Should I be shampooing less often for better hair health?

[TropicalBreeze]

I wash my hair everyday in the shower but would like to try washing it less often. Would washing less often help with growth and make it healthier?

[hibiscus]

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[Madora]

Long hair expert Dr. George Michael said in his book that long hair should be washed no more than necessary. Too much shampooing dries out the hair, although it doesn't affect the hair root.

If your hair is oily then you'll probably need to shampoo your hair more often.

I think its better to try and wash once a week.

[BellCat]

My hair is sooooooo oily, I dont wash it every day but I think I might try it out. I've read mixed things about washing everyday. I've heard that your scalp needs to be clean in order for your hair to grow because the pores on your scap can get clogged up with sebum. I also know of people with hip length hair that wash every day and have quite fast growth. But with washing everyday the length can dry out. So i'm going to try out washing everyday with something gentle like baby shampoo (which I've heard helps with hair loss),conditoning the length, spraying in leave-in conditioner and oiling the ends at night with olive oil.

I've tried out washing once a week etc but don't think its made a difference to the growth and is pretty hard for me since im soooo freakishly oily lol!

[Vorvolaka]

It depends on your hair, I think. I wash every day/second day and my hair still grows reasonably quickly. Stretching washes just leaves it oily and disgusting and me very unhapppy. My ends don't dry out and never have so far. It may change as my hair gets longer.

There is no right or wrong.

[haibane]

It depends on your hair/scalp and what they like. My scalp loves harsh SLS shampoo, but my hair hates it, so I usually CO the length and shampoo the scalp. I sometimes CO the scalp too, but the only conditioner that doesn't make my scalp go mad is Head&Shoulders.
See this thread for some possible benefits of using shampoo:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=15730

Also, you didn't mention, but if you haven't you may want to try WO, CO, CWC or scalp only washes, or go back and forth between them. Some people CO every day and shampoo once a week for example.

edit: forgot to mention, you might want to try adding a bit of coconut oil to your shampoo, see the article here: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=191 or the very long thread: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=57025

[spidermom]

If you're concerned, you might try shampooing every other day and see how your hair looks and feels. I tried to go to once per week, but my hair was stuck to my scalp and itching by the end of a week. I'm happiest with twice per week, sometimes thrice.

[Annalouise]

My opinion is if you are using detergents to wash your hair then its not good to wash your hair daily because it will strip all the oils off of your hair. And that is not good. (that is why conditioners were invented because detergents strip your hair).

However, I also believe it is true as someone here said that you have to keep your scalp clean and the pores on your scalp unclogged as that can lead to hair loss and increased shedding.

Just like if you have an oily complexion and you don't wash your face you'll get blackheads and pimples (from clogged pores).

So, if you have an oily scalp, or you feel like you need to wash your hair daily, just use a gentle cleaner and you are fine. Gentle cleaners will not take all the oil off your hair. For instance, soapnuts (aritha) or castile soap will be gentle enough to use daily in my opinion. If you use a castile soap then rinse with diluted apple cider vinager to restore the acid mantle of your scalp.

I learned this from the book "Grow Hair Fast" by Riquette Hofstein and also you can look at the webpage for Morrocco Method and look at their shampoos which contain no detergents and are safe to use daily.

But please keep your scalp clean. A dirty scalp is not going to help you grow hair. If you want maximum growth then you might want to look into scalp stimulators which are things like essential oils in a carrier oil rubbed into the scalp. Or even castor oil and white iodine has been used in India and by westerners to promote healthy hair growth.

There are a lot of recipes from India for hair growth such as rosemary oil and they use quite a few herbs that stimulate the scalp blended into a carrier oil. Probably someone can help you research this if you want.:)

There is a good company called Bindhi, you can look them up online and I've used some of their hair oils and they smell incredible.

[redneckprincess]

Everyone is diffrent, give it a try, for a month or so if its working, continue with it. If not, try something else.

[ddiana1979]

I have an oily scalp & wash my hair three times per week. Usually Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays. If I have time off work, I usually stretch it out a little further. Dry shampoo can help get rid of the greasies, and wearing your hair in an updo can hide it slightly.

[spidermom]

Also - try diluting your shampoo in warm water in a squirt bottle (I saved an empty conditioner bottle for this). Amazing how clean my scalp and hair can get with a dilution so weak that it barely lathers. I just squirt it all over my head, then run my fingers from front to back in the same direction all over my head, rinse, condition, and good to go!

[jojo]

I too dilute my shampoo (thanks spidermom for that tip!) it looks like water its that thin but it does the job. I even added a little oil and honey to the mix yesterday with great results.

I honestly think any shampoo will do; diluted of course and the bulk of your hair spence should go on a good conditioner. I wash probably 2-3 times a week. My hair doesn't seem to go greasy and the longest ive gone is 9 days and I had major itchy scalp. But overall shampoo your hair as often as needed, with my diluted shampoo I bet I only use a teaspoons worth of actual shampoo which isnt going to damage my hair.

[Lianna]

Did it become a problem for you, or is it just because you read some people say it's better? It might be better to them. Do you have scalp issues or hair dryness issues because of this? If your hair is dry, is it just because of washing? No heat and such?

I'm back to wash my hair everyday with shampoo, after several months of conditioner only and/or trying to stretch washes. My personal experience told me that my hair grows a lot faster when I shampoo it, everyday. Anytime my hair feels a bit dry (which is normal) a light oiling fixes right up. I also dye my hair, if that matters somehow. :D

[KimmieWeiss]

Hi Tropical,

So many people recommend to shampoo less often, but this is a very personal thing. I have dry hair but a greasy scalp and once I am going on day 2, I ache to shampoo it. I've tried condition-only also, which many people recommend, and my hair felt weighed down and limp and too oily. For my hair to be happy, I have to shampoo and condition it daily.

[Una]

Perhaps the extent of shampoo-related damage to hair depends on the quality and type of shampoo. I imagine that using a sodium-laureth sulfate shampoo would be damaging if used every day, particularly for dry hair.

Since joining the LHC last year, I have been shampooing every two days (at the most) using a sulfate-, paraben- and silicon-free shampoo. Before LHC, I shampooed every day due to greasiness.

I have noticed two major improvements in my hair since shampooing less: 1) less shedding (so, thicker hair) and, 2) less greasiness.

[Lianna]

Perhaps the extent of shampoo-related damage to hair depends on the quality and type of shampoo. I imagine that using a sodium-laureth sulfate shampoo would be damaging if used every day, particularly for dry hair.


But if someone is using cones, they'll need sulfates at least to clarify, or their hair will be worse. Of course, it depends on the cone, but it's a general rule...if you don't wanna look up every cone you use, which is more appropriate.

I get cones build-up within 3 days...so I just use sulfate whenever I want, from everyday to every other day. I don't wanna walk around with ugly hair all week or spend 1/3 of a coneless conditioner bottle every wash on my shoulder length hair anymore. I cannot imagine once it gets longer. I have a lot of hair.

I want to wash everyday, no matter the method I pick. For me was 2 bottles of coneless conditioner every week, when I was conditioner only washing. While SLS shampoo aren't hurting me, why am I giving myself all this trouble? I'm aware some heads of hair cannot handle shampoo, of course.

OP: You'll either find the majority saying washing everyday is bad, or that "everyone is different". I pick the latter, and even add, for me, washing everyday is better. I go from the average 0.5 inch growth a month while CO or trying to stretch shampoo to 0.8 inch while shampooing everyday. I was on CO for almost a year, 10 months I think.