washing because I never get greasy hair, at all. After a few days my hair gets super dry, even though I oil the ends every single day. :o I really feel that I need to wash it to put some moisture back in the hair, and I dont understand how that can be possible? I mean, oiling should make the hair less dry and even greasy after a week. And I'm not talking about light oil, I'm talking about olive oil and almond oil. Anyone that has same kind of dry hair?? :rolleyes: I guess its not a big problem and its nice to never have greasy and oily hair, but I think my hair is more damaged than I thought... and that sucks :(

I have very dry hair- probably after about 4in of hair, I have dry hair. My ends are extremely dry. I saturate my hair in avocado oil- every day. That way my whole head is greasy. lol:p

[Shesta]

kaiakai, I think the additional oiling you do attracts more lint and dust. Try putting less and see if there's a difference.

[Madora]

kaiakai, I think the additional oiling you do attracts more lint and dust. Try putting less and see if there's a difference.

You've hit the nail on the head, Shesta! The less stuff you put on your hair, the better your chances for stretching your washes.

[Ligeia_13]

Oddly enough, after washing my hair once a week for months now, it suddenly gets oily much quicker than it used to. I washed on Saturday and its already dirty and oily.

[bumblebums]

Oddly enough, after washing my hair once a week for months now, it suddenly gets oily much quicker than it used to. I washed on Saturday and its already dirty and oily.

It could be seasonal. Some people produce more sebum in winter, others in summer...

[Qadupae]

I guess I fit on more with the stretching washes group than WO since I can't quite do WO for more than a week without the buildup being too much. Part of the problem is just that my hair is too short and the grease and oils have nowhere to go. For those interested, my hair is only 1 inch long right now ^_^ So yeah, anywhere from every 4 days to once a week, I will shampoo my hair with some that is leftover in the shower, just dilute it quite a bit. If my hair acts too "fluffy" once it is dry, I just add about 1/2 tsp olive oil to it and spread it about. Works well so far and the oil my hair secretes between washes I can use to style my hair without using gel ^_^

[kaiakai]

kaiakai, I think the additional oiling you do attracts more lint and dust. Try putting less and see if there's a difference.

You might think so, but I get the lint around my scalp, where I do not add any oil...

[mallorykay13]

I am finally starting to reap the benefits of stretching washes. I can no go through my entire school day with 2nd day hair and it not be greasy (although it does grease up for the nighttime.) I was it every three or four days, although have done the week stretch before with baby powder assistance.

[Lize]

I have been washing every other day since my teen years. Recently I have stretched to every 3-4 days, as well as switching to CO. I have done this for a few months now. Day four is still very greasy. I'd like to be able to stretch it to once a week. Reasons: Better for the hair, less time spent and easier for me to keep track of when I washed my hair. Also I think I might enjoy washing more if I do it only once a week. I'd like to have my wash day on Thursdays, to have it fresh for the weekend.

This time I will stretch it to six days and wash it on Monday since I don't work next week. I am now on dirty day four and it's very greasy. I am wearing it in a low bun for work today since that hides it the best.

[ktno1]

For most of my life I've washed and conditioned daily. In 2011 I started doing every other day and my hair was so much less greasy. Now I'm trying to stretch to twice a week. I thought my hair would look like a pile of grease by day 3 but on the contrary, it appears to be loving it!

[Lize]

I will wash my hair tomorrow on DD6. I have very rarely waited this long with washing, but today on DD5 it has not looked much worse than DD4. My BBB is a big help with hiding greasies, I have two actually. One that is very soft that is for babies that I use for smoothing the hair when I have already bunned it, and one that has a bit harder bristles. The harder one I use to scratch the scalp and distribute oils. I wash my brushes often since I am trying to stretch and I don't want to get extra oils from the brushes. I know I could stretch my washes to once a week because once I had dreads and I washed once a week. When I had combed them out my hair seemed to never get greasy. But I started washing more frequently again because that was what I had been doing before, and I didn't really pay attention to my hair back then.

[einna]

I am suddenly on my 9th day without washing (my hair that is, lol).. My hair just seems to be ok. I have been keeping it up, and sprayed and massaged twice with Rooibos tea. It is starting to look lank and greasy now, so I will do a round with the BBB and then more Rooibos tea massage. Hopefully I dont have to wash tomorrow. ;)

I have also been eating healthier (less sugar mostly) since new years. Anybody know if that might make a difference in sebum production?

[Lize]

I did six days and now that I have CO washed my hair it feels so great! I think I will continue washing every six days until I reach a Thursday and then start every seven days and start my Thursday washes routine. I know this may be a bit of a fast stretch when my hair is barely used to every four days but I'm going to give it a shot since I am not working a lot right now. And it is freezing outside so getting hair wet is not really my highest wish...

[Renate]

Ever since I started protecting the lenght from the shampoo, my hair seems to last longer without washing. :) It's my 3rd day and it seems it will last one more.

I really hope it does, tomorrow I can only wash it at night :/

[arielágua]

I am starting to stretch this month! *one of New year's resolution xD*
So I used to wash my hair every other day, like, wash Sunday, no wash Monday, wash Tuesday...etc
Now I am stretching one more day: wash Sunday, no wash on Monday and Tuesday, wash Wednesday. It gets a little grease on the day before washing. So I still have to work on this.
And this is how I am working out the stretching days. I am thinking of every month stretch another day.

Let's see what happens, wish me luck, love this thread! ;P

[mleung]

i've just started stretching my washes within the last 2 weeks, though for me that means not using shampoo.

so far i've been washing with shampoo about twice a week & just rinsing with water the other days. guess we'll see how this goes...

[cuties]

I wash my hair 3 times a week. I want to go down to twice a week. In between, I was able to, but then sometimes its so greasy that it starts itching and I figure it is less damaging to wash hair than to scratch scratch to soothe that itching. I tried the dry shampoo, but it itches like crazy as well. I don't mind slight greasiness, but itching is what is the problem. Yesterday at night, the heat was on and I was sweating while sleeping and then the scalp started itching so bad for a couple of hours that I had to give my hair a shampoo this morning though I was planning to stretch it this time. :(

[piratejenny]

I wash my hair every four days with (mostly) eggs and (very occasionally) rhassoul and would eventually like to get to once a week. My stretching efforts are very slow going, though, and in the past few weeks I feel like my scalp is actualy getting oilier. I tried to transition to WO for 5 months last year during which I didn't use anything beyond acidic rinses and have been on my egg routine since November. Initially I could easily go 5 days between egg washes, now sometimes day 4 is already a bit iffy... I was always under the impression that eggs were less stripping than shampoo and therefore my oil production should decrease and so I'm a bit frustrated by how things are going at the moment. I'm hoping that it also might be weather or stress or something else like that and that over time everthing will balance out.

