Hair washing

[sibyl]

It seems like most of you people here with lovely hair only seem to wash about once a week!

I wish I could go that infrequently between washings as its supposedly better for your hair, but I have to wash every other day at least or it gets pretty greasy. I do have short straight bangs which show it the worst but the rest of my hair doesn't look so hot without washing, either, even on the second day I tend to put it up since it looks a bit more limp.

How do you guys manage to go 5, 6, 7 days between washings without looking like a disgusting greasebomb? I've heard you can 'train' your scalp but in the meantime I can't bring myself to go to work or school looking gross. Is it really that bad for your hair to wash every other day? It would certainly be more convenient to wash less often because I've stopped using a blowdryer!

[einna]

For many people (not all) it helps to make a gradual change. Extend one day untill your scalp adjusts, then one more day and so on. This takes time though. Dont wash your hair if you have a day of, a sick day and so on..
Using gentler washing methods such as SLS free shampoos, CO and such can help to. I CO and my scalp always gets greasy the next day when I clarify with a sulphate shampoo. I usually wash a little less than twice a week.
A boar bristle brush (BBB) can help distribute the sebum so that your roots looks less greasy.

Good luck :)

ETA: There are daily washers on thic forum with lovely long hair too.
And you can try washing your bangs only, or put dry shampoo/corn starch on them.

[longhairedlady]

My scalp does not produce much oil. I could seriously go 2 weeks or so in the dry winter months and you wouldnt be able to tell at all. This is how I have always done my hair, even growing up, once a week. I have never transitioned to this I guess because this is all my hair has known.

[Amber_Maiden]

My hair is never that oily. I've found I can go up to 10-14 days without my hair looking too bad. I wear my hair up most of the time though, but even when I don't it doesn't look that bad. I like my hair when it makes oil, so the longer I go without washing, the more oil it produces, the better it looks- to me. I hate the way it looks/feels when I finally wash it... ugh.

I don't think my hair produces much oil. It takes a while.

[Juneii]

I understand what you're going through. It took me FOREVER. to go every other day with my hair washings. My hair just gets too greasy and I can't do anything to make it better. What I find works best is to just ignore it as best as you can. Definitely skip washing if you can get away with it. Put your hair up, braid it, pin it, whatever you can to get your hair off of your face. You have to keep at this until your scalp stops producing excess sebum.
It also depends on your environment too. When I was living in San Francisco the weather is always colder and less humid compared to San Jose. Up there I can get away with washing my hair every three or four days. Here in San Jose I have to wash my hair every other day or at best every two days.

It is not necessarily bad for your hair if you wash it every day but I do notice that my hair tends to be softer and silkier because I cut down on the washing.

[Madora]

Daily washing will eventually strip your hair of oil and leave it looking like straw (unless you use something to restore the oil).

I wash my hair once a month but brush it every day with a clean bbb. Of course, if your hair is naturally oily, then washing more frequently is necessary...but not every day.

[Mischamiu]

I can go a week but that just my hair type, but I really recommend you to...

[pinupdancer]

I have this same problem. When I started CO'ing I noticed that my scalp calmed down a bit with the sebum but it's still worse than everyone I know. I'm hoping with time I can train it to produce less so that I can go longer between washings. So far I'm only at every other day, too. :/ Best of luck to you, though!

[Teazel]

I have an oily scalp too, and have to wash at least twice a week or it looks bad. One thing you can do: don't let your brush or comb touch your scalp until you're ready to wash. Leave it as undisturbed as possible so the sebum stays on your skin, not your hair.

[moxamoll]

I'm with you. I'm just a greasy person (TMI? LOL) and I hate having my hair feel oily. I generally wash my hair every second day - I can sometimes stretch it to three, if it happens to fall on the weekend and I'm not doing anything particular. But I'm generally feeling pretty frantic by the end of the day.

I admire people who can stretch out their washes longer, but I don't feel really pressured to do it myself. :shrug: Being on this site can make you a bit over-analytical of your hair but honestly mine is in pretty good shape. It's all about finding what works for you and that may be different from the majority.

[spidermom]

I'm a firm believer that you should wash your hair whenever it needs to be washed. For me, this is 2-3 times per week. I tried going a week; it was disgusting.

[holothuroidea]

Everyone is different. My hair is very delicate and I'm trying to cut down my washings because my hair is stronger when I wash it less and my hair needs all the help it can get. My scalp is average, but my hair is so fine that any amount of oil on it looks gross. Some days I just accept that I'm going to look gross and it will eventually pass.

