Less frequent shampooing without getting oily?

[bluesnowflake]

I'm fairly new to LHC, and I've noticed that a lot of people only wash their hair about 2 times a week, and their hair looks great. I usually wash my hair ( only the scalp) every or every other day. I find that if I go longer than that between shampooings, my hair gets oily and stringy. Is less shampooing something my hair just doesn't take well to? How does washing less often work? Any tips are appreciated :)

[JCFantasy23]

I think it depends on the hair. If I don't shampoo my scalp every day, it starts looking gross very fast. I've tried going days without it and it def. shows. Yick. My hair is so greasy looking by the second day that I can't even put it in updos without it looking dirty. My hair can't be brushed to be pretty, it doesn't look soft at all in updos but stringy and my bangs look horrible. Just can't do it sadly. I think it may be more of a sweat thing for me though. I sweat daily here so that might be it.

[JuneBride]

I used to shampoo and condition everyday or every other day. If I did it every other day my hair would be SO greasy on the day I didn't wash. And my hair was ALWAYS dry. No matter how much I conditioned it was ALWAYS dry. So then I found TLHC!!!! I read about the different types of "washing" like CWC, CO, WO, etc. I tryed CWC and saw no major difference. Then I tried CO. OH WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! I can wash everyday and my hair is less dry then when I shampooed and conditioned every other day...and when I CO everyday, I never have that greasy in between day. My hair LOVES it!!! So I am going to CO every time I shower...and shampoo if/when I get build up.

And, as just a sidenote, I WO washed last night (just to try it) and I guess because my hair was so well conditioned from CO'ing all the time, it wasn't even tangled!!! (and my hair used to tangle ALL the time when S&C'd!)

Bottomline: Shampoo is EVIL!

Happy Growing, Good Luck :)

[Yozhik]

There are plenty people here who wash their hair everyday or every other day, so don't worry if stretching washes doesn't work for you. :)

Everyone's hair is different, though, and I went to being an everyday washer pre-LHC to washing my hair every third day. At first I think was was really self-conscious, but to be honest most people are not examining your roots for grease. Second of all, after a while I think my scalp adjusted because now the second and even sometimes the third day after I wash, the hair next to my scalp looks good and not very greasy. I think there are two things at work here: 1) I reformed my belief in what constitutes "clean" hair (not squeaky clean with ends so dry that they look like straw) and am not worried about what others think as much; and 2) some people do have scalps that do adjust and stop producing so much sebum.

Also, on the upside, you can look at stretching washes as a way to practice your updo skills, because "greasy" hair in an updo can look sleek and polished. :)

[RitaPG]

My sister has oily hair and she washes every other day. Not everyone can stretch washes, in fact, a lot of people here wash their hair every day and do fine.
I wash twice a week but my hair and scalp are extremely dry and sensitive.
To each their own I suppose. You should do what feels best :)

[jojo]

I wash my hair 3 times a week, more sometimes. I dont really get oily hair, I used to when I washed my hair in hotter water, try using lukewarm water itmay help you stretch your washes out but as the above poster said it is ok to wash daily if you prefer, you dont have to use shampoo every time if your worried about ruining your hair, just use water only or conditioner.

[jeanniet]

Not everyone can stretch out washes, or is comfortable doing it. If you want to try it, you do have to be willing to put up with at least some days of oily hair while your scalp adjusts. When I was younger I thought I had to wash daily to keep my hair from getting oily, but over time delayed washes to about every three days. Once I started following some LHC basics, I worked on stretching out washes more--first four days, then five, and now I'm up to six. It takes a few weeks for my scalp to adjust and then the additional day doesn't seem to make any difference. I do think that COing helps because it doesn't strip the oils as much as shampoo does.

[teela1978]

I've tried and failed to stretch out washings on more than one occasion. For my hair and scalp, regular shampooing with sulfates, every to every other day, works best. Not everyone can stretch washes, and washing every/every other day isn't the end of the world. I personally think my hair is in pretty good condition myself :shrug:

[aksown]

I stretched from every day to twice a week and it took me a year to do it. I am going to attempt to get down to once a week this winter. I CO wash and I have thinnish hair that is growing back from a major stress shed so I can't disguise the greasies very well.
If you really want to stretch your washes then I'd say try it for a month or 6 weeks before you give up. A week or two usually isn't long enough for your scalp to cut back on the oil production. (I learned that after a year of fighting with my hair. :rolleyes:)

[teela1978]

I stretched from every day to twice a week and it took me a year to do it. I am going to attempt to get down to once a week this winter. I CO wash and I have thinnish hair that is growing back from a major stress shed so I can't disguise the greasies very well.
If you really want to stretch your washes then I'd say try it for a month or 6 weeks before you give up. A week or two usually isn't long enough for your scalp to cut back on the oil production. (I learned that after a year of fighting with my hair. :rolleyes:)
I tried for about 3 months once. It just doesn't work for some people.

[Aevra]

I wash my hair even less than that...probably about 2 times a month. But that's just what my hair likes, and everyone's is different...

If you want to try stretching washes, just remember that if you're using normal shampoo and conditioners (ones with sulfates and cones in them) then your scalp could be trying to make up for the stripping property of the sulfate and be over producing the oil. My hair went through a VERY greasy stage when I started stretching washes, and it smelled pretty bad for a couple of weeks, but then it tamed, and my scalp got onto the same page as me..

But like everyone else has said, all hair is different, you just have to find what works for you.

[CrowningGlory]

I scalp wash every second day and CWC once a week. I've tried stretching out my washings but my scalp gets so itchy if I miss a day that I just can't stand it. And I use sulfate-free shampoo.

A few years ago I had a cyst removed from my scalp and wasn't supposed to wash for two weeks. I thought it would be a great chance to stretch my washings but even then I couldn't do it. I had to resort to dry shampoo and washing the front hairline which was not near the stitches. Ironically, the site didn't heal and I had to have the procedure done a second time. And even then I couldn't stretch my washings.

As someone said, some hair can take it and others can't.

[RadiantNeedle]

I've found Igor's fantastic article about utilising alternate temperature water (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=77) to stimulate the oil glands on my scalp absolutely invaluable in my efforts to stretch washes and make my hair less oily without requiring shampoo. It's a technique I can see easily adapted to all water-based cleaning styles.