My hair loves the eggs in any event and so I don't really want to change too much on that end for the time being anyway...:cool:

[piratejenny]

So...the other day I tried dry shampoo on day four as I really didn't want to wash but wanted to go out and look decent. This was my first time and it blew me away how well it worked. In fact, even the following day my hair still looked pretty good.

This begs the question whether dry shampoo (or baby powder, corn starch, pure cocoa etc.) can help in stretching washes or is it actually counter-productive and should be considered an extra wash? :confused: (It's certainly way less of a "hassle" than a full washing session...)

Does anybody have experience with this?

[bumblebums]

I wash my hair every four days with (mostly) eggs and (very occasionally) rhassoul and would eventually like to get to once a week. My stretching efforts are very slow going, though, and in the past few weeks I feel like my scalp is actualy getting oilier. I tried to transition to WO for 5 months last year during which I didn't use anything beyond acidic rinses and have been on my egg routine since November. Initially I could easily go 5 days between egg washes, now sometimes day 4 is already a bit iffy... I was always under the impression that eggs were less stripping than shampoo and therefore my oil production should decrease and so I'm a bit frustrated by how things are going at the moment. I'm hoping that it also might be weather or stress or something else like that and that over time everthing will balance out.

My hair loves the eggs in any event and so I don't really want to change too much on that end for the time being anyway...:cool:

There's an egg shampoo thread that might have some answers:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=40386

In brief, I find that egg washes are great every now and then but don't work as well when used exclusively.


So...the other day I tried dry shampoo on day four as I really didn't want to wash but wanted to go out and look decent. This was my first time and it blew me away how well it worked. In fact, even the following day my hair still looked pretty good.

This begs the question whether dry shampoo (or baby powder, corn starch, pure cocoa etc.) can help in stretching washes or is it actually counter-productive and should be considered an extra wash? :confused: (It's certainly way less of a "hassle" than a full washing session...)

Does anybody have experience with this?

This is complicated. If you are working under the "sebum spreading theory", then presumably dry shampoo interferes with it, since it absorbs some sebum. Also, the manipulation and brushing required with dry shampoo is so extensive that it negates the benefit of not washing for me. Plus it doesn't fully get rid of the sebum smell.

On the other hand, if it works for you, why not keep using dry shampoo...

[piratejenny]

This is complicated. If you are working under the "sebum spreading theory", then presumably dry shampoo interferes with it, since it absorbs some sebum. Also, the manipulation and brushing required with dry shampoo is so extensive that it negates the benefit of not washing for me. Plus it doesn't fully get rid of the sebum smell.

Well, I'm not sure I'm working under the "sebum spreading theory" (even though I very much like the term :D). Basically my assumption is that interfering less with my scalp and my natural sebum production and using milder methods to clean my hair (eggs, rhassoul etc.) should gradually decrease sebum production and allow me to go longer between washes with hair still looking decent.

I used the dry shampoo on my hair only - not on the scalp - and only on my main grease spots on the top and side of my head and I'm wondering if that still intereferes with the sebum production of my scalp. I mean, how would my scalp know that my length had been stripped :confused:... Do I make any sense at all here or do I get something all wrong here??

[XcaliburGirl]

I'm joining this thread. I'm usually a daily washer, but I was trying to think off ways to cut our grocery spending. If I can wash every other day, I can cut my shampoo/conditioner costs in half.

One thing I noticed today was that I have more time in the morning to get household chores done before work since my shower was much shorter.

[GenLove86]

I have very oily hair but i've been able to stretch out my washes to 3 days. The second day usually isn't so bad but then the 3rd day it's gross. On the third day I've been using this dry shampoo called 'Pssst!'. It seems to bring out my greys but I don't really mind too much. I've been doing this for two weeks now and it seems like my hair is less oily. (I've been told that will happen and I am very happy about it!) :)

[bumblebums]

Update: I have concluded that the best way to spread washes for me is the CO washing method. I can go a week without washing and I get the most consistent results compared to other methods I've tried. If your hair type is anything like mine, I recommend trying CO for stretching washes.

[piratejenny]

I've had good success at stretching with rhassoul clay in combination with the occassional dry shampoo (either store bought or a mix of 2 parts corn starch and 1 part cinnamon) over the past few months. The last few weeks I have only washed once a week that way (not counting the use of dry shampoo, which I will do once at max between washes).

[XcaliburGirl]

Stretching Day 2.

My bangs were pretty oily this morning, and I had some flakes. The latter might be a normal dandruff flare-up, though.

Today was a wash day, so nothing to report.

I have cornstarch, so I guess I can try that sometime. I don't own a brush though, so I'm not sure about getting it out. I've heard of using cocoa powder for dark hair, but I don't have any on hand.

[piratejenny]

Here's a pretty interesting thread about using cocoa powder as dry shampoo:
http://www.longhaircommunity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29787

[Mononoke]

I'm joining the thread! I've stretched washes from once in two days to once in about 4 days, but I'd like to stretch to once a week. My scalp is very oily, and even though I've been washing my hair once in 4 days for a few months, it's still quite gross on the last day.

[XcaliburGirl]

Here's a pretty interesting thread about using cocoa powder as dry shampoo:
http://www.longhaircommunity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29787
Thanks, I'll take a look at that!

[XcaliburGirl]

2 weeks of every-other-day washing done. It was surprisingly easy to switch. I really like the quick showers.

I am getting more flakes this way, but it could be because of chlorine from the pool, which unfortunately opened around the same time I started this experiment.

If the flake issue continues, and if I start swimming every day, I might need to go back to washing daily. At least I've gotten over the mental issue I had with not washing my hair in the morning.

[Littlewing13]

Sign me up. I've tried most of the methods of washing on here but I think that regardless I still experience a certain amount of breakage just from wetting it. So I have been washing every other day, & alternating CWC/CO which seem to be working alright but the ends are so dry still and my hair is starting to take ages to dry after washing. So I will try to push an extra day in between for now.

Does anyone use dry shampoo? Is it a no-no or will it help?

[RubyTuesday]

I have washed my hair everyday of my life as I cannot stand my roots being greasy. Even when my hair was very long I washed it everyday. However, now I am trying to treat my hair as kindly as possible I would really like to stretch it out a bit to at the very least every other day. I just feel a bit dirty and unkempt when my hair is not washed, as though people are looking at me and thinking 'oooh she looks like such a tramp'.

From reading a lot of this thread it seems that I have to tough it out for about a month before I get less greasy. Wish me luck.

[lydiajo]

I was once a week. The night before, I massage with castor oil. In the morning I was my hair, conditioner and coconut oil on the ends. The rest of the week I wet my hair when I shower, condition from the ears down and coconut oil on the ends. It seems to work for me.