My DH, though, has a very oily scalp and M/iii hair. He used to wash twice a day with Prell (seriously!) and no conditioner. His hair was always shiny, beautiful and basically impervious. I did suggest to him to change one of his washes to a CO wash and his curls look a lot better now. So, did he really need to cut out that wash? I don't know. For you I guess it depends on what your goals are.

If you decide you really want to try to cut down on wash damage there are a couple things you can do:
- Switch your shampoo to a gentle detergent (lauryl and decyl glucoside are the gentlest) or a shampoo bar
- Dilute your shampoo to use less
- Do a conditioner only wash every other time you wash
- Wash with cooler water
- Oil your hair before you wash it or do CWC
- Try washing only your roots
- If you're not going anywhere, don't wash it!
- Avoid agitating your hair too much when you wash and air dry instead of rubbing with a towel

[Mesmerise]

When I was a kid I'd wash my hair once, maybe twice a week (when I did swimming lessons) and my hair was fine.

I hit my teens and my hair got super greasy. After some older girls at school told me to wash my hair (major embarrassment) I started washing more frequently! I ended up daily washing for the next 20 or so years, only going without when I couldn't wash it every day (and then if I went 3-4 days it was like an oil slick, and I couldn't even wear it tied back because the hair elastic would just slip out).

I am now washing every second day. It works for me. For awhile I went to every third day... but meh... I like washing too much and I like having a clean feeling scalp!

Now honestly, without all the damage, my hair looked fine being washed daily, which means that I'm pretty sure that since I'm no longer using heat or chemical dyes on my hair, once the damaged hair is gone, even though I'm washing frequently, my hair should be pretty healthy.

I just believe you need to wash your hair as frequently/infrequently as you're comfortable with. You can try to go an extra day between washing if you like, but ultimately there are FAR worse things you can do to your hair than frequent, gentle washing!

[Lici1209]

It took about two months and keeping my hair up a lot :] I always washed my hair every day with sulfate shampoo, then I switched to every other day for a few months, then I made a big jump to every other day with a non-sulfate shampoo. It took some time and I felt gross sometimes, but I'm SO glad I did it!

[jacqueline101]

I can go a week and after that I need to wash. I think its due to my line of work. I work as medication aide. Its stressed cleanliness is next to godliness.

[KwaveT]

I CO my hair three times a week. I am also trying to retrain my scalp to get it to stop producing so much oil. I hope eliminating shampoo helps me with that goal. I am like you since I don't use a blow dryer then I don't want to be washing it everyday.

[Jean Stuart]

I made it to where I could go a week and my hair looked fine. The problem I had(have) is my scalp gets super flakes and itchy without washing at least every third day.

[fiddlefananb]

I too have a greasy scalp if I don't wash it daily. In fact, I shower before bed and wake up with greasy hair behind my ears just from sleeping. I stretch my washes to every other day but it looks embarrassinly greasy and I can't hide it. I just deal with it. I tried shampoo bars for a awhile and still couldn't stretch the washings.

I have heard some mentions on here about roobios tea rinses might help with cutting down some oil production but I have not tried that yet.

[owlathena]

I love the feeling of clean hair so I wash fairly often, every other day or so. If you use a gentle shampoo and avoid your length, then I dont think its damaging.

[Lostsoule77]

I stretched my washes down to once a week over years! As a teen I washed every day and sometimes twice a day. I kept that up until about 2008 when a hairdresser told me I could wash every other day. I did that for about a year until in Dec 2009 another hairdresser told me every 3 or 4 days would be fine. I joined TLHC in Jan 2011 and switched to once a week. I don't think I have a really oily scalp. I have stretched my washes to every other week when I'm being particularly lazy and it just starts to get a tad greasy around day 13 or so. I don't know if this is just normal for me or if it's because I took so long to transition that my scalp just went along with it all.

If you really want to stretch your washes I'd say start by washing every 3rd day until your scalp gets used to it and just continue to do that until you are at a place where you are comfortable. If you don't then diluting your shampoo or using shampoos that aren't too harsh should be just fine.

There are tons of other methods as well. Just spend some time reading threads and articles and you'll find lots of usefull information to help you out. :)

[celebriangel]

I've noticed that people with fine hair seem to have lots of trouble stretching washes, so I wouldn't worry too much.

You could switch to a gentler washing method such as CO. I noticed that the minute I stopped using shampoo with sulphates my scalp calmed down and stopped being so oily, so that might help. And you could use baby powder or cocoa powder on your fringe, or do fringe washes, if that part of your hair gets oily.

[sbhonda]

I believe I've reached the limit for how long I can stretch washes. 4 days is as long as I can go with it looking okay, 5 looks pretty gross. I've been stretching for that amount of time for about a year and a half. My facial skin is also oily, so I think that's just how my body is. But maybe I would be able to get away with another day when my hair is longer and I can put it up more easily without all the pieces around my face hanging down.