[Dana]

In the past (about 2 years ago) I tried stretching my washes while still doing the traditional shampoo and conditioner routine. I was able to do one or two days in between, with day 2 looking pretty cruddy. If I tried a Day 3 (i.e. it feel on a weekend and I had no plans), my hair looked and smelled horrendous.

Now that I am almost completely CO (I lightly shampoo once every 10 days or so), I am going to start trying to stretch my washes again.

I am on my first water-only "wash" day. I used Snowy's Massage Technique last night before bed and again later this morning (probably a little excessive), and while showering I went through similar "shampooing" motions - I wasn't comfortable getting my fingers in to spread the sebum around, I felt that my hair might break! Maybe with time, it might take more sebum on my length for me to feel better about it?

I finished the above off with some Paul Mitchell Tea Tree conditioner as a leave-in. I accidentally squirted out too much, but my hair doesn't seem to mind. I'm sure all the 'cones aren't ideal, but it's a small bottle (for the amount I use) so it will be gone in a couple of months.

For those who are stretching, what do you do on your no-wash days? Do you keep it dry under a cap in the shower? Or do you do water-only and get your length wet? Or do you somehow only wash your scalp and keep your ends dry (and if that's the case, please explain the logistics, my brain isn't comprehending)?

[Krystall]

I stretched washes before I knew people did it on purpose. Because I'm lazy. That made the transition very easy for me I guess. Since my hair always has been long and I couldn't stand the blow drier as a kid (It was so hot), I learnt that the only way for it to dry was just leaving it. And I couldn't go out and play while my hair was still wet, so I ended up minimalizing the wetness overall. :p

I wash twice a week now, one of the washes being followed by a leave-in moisture mask, mostly as an overnight treatment. I feel like I have to wear my hair up the day before I wash tho, as I'm still battling with some ickyness-issues. :slap:

[salisem]

I have washed my hair everyday of my life as I cannot stand my roots being greasy. Even when my hair was very long I washed it everyday. However, now I am trying to treat my hair as kindly as possible I would really like to stretch it out a bit to at the very least every other day. I just feel a bit dirty and unkempt when my hair is not washed, as though people are looking at me and thinking 'oooh she looks like such a tramp'.

From reading a lot of this thread it seems that I have to tough it out for about a month before I get less greasy. Wish me luck.

This is exactly my story as well. I have always been very greasy, and always washed daily.

I am now in week 3 of stretching washes from every day to every other day. I am still very greasy on Day 2, and I hope resolution is right around the corner.

Here is my current routine when I do wash:
-wet hair
-condition ends only
-wash scalp with a shampoo bar
-let suds run through my length and massage gently
-warm water rinse
-vinegar rinse
-cool water rinse
-blot dry
-apply coconut oil to ends only while still wet

[rtree721]

I was the kind of person that said "I have to wash my hair everyday or it gets greasy". Now I see that it got greasy so fast because I washed it too much. I am currently washing every other day. I haven't been brave enough to go longer, but seeing how long some of you guys can go... maybe I'll try to skip another day.

[Loveisaverb]

Only wash twice a week, but trying to get to once a week. But I am officially cutting out SLS shampoo, so that's good.
Plus its just my bangs that get really greasy, my length is just fine.
Aha the joys when I grow my bangs out and their not on my oily forehead. :D

[bayleafwish]

Managed to go from sunday night to just now without a shampoo wash, i did do a half soaked ( excuse the pun) attempt at a bicarb rinse n ACV on tuesday but honestly it was so rushed I went out for a meal and my hair was greasy. Had to stop off at Morrisons and buy some dry shampoo.

But aside from that, I have stretched it 3 days.

[WickedLady]

i have curly hair and can manage to wash every 3 days. I wear it up for work all the time so its easy to stretch washes. thought i havent found a routine to go longer and dont think i will considering how thin and fine my hair is.

[Vrindi]

It took me a long time to stretch from washing every day to every few days. I started by switching to sls-free shampoo, and letting my hair adjust to that (took about 2 weeks.) A few years later I realized that washing my hair every day was not good for it, and stretched it to every day and a half until it adjusted. It would get so oily so quickly! But it adjusted. I'd wear it up to hide it. Once I got to where I could go every other day, it was much easier to stretch washes. My scalp calmed down. Now, it actually looks better on the 3rd or 4th day. I will do water only rinses in between when I need them because of working out, and then I'm just careful to put some oil on the ends to keep them from getting dry.

[Green Eyes]

I'm personally trying to stretch the washings as best I can however I feel the more I try n stretch the drier my ends get( I know it sounds daft but that's how it feels) I've tried brushing with my bbb and oilling with my vatika oil and it seems to be helping

[melusine963]

My scalp takes a very long time to adjust. It's taken me about two years to stretch my washes from every 3/4 days to once a week. I think it will be another few months before I'm completely happy with my day 6 hair (ah, the advantages of washing my hair on a Sunday night).

[blaketob]

currently I was my hair 2 times a week. I haven't been accurate with days though.. sometimes my hair will not look great so I'll rewash it even though I just washed it two days ago and then I'll wait like 6 days to wash again. Lately it hasn't been consistent because I just started school and on the weekends I don't wash unless I plan on going out for the night. I think hair type plays a role in the ability to stretch washes. I am a wavy head and could last about 4-5 days without washing my hair and looking greasy, however, when I straighten my hair (which is rare) my hair gets oily looking by the next day and then I feel the need to rewash my hair.

[battles]

I managed to go from washing daily to washing every 3-4 days. :) I'd like to extend it a little more, but this is quite the improvement!

I've found that Pantene Ice Shine shampoo with Tressemme Naturals conditioner allows me to stretch washes longer than any other combo I've tried, and keeps it looking nice until about day 4-5.

[bunnylake]

I am normally a daily washer but I am trying to stretch to every other day, which I can do though my scalp starts to get greasy on the in between day. Believe it or not, this is a huge improvement for me. When I used to use sulfates, my scalp produced so much oil I would feel the need to wash my hair twice a day. Since ditching the sulfates, my scalp produces less oil. When I tried CO washing, I found that my scalp produced even less oil and I felt more comfortable on that in between day. I only stopped because I had to use SO MUCH conditioner. I am going to try again using diluted conditioner, maybe that'll help me get back into the CO routine without having to buy a new bottle every week.
I am also interested in doing more herbal washes. Has anyone tried herbal washing and does it help with stretching washes? I am talking about ayurvedic herbs, specifically.

[Tapioca]

Before a few months ago, I had to wash my hair daily with medicated shampoo, or my scalp would freak out. Now, I'm washing once a week. My miracle product that made this change? Immune suppressants. I'm getting the treatments to fight my Rheumatoid Arthritis, but I got a happy side-effect.

[battles]

I was about to go up to 3 days during summer, but now that the seasons have changed I've had to start washing every day again. :sad I need to start stretching again, at least to a few days.

[italianamama]

Over the past three years I've been able to train my hair to go from washes every three days to washes once (or more rarely, twice) a month. I'm part of the benign neglect crowd, and after a while I wanted to see just how long I could go between shampooings! I use a lot of the NW/SO techniques like scritching and scalp massage and usually my hair doesn't get anywhere near greasy until my third week. It's easier to stretch washes during the winter- in the summer I'm in the pool a lot, and of course I've got to rinse out the chlorine and recondition than.

[MaryO]

I'm thinking about stertching washes as my scalp get super dry and sore in the winter. I'm currently washing every second day and would like to add one day to that. Although I hate being wet (showering in general) I love feeling clean so I doubt that I'll go longer than every third day! I recently started using sls free shampoo and just oiling and my hair has responded very well In that it looks as if it can go an extra day but I've just continued washing every second day because that's what I do! ;-)

[Jerimi]

*removing my posts*

[sarahthegemini]

Me! My hair can be washed every other day but I'm trying to stretch one more day. Dry shampoo is essential right now!

[donnalouise]

I have naturally REALLY greasy hair but have managed to go from washing daily to washing twice a week. I noticed it takes a long time for your head to get used to changes and stop producing as much oil, i suffered for a good few months before gradually the greasiness subsided and now i get two really 'good' days out of my hair then one or two 'not so good' days where i wear it braided before finally giving in and washing. Sounds crazy but i've got used to scheduling my life and important appointments around hair wash days - all the important meetings get done the day or two after hair washing and the other days i work from home only :). Everyone around me thinks i'm nuts for ruling my life based on my hair but hey, it works for me :).

[rose313]

I wash my hair just about every other day, sometimes daily. On my second day my hair seems to get greasy at the roots but still normal in the length. I use shampoo and conditioner, no heat tools but I do use hot water. I found a dry shampoo that works well for me, it's the Schwarzkopf one in the silver can. Batiste did not work very well for me at all. Maybe I'll try to stretch washes to every third day, if it makes my hair softer I'll do it, but I'm not sure what other benefits I'll get from it.

[Jerimi]

*removing my posts*

[battles]

I'm trying to keep it every other day or every two days now, I'm at chin length. It seems a lot harder to stretch washes with less hair. :p

[Temme]

TE=Jerimi;2525966]Yay! There's some people.
[/QUOTE]
People,yes! Exactly what I was thinking. I'd been waiting for this thread to start back up again.


I used to strip my scalp to death. At one point I would wash my hair every night with SLS shampoo, and I would use SO much shampoo that I could stick all of my BSL hair on top of my head, and it would stay there if I shook my head around a bit. At another point, I washed my hair with a clarifying shampoo for oily hair every other day. It didn't have SLS or any harsh detergent that I can recognize, but it is by far the most stripping shampoo I've ever used. My hair would be greasy on day 2.


Now I've been washing every 4 days with a low-sulfate shampoo, although last time I went 5 days because it looked ok on day 4. My scalp definitely produces less oil, and I attribute this to the fact that I don't dry it out as much. I can usually wear my hair down on days 1, 2, and 3, 4 is in a braid.

I'm hoping to slowly make it to once a week. I think that would be beneficial for my hair by preventing hygral fatigue, overuse of products, and excess manipulation. We'll see how it goes.:)

[Temme]

Sorry, I messed up the quote, and I don't think I can edit my posts.

[DreamWalker]

I used to wash every other day, and often felt like I should wash every day. I've worked it back to washing twice a week, and have started only using shampoo once a week. I get a few good days after that, but my scalp is still adjusting to the fact that I'm not totally stripping of oils, so I'm wearing a lot of braids and buns :) But I'm a violinist with classic length hair, and find it almost impossible to play with my hair down, so that kind of dictates updo's all the time anyway.

[BowTie]

Hi all =) I have managed to strech my washes - nowadays I only wash twice a week on Mondays and Fridays. I used to watch everyday. I started this in August and I already have great results. My hair is less greasier and my horrible itch is totally gone =) If anyone needs help, just feel free to ask!

[GrowingGlory]

How do you disguise the fact that you are stretching washes? How do you camouflage excess sebum? How do you keep your hair from smelling like sebum and other odors?

[alexis917]

I wash every 2/3 days, four if my scalp is being nice.
To disguise sebum, I just put my hair up. It's normally up or braided.
I don't like the feel of dry shampoo, so I don't bother.

[which.chick]

I made the leap to "once a week" about a month ago. (Had been doing every 3 days or so.) Due to time hair takes to dry, I wash it after work in the evening, before dinner. It's doing OK... day 1&2 are way too slippery and fly-away for my taste. Days 3,4 and 5 are pretty good. Day 6 and wash day look kind of grimy if I leave it down (but since I wear it up, this does not matter).

Edit to clarify: I have dead-straight, baby-fine hair. When it's dirty and in a bun or updo, it lays flatter and looks "hairsprayed" or "gelled". The difference for me is mainly in manage-ability and fewer fly-aways.

[Sascha888]

How do you disguise the fact that you are stretching washes? How do you camouflage excess sebum? How do you keep your hair from smelling like sebum and other odors?


@GrowingGlory, when you stretch your washes, you need or want to do it slowly. I did mine a week at a time. The longest I have gone without washing with shampoo was 4 weeks, and then I would shampoo it on a Saturday. The way I did it was I condition wash my hair. I used to do it everyday. Now my hair is washed with conditioner every other day, and on the days it doesn't get conditioner, I wash it with straight water (cool water). After your hair gets adjusted with the stretching of washes, it will not smell, or should not. Mine never has smelled when stretching washes a week at a time. The people I have been around could never ever tell that I hadn't washed my hair in 4 weeks unless I said something, and then their jaws would drop. You shouldn't have excess sebum once your hair gets adjusted. You may have some sebum that you will notice, but you could only really tell if you were to wet your hair and then you could see the oil beads on your hands. That's how I can only tell, and other than that my hair hasn't felt nasty or gross. But since then, I have switched back from once every 4 weeks to shampooing once a week. Something with my hair type isn't liking the 4 weeks anymore. I am not unhappy about washing it once a week, but I think that's what I prefer. I could easily go 2 weeks of no shampoo. I think the longer I went, my ends got a bit too dry, and so I had to trim my hair up a bit, and soaked it down with olive oil a couple times a month. That's why I am back to once a week shampoo for the time being. So if you want to I guess disguise the fact that you are stretching washes, or worried about the smell, I'd say do a conditioner wash a couple times a week and see how that goes. I use a no cone conditioner (VO5). The conditioner wash works the same as that WEN shampoo or whatever it's called. Just make sure you really scrub good and wash it all out. That was the only way for me to stretch washes, and it will work. It won't strip your hair like shampoo will, but it will clean it enough where you won't feel dirty, and it makes your hair super soft :D

[BowTie]

How do you disguise the fact that you are stretching washes? How do you camouflage excess sebum? How do you keep your hair from smelling like sebum and other odors?

I wash every 3-2 days and I don't think my hair smells. It smells nothing according to my boyfriend. I once could smell sebum after a long walk but I was home all day. I hide it in updos. I rarely use dry shampoos - only if I need to go somewhere important.

[donnalouise]

It takes time to 'train' your scalp into producing less oil, when you wash often your head is going into overdrive to replace all the lost oil... you just have to keep putting up with the super oily days and stretch for that *one* extra day on top of normal washes... then keep doing it consistently even if it's a nuisance. Eventually your scalp gets the message "don't need to make more oil, plenty here already" .. it worked for me anyway, but did take some time and it felt really horrid for a month or two. I'd love to work up to just one wash a week but for now 4 days is the limit to what i can handle. My hair is definitely getting less damage, less shedding, and is softer since i've cut down the washing, it's worth the effort, don't give up girls :).

[GrowingGlory]

When do you reach the point of diminishing returns? Is a reduction in hygral fatigue worth damage to the cuticle from dry shampoo or traction alopecia from tightly fastened updos?

[donnalouise]

I never use dry shampoo myself. Never had issues with alopecia from tight updos either but i'm blessed with very strong hair and don't wear tight updos all the time anyway. When my hair is a few days old it isn't as fly-away and it's perfect for wearing loose, perhaps with a broad headband, one of those fabric types which can cover up the worst bit at the top of the scalp, i brush some of my natural oils down the hair length and it looks nice. re. traction alopecia and hair health in general, i feel it's best to vary styles as much as possible to avoid stressing the hair, i switch between ponytails, braids, mixing up the number of braids i use and styles, hair up hair down, etc... also, only styling the hair when necessary and not fiddling all day, and trying to make sure my style spreads the weight evenly.

[Sascha888]

When do you reach the point of diminishing returns? Is a reduction in hygral fatigue worth damage to the cuticle from dry shampoo or traction alopecia from tightly fastened updos?


what do you mean dimishing returns? returns of what? oiliness? the oiliness can come back a small bit in my opinion anyway, if you stretch a wash maybe an extra day or so. For me, just a small bit of oiliness came back when I stretched my wash an extra week each time. So I had to stay on the same routine until I wanted to go another week. I've never used dry shampoos. I like conditioning wash the best. You don't need tight updos, you can keep them loose. I will say that I think it's good to keep it down even if it is a little oily so you can see if there is any progress.

[GrowingGlory]

I wonder what the optimal amount of time to stretch washes would be. I suppose that it is unique to each person.

[Sascha888]

I wonder what the optimal amount of time to stretch washes would be. I suppose that it is unique to each person.


It would depend on the type of hair you have. If you have fine hair of some sort, it may not work very well. Some people with fine hair might be able to do every other day and that is it. But if someone has that kinky curly hair, they could go atleast once a month. For someone who has stick straight hair, it's harder for them to stretch washes I believe. For me, my hair has 2 different textures. It's a little on the frizzy side (naturally frizzy), and coarse with a little bit of waves in the front, and it's poofy-like, and has a medium thickness. From what you have as your hair type @GrowingGlory, I think you would have no problem stretching washes or even doing a condition wash. You would have to try it and see. Start with every other day, for a month or so, then stretch it to once every 2 days, then 3, and so on until you decide what you like and don't like.

[sarahthegemini]

When do you reach the point of diminishing returns? Is a reduction in hygral fatigue worth damage to the cuticle from dry shampoo or traction alopecia from tightly fastened updos?

I don't understand this ... since when does stretching washes = tightly fastened updos? It certainly doesn't in my book. And I don't think dry shampoo damages the cuticle? Especially if you only use it on the scalp area.

[sarahthegemini]

Yay! There's some people. :)

Sarahthegemini, what kind of dry shampoo do you use?

t.

I use Batiste, the original.

[Sascha888]

I don't understand this ... since when does stretching washes = tightly fastened updos? It certainly doesn't in my book. And I don't think dry shampoo damages the cuticle? Especially if you only use it on the scalp area.


I don't either. I think I'm still confused on it. I know stretching washes makes it easier for doing updos and I wear mine a bit tight. I like to wear mine up in the doughnut bun. And I don't know anything about dry shampoos..lol

[RainbowBowser]

I've ended up stretching my washes out of not wanting to shower (gross, I know, I really stopped caring about life)
So I can do every other day, and if i want to stretch to a third day before washing I use dry shampoo.
(Batiste original or the floral scented one, I dislike most powerful scents in hair)
Its hard to go any further though for me since my hair type is straight/limp waves.

[Scarlet_Heart]

Yes, it's amazing how the less you shampoo, the less you need to. I CO every 3 or 4 days with Suave Tropical Coconut. And once in a while (maybe once a month) I shamp with Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle shampoo. I also comb a few drops of olive oil into my wet hair almost every wash. Finally found what works for me after several years.

[0xalis]

I used to wash my hair every other day, but now I'm trying to stretch as long as possible between washes.
This week I washed on Sunday and then washed again today!
The first time I started stretching washes was in December of last year when I was really wanting to try Baking Soda/ACV but I didn't have any and I REFUSED to use sulfate shampoos. I did water-only all month, but I was wearing a Santa hat all month so you really couldn't tell how greasy my chin-length hair was. I think my hair absolutely loved that.
My hair seems happiest when I get sebum through the lengths to the ends somehow, and then when I have to wash, I POUR ON THE VINEGAR! My hair loooves ACV.
And now I'm gonna shut up before I start rambling :o

[Jerimi]

*removing my posts*

[Fairytale]

My hair has learned to give me better results with stretching my washes every 3 weeks !
Got used to it , with no greasy feel and better condition ,I just massage the natural oils from
the scalp to the ends with my fingers :)

[sycamoreboutiqu]

My hair has learned to give me better results with stretching my washes every 3 weeks !
Got used to it , with no greasy feel and better condition ,I just massage the natural oils from
the scalp to the ends with my fingers :)

Are you saying you can go for 3 weeks ?? That really is amazing.

I started slowly stretching washes about 2 years ago, right at the time I started doing CO washing. I really wasn't hard at all and I think it is the CO that made it easy to do. I generally go for 5-7 days before I need to wash and if it weren't for scalp issues (eczema or something) I am sure I could go longer but right now just about 1 week works. I have gone as long as 10 days but the scalp thing just makes it too difficult.

Just a tip: If your hair isn't really fine or limp try doing a CO wash every other time and see if your hair doesn't start responding to an extra day every week or other week. The trick is to use the cheapest / thinnest condish for washing (cone free is best) it really does act like a cream shampoo without the dryness.

[BowTie]

Have you noticed that every week is different with hair? Like last week my hair was perfect and I could wear it down all the time.. didn't look greasy.
Then there are weeks/days that your hair just doesn't look nice. On the other hand that happened to me when I was a daily shampoo washer.

[rags]

I've stretched to twice a week and I think that's it for my baby-fine hair! I know it's the fine/limp that causes the problem, because if I do rag curls I can easily get another day or two out of it.

I can now wear it down for the first two days (that took almost a year) and it's up the next one or two. However, it tends to be up mostly anyway, since it attempts to float and attack anything I come near when it's down (siggy pic is way out of date-I'm almost waist again).

I never heard of anyone doing CO washes not counting them as washes! To me, that's washing, whether or not you use shampoo. I can't do CO except occasionally in the winter, because my scalp rebels big time.

[Temme]

How do you disguise the fact that you are stretching washes? How do you camouflage excess sebum? How do you keep your hair from smelling like sebum and other odors?

Braids work well for me. Strangely, pulling my hair back into a bun makes it look worse than if it were down. I think it's because the under layers of my hair that are closer to my scalp get greasy while the very outer layer that people see usually doesn't get as greasy since it's farther from my scalp. Pulling my hair back kind of reveals all of the under layers. I don't think my hair smells bad when greasy.


Is a reduction in hygral fatigue worth damage to the cuticle from dry shampoo or traction alopecia from tightly fastened updos?


It depends on the person. Tight updos can be damaging. But so is everything. I don't use dry shampoo because I don't really like the idea and don't want to become dependent on it, and I don't wear buns, just braids, so for me, I think it's worth it. It also means a lot less handling for me (process of shampooing, conditioning, combing wet hair). Plus, for me, a big thing is that I just don't want to be spending the time or money on daily shampooings when I could train my scalp to only need weekly shampooings.


I wonder what the optimal amount of time to stretch washes would be. I suppose that it is unique to each person.

I really don't have a clue, but to me, weekly seems optimal. If you went for multiple weeks without any sort of wash, sebum and dead skin might build up on your scalp, which can cause hair loss. Also, if hair is not wet for a very long time, it can run out moisture. However, CO washing or even WO washing could help solve these problems, so that shampooing could be extended for longer than a week.

[rags]

Oh, I forgot to answer how I disguise it. I must admit, on day four my hair looks like it needs a wash. Here is where my fine hair works a bit to my advantage though. If I brush it back with a BBB and put it in a bun, it looks like I purposefully went for that "slicked-back" look. I also like to Dutch braid it, which hides it very nicely.

I don't think my scalp smells at all, neither does DH. But then, I only stretch to twice a week.

My reason for stretching is that I have autoimmune problems, plus some other chronic illnesses which can make it difficult at times to even do such ordinary things as wash my hair. I decided that I wanted it to look good as long as possible, especially when I have to go in the hospital, so I began stretching. I'd love to get it to a week, but I don't think it's possible with my fine, thin hair.

[Jerimi]

*removing my posts*

[rags]

Aaw, thank you Jerimi! :flowers:

[09robiha]

I havent read the whole thread yet, but are there any curlies here stretching washes? I am kind of at a loss as to what to do with my hair if i want to stretch washes, like...I cant even brush it to distribute any of the excess oil or detangle when dry, a brush just wont go there!

[sarahthegemini]

I'm wondering.....does the scalp actually adjust and decrease oil production? Or is it a case of simply accepting and being okay with oily hair? Hmmm .....

[rags]

I think it's a case of both, myself. I know my oil production decreased some- but I also got used to somewhat oilier hair. Mine really did decrease enough for my second day hair to be perfectly acceptable to me though. And before I started stretching - second day was horrid, about like my third or fourth day now!

[Monka]

I used to wash my hair once a week for a long time but now that I oil it I wash twice a week. I am treating myself to two pampering evenings a week: I have a candle lit bath, apply a face mask and listen to some relaxing music. That's when I usually wash my hair too.

[Temme]

I'm wondering.....does the scalp actually adjust and decrease oil production? Or is it a case of simply accepting and being okay with oily hair? Hmmm .....

I personally definitely believe that moisturized skin produces less oil. I don't have TOO too much experience with my scalp (yet!) but certainly with my face. I went a month without washing my face at all, even with water. In the end, my nose was kind of greasy, but the rest of my face wasn't at all. Then I started washing my face and using benzoyl peroxide, which really dries out your skin. Within a couple days, my forehead was getting greasy.

On the other hand, a few weeks ago, I was having trouble with greasy skin. I wondered why, my skin was kind of oily before, but not that bad. Then I realized I had stopped using jojoba oil. Actually, a lot of people use jojoba oil to decrease oil production because it's very similar to sebum. I started using it daily, and, of course, my oil production went down big time within a few days.

Of course, it's also possible to get used to greasy hair, but I sure don't want to do that!

[Jerimi]

*removing my posts*

[Temme]

Today's day 5 and I'm doing swell! Actually, my hair is fairly greasy, but that's mostly the underlayers. I think it actually looked border line presentable when down this morning, which is something I've never gotten on day 5 before. I don't think I'll wash tonight, I'll go for 6, mostly because I usually shower every other day, so washing my hair every 5 days is kind of a pain.

By any chance, does anyone know what I'm talking about by the under layers being greasy, but the outer layers looking fine? Sometimes my hair will look perfectly clean, but if someone were to pull the top layers back, they would be pretty disgusted.

[donnalouise]

Well done on going 5 days :). I get the opposite problem, my under layers look OK and the top bit looks greasy, because the top bit is straighter than the underneath layers i think the grease doesn't travel down the length the same... it could be similar with you if you have different textures in your hair?

[Temme]

Hmmm...interesting, yours is reverse!
I was referring to the hair on my scalp though, my length doesn't get oily.
I don't have different textures in my hair, but I guess that makes sense, as straight hair tends to get greasy-looking faster than curly hair..

[BowTie]

I've been streching washes since August and I definitely can see results.Like before when I washed daily my hairvwould look like someone put butter on them.. Nowadays I only wash twice a week. The last time I washed it was on Monday. I just opened my nightly dutch braids and combedl lightly. My hair looks clean. Not dry but moisturized (not greasy) Last night I gave myself a good brush and a scalp massage so I don't know if those things helped.. I can see it is not greasy because I'm blonde and my colour gets darker when greasier. Now the colour is still light =)

[BowTie]

New information: decided to try to do french twist.. didn't manage to do that and my hair started to look greasy. I decided to put dry shampoo but sometimes my Batiste makes it look dirtier?! I miss Klippoteket dry shampoo that I use in Finland.. it's the best one. Now my hair is half-up and it looks good :) At least it is not on my face..

[inanna]

When do you reach the point of diminishing returns? Is a reduction in hygral fatigue worth damage to the cuticle from dry shampoo or traction alopecia from tightly fastened updos?

I've been wondering about this myself, debating which way to stretch washes would be the best and in fact if I should try to stretch washes at all with my hairtype. I have rather fine hair but a lot of it, and a scalp that seems perfectly happy with just about anything as long as I don't keep piling 'cones on it. Right now I wash my hair every other day, if I try to skip a wash my hair just looks and feels too icky for me to handle out in public.

If I use dry shampoo I can get two more days out of hair that was badly in need of washing, but that means I'll have all the chemicals sitting on my scalp for two days. I do love the rock-solid braids I get by using Klippoteket Dry Shampoo, but I'm sure some of the powder stays on my scalp despite brushing. shudder:

Then again, going WO or CO would mean I'd still be getting my hair wet every second day, which seems counter-intuitive if the point is to avoid water. My hair takes forever to air-dry and I don't like putting it up while it's still wet so this seems like the least workable option for me personally.

If I ditch the dry shampoo and avoid getting my hair wet, I'm left with SO for the days between washes. Trying to move sebum down the hair by brushing or finger-combing sounds like it would increase the possibility of mechanical damage no matter how gently I do it. And to be fair, the more I touch my scalp the greasier my hair feels.

As I said, right now I'm debating whether it's worth stretching washes at all. I'd love to hear about the benefits both on a practical not-having-to-sit-with-wet-hair-soaking-my-shirt level and in terms of what it can do to your hair health.

[Misschilly]

This autumn I'e been washing my hair 2 times/week..In september I've started CO and I can already stretch to Co once/week..when you don't strip your hair you can sretch!

My hair do get nasty under but the upper layers still look OK..

[Marbid]

So I am in the process of stretching my wash day to a full week! Horray!

I only have one day left. And the day before my wash I shall bathe my hair in oil.

Surprisingly, my scalp is not greasy at all. My hair is just fine. I bet I could go longer without a wash. But since I like to coconut oil my hair before a wash. I'll keep it at a week so that I wan oil my hair once a week. That's good. That sounds good.

I like this method.

[rags]

This autumn I'e been washing my hair 2 times/week..In september I've started CO and I can already stretch to Co once/week..when you don't strip your hair you can sretch!

My hair do get nasty under but the upper layers still look OK..

Just for the sake of the newbies - this doesn't work for everyone (though I'm glad it does for you!). CO makes me have to wash my hair MORE because my scalp rebels. Everyone is different.

[Misschilly]

Just for the sake of the newbies - this doesn't work for everyone (though I'm glad it does for you!). CO makes me have to wash my hair MORE because my scalp rebels. Everyone is different.

Yes of course everyone different, stupid me! (I still count me as a newbie!)

[velorutionista]

Hey guys, maybe you can help out on this...I've been trying to stretch my washes from every other day (CWC routine) to every third day, but it keeps getting too greasy for polite company (if you know what I mean) by the third day. Today I did manage it, and put my 3rd day hair up in a tiny nautilus bun (a first--never got it to work before!) and it's...OK...I think it looks totally greaseball (the length is fine, but the roots, gah!), but my hubby said it looked just fine when I asked him.

So. My question...do you think it just looks "too greasy" to me? I am wondering if I just stuck it out and bunned every 3rd day if it would get less greasy over time? (I suppose there's only one way to find that out for sure). I just don't want to look like I'm totally neglecting basic hygiene, you know?! I don't care if the 3rd day lands on the weekend where I'm just puttering around the house, but I hate to go to work/out & about looking like a hot mess! Any tips? ideas? Most appreciated!!

[rags]

MissChill, I didn't mean it that way! Please forgive my bad wording. :flowers:

Velorutionista - you could use dry shampoo the third day until you saw if it settled down? I looked HORRIBLE the third day for.........quite a while, although I've heard most people adjust more quickly. The fourth day for me now (I wash twice a week, so one four day and one three) is now bad - but not as bad as a few months ago.

The only suggestion I have is dry shampoo and bun it. I make sure mine is bunned/braided from the second day on. Oh - and it's a divide. Some people have more luck diluting their shampoo (even more if they're already diluting it) and that helps or, in my case - I diluted it LESS and that helped a lot. Starting 'cleaner" seems to help me go longer (now granted, I'm still diluting it about three parts water to one of shampoo!).

[Temme]

velorutionista, I would just stick it out. I think it will slowly be less greasy until day 3 is fine. Updos are good. Best wishes!:)

[velorutionista]

Thanks Rags & Temme! I will definitely track down some dry shampoo, and I haven't tried diluting shampoo, either--I'll give both a shot! I'll have to practice my updos, too!!

[WilfredAllen]

Hi, I have a question: hypothetically, if appearance was temporarily not an issue, would it be faster to stretch one day at a time or several days all in one go?

I'm mostly just curious, but I've often wondered this when I am camping or ill ^.^

[Andeee]

I guess it depends on if your hair has a tendency to be oily rather than dry?

I went a week last week before washing. This weeks it'll be a week and a day only because I want to wait until my day off as it's getting cold now.

My hair doesn't get greasy or oily. It's not particularly dry either. It used to get itchy after 4 days, but now it's going a week or more without feeling itchy or looking dirty. It could be that in summer it needs more frequent washing as I do get sweaty at work. We'll see how it goes next summer now that I'm stretching to a week or more.

[Temme]

I suspect the answer would be several days all in one go. My reasoning is that I think with very gradual stretching it's easier to get stuck at a certain day and not be able to make it to the next day.

For example, if you washed your hair every other day, but you decide to go to every third day, your sebum production would definitely (I think) decrease at least a little bit. However, your scalp would eventually get used to being washed every 3 days, and your sebum production would remain steady, but it would be lower than your sebum production was when you washed every other day. Despite this decrease in sebum production, your hair may still look somewhat greasy on the third day, though not as greasy as when you first started washing every 3 days. This is because for that amount of stripping(ever 3 days), your scalp produces a certain amount of sebum which happens to make your hair greasy before 3 days is up.

A lot of people think that if you wash every certain number of days, your sebum production will eventually decrease so that your hair is no longer greasy for that number of days, but I don't think that's true. If you use a very harsh shampoo, you are stripping your scalp a lot more than a very gentle shampoo, so even if you wash your hair for the same number of days, your scalp would produce more oil with the harsher shampoo. In that case, you may never be able to get your hair clean for that number of days without adding on another day (or just diluting your shampoo).

Does that make any sense? Because now I'm kind of confused...:p

[velorutionista]

oh, that's interesting...I hadn't thought of taking into account how harsh your shampoo is (yeah, totally new to this!)...thanks for the info (I realize you were answering someone else, but it's helpful to me too!!)

[Tallybunny]

Well, I read the entire thread.
Now, my case.
For almost ten years I wash my hair with Lush shampoo bar, so no sulfate and no cones. Twice a week.
Few months ago started an impressive shedding so I decided to use a more gentle way of washing such as Indian herbs or ghassoul. Well, now my hair looks dirty few hours after the washing if not immeditely after. I really don't know what is happening to my hair. So, I'll wash three times a week and one of the washing is with a erboristic shampoo without sulfate and cones. I'm thinking to come back to Lush shampoo.

[höpönasu]

I can easily be a week without washing my hair. I can't let it be loose, you know how oily hair looks... But updos and braid work just fine. I hope this is doing good for my hair. For me, it's saving time and 'poos.

[Applegirl84]

I'm at 3.5 days unwashed and it's the longest I've ever gone. My hair has been greasy since day 2, but I'm trying to suck it up to train my scalp.

Debating washing it tonight, because I'm teaching tomorrow and braids and hair bands are out (they make me look too young and I teach high school).

[rags]

Tallybunny, I don't know which Lush shampoo you're using - but I do know they put SLS back into a lot of them a couple or three years ago. So maybe your hair is used to a harsher method? Or maybe you're using one without, I don't know. I know I like some of their shampoo bars, but they do have SLS in them.

[BowTie]

I switched to natural shampoo + conditioner and started using coconut oil. I still wash twice a week which seems to be be perfect for me. I have a new washing method. I rub melted coconut oil in my ends, put my shower cap, let it marinate for 2 hours-overnight. Then I rub generous amount conditioner into it, let it sit for 10 minutes and then rinse well. Then I clean my scalp with shampoo and massage it very well. I rinse well and in the end I rinse with ice-cold water.

[Tallybunny]

Mine is without sulfate. I changed it when they put SLS in my favourite :(
I'll try for another week (on Sunday I'll have my henna session and its drying magic power) and then try to strech another time to twice a week.

[Johannah]

I started with stretching washes and SLS-free shampoo at the same time... Maybe not such a great idea because my scalp gets really oily :rolleyes: But it's getting better.

What do you do when it gets oily? Do you use dry shampoo?

[Glass Spires]

What do you do when it gets oily? Do you use dry shampoo?
I tried dry shampoo once and it didn't really do much of anything.... I know others like it, so it might just be me. I usually just wear a hat. :lol: You can use baby powder, too. Just put a bit on your hair and comb it through, it's not a magic bullet but it makes your hair more presentable.

[bunzfan]

Giving this another go currently on day 4 hair want to get to day 6 at least and I use cones so seems to get greasy quicker!.

[inanna]

Despite me debating the benefits of stretching washes, I'm giving it a go. The temperature is dropping quickly so air drying is getting less pleasant, and if I want to keep buying nice shampoo I have to compensate somehow for my dear husband using handfuls of it daily. ;)

I work from home so I'm free to look like a greaseball, which definitely helps! After a few weeks of washing every third day, I'm now trying to see if I could get away with washing twice a week. I'm fairly presentable for the first two days and spend one day looking pretty oily. I'm trying to avoid using dry shampoo unless I absolutely need my hair to look clean, because I still don't like the idea of having chemicals sit on my scalp for a day or two.

On my oily days I tend to go for French or Dutch braids, as they keep my hair secure and hide the stringyness a bit. I've found that scraping back oily hair into a bun is really not an attractive look on me. I find that with my hairtype, I also need to pay attention to how I style my hair right after washing it. I have a deep side part and if I do a simple English braid, the front section of my hair on one side tends to rub against my forehead/cheeks and get really oily faster than the rest of my hair.

My shampoo does contain SCS, which I think is about as bad as SLS. It is nice to feel like my scalp is really clean on washdays, though. What can I say, I like my foam suds. :oops:

[BowTie]

I started with stretching washes and SLS-free shampoo at the same time... Maybe not such a great idea because my scalp gets really oily :rolleyes: But it's getting better.

What do you do when it gets oily? Do you use dry shampoo?

My scalp is so sensitive that I have to stay far away from dry shampoos. I'm doing that wear your hair up challenge so I wear my hair up everyday and that helps to hide it pretty well =)

[Temme]

I don't use dry shampoo because for me, my goal is to be able to go a week without washing OR using dry shampoo. I wouldn't want dry shampoo to be a permanent thing, so I figure it's better that I don't become dependent on it. But I think that if dry shampoo IS something you wouldn't mind using on a regular basis, that could be beneficial. Although I'm not sure how healthy dry shampoo is for hair:confused:

In other news, I'm still trying to make it to a week. I actually currently CAN make it to a week without it being terrible, but I'd love it to stay clean for a whole week, or at least a bit longer than it does now. Experimenting with diluting my shampoo, will see if that helps.

[bunzfan]

Ive managed to stretch it from every 3 days to every 5 mainly because i've been ill but :cheese: now to get it to once a week!! i would of gone 6 days but it looked disgusting even when up this morning.

[merrow]

I wash my hair every week. Usually I will wear my hair up in a bun, and sometimes if I'm keeping my hair down, I lightly spray my hair with water to redefine my curls - they get kind of weird looking after day three if I leave them completely alone.

[meteor]

I think fall/winter is good time for stretching washes in many parts of the world, as the air gets super dry.
I can't wash my hair more often than once a week right now, or my hair looks like straw from being dried out. I'm also definitely using more oils to add emolliency/elasticity.

[Temme]

I can't wash my hair more often than once a week right now, or my hair looks like straw from being dried out.
Can we trade scalps???:p

[millyaulait]

It seems that when I stretch my washes I get a very flakey scalp. If I'm not careful about rinsing my SO ends up saying things like "It's like you've got tiny shredded wheat cereals in your hair." Charming! I'm not sure how to get rid of it pre-wash, I find that my hair gets annoyed when I use a BBB on it, and now I'm just getting paranoid about having little 'cereal bits' stuck in my hair that I'm not noticing. shudder:

The thing is that my hair is too dry to wash any more often than I do now. Bah. :\

[shavannah7]

I have stretched my washes as well for the past two years and I've gotten to the point where I can wash it every three or four days. The exception is in the Florida summer heat, which is brutally humid and makes me feel icky after a few hours. I wash my hair every other day during that time.

[Jerimi]

*removing my posts.*

[millyaulait]

I wonder if it would help to do a kind of "SO Lite" routine? It seems like the scritch, massage, and preen might help get the flakes out and make your scalp happier? It really helped me. Switching from SLS shampoo also really helped. I think the SLS was really irritating the skin on my scalp.

Thank you! I am sulphate free but my shampoo does contain coconut derivatives, which I have heard can be a bit harsh anyway. Tricky. :\

I will try scritching, but how do you get the flakes out of the hair? Just gentle pulling?