I use sulfate free shampoo, and I definitely think that helps. When I was in my early/mid teens, I remember having an extremely oily scalp, and I would wash my hair almost every day with a clarifying shampoo to try to get rid of it. I realize now that was probably making it worse. But that was back before I cared at all about my hair (or my appearance really -- major tomboy), and I just listened to whatever my mom and hairsylist told me to do.

[Kelikea]

Sometimes I have to wear a hat for work, and I think that traps the oil in. But I try not to wash on the 3 days that I wear the hat (since it will be covered anyway) then do a good wash Sunday night to start the week fresh. Depending on how the week goes, the weather, and activity level, I might only wash one other time. If I was working out daily, I'd probably wash daily cause I don't like leaving sweat on my head, blech.

Sometimes, if I let it go and get too oily, it actually hurts my scalp. Does this happen to anyone else? Your scalp is sore from NOT washing?

[irishlady]

I wonder the same thing, how people ever get used to going 5,6 or 7 days without.

I have to wash my hair every 3 days, it's absolutely disgusting otherwise and my scalps starts to itch and burn.

[sbhonda]

Sometimes, if I let it go and get too oily, it actually hurts my scalp. Does this happen to anyone else? Your scalp is sore from NOT washing?

This definitely happens to me. Especially when I have my hair up and then take it down. Or just when I move my hair I guess.

[Kelikea]

Its almost like the oil and sebum are weighing it down and it hurts my scalp. Then comes the itch/burn, etc. Lovely!

[Modarunner]

My scalp does get sore the day or so right before I wash, but I found that's mostly from me either scratching my scalp or from me wearing my hair in a bun or ponytail. I've discovered that scritching my scalp gently everyday helps lessen the itching, gets rid of build up and is a replacement for scratching. My scalp is not even close to being sore like it used to.

[.Amanaka.]

Over the past five years that I have been a member here, I have done so much with different wash routines. I went from washing every couple of days to COing every day, to WO washes, to CWC. I've tried almost everything.

Currently I'm washing my hair once a week, and either doing WO rinses or very light CO rinses three or four times, and not washing once or twice. I really like having a clean feeling scalp, and my hair stays up better when it is wet, or I would probably stretch my washes out more.

But the best advice that I have ever read here is to do what works for you, and not what works for everyone else.

[dulce]

I wash daily /condition daily.It works for me.Do what works for you and don't worry about what others do.My hair loves cones but a lot here don't like them. Again everyone's hair is different,do what your hair likes.

[SopphireGem]

I wash my hair every other day; if I leave it any longer without washing it, it gets really greasy :( I just shampoo and condition whenever it needs a wash; occasionally I use olive oil before I shampoo, but I always end up putting too much in and so it gets greasy again, but when I only use shampoo and conditioner without any oil, I seem to overdo the shampoo and don't use enough conditioner, so it gets really dry; my hair's either dry or greasy, and I can't get it to feel healthy and soft!! :O

[Zydrate]

I wash my hair every 3 or 4 days. It's not really greasy, but it's just a habit I suppose.

[Othala]

I use to wash every third day for many years until last month when I started running. Now I wash my hair every other day. Scalp feels great, hair looks good. As long as you condition your hair properly, there should not be any problem with even daily washing.

[holothuroidea]

I use to wash every third day for many years until last month when I started running. Now I wash my hair every other day. Scalp feels great, hair looks good. As long as you condition your hair properly, there should not be any problem with even daily washing.

I think this depends on your hair type and the kind of washing you do. SLS shampoo on my hair every day turns it into antique lace that breaks when you breath on it. Also if you wash aggressively and your hair gets tangled when it's wet more tangles = more opportunity for damage. My hair loves water, though, and does excellently with a cold rinse every day but I wouldn't call that washing.

Every individual has to judge for themselves what is best for their hair. Can washing daily damage your hair? Well, for some people yes and for other people no.

[HintOfMint]

For many people the scalp doesn't adjust and sebum pours out at a pretty constant rate, so don't beat yourself up if stretching washes doesn't work for you. Also, don't try to go huge stretches of time without washing your hair. Your scalp has bacteria and sweat, it's okay to wash that as often as you need to.

I am able to wash only twice a week, but that's because I use head and shoulders to deal with my dandruff and it happens to strip away more oil as well as the dandruff. If you don't have dandruff, I can't recommend it, but perhaps you could look into a shampoo that is very simple and won't leave a bunch of conditioning agents behind on your scalp.

[RedBlue]

I am wanting to only wash my hair at least once a week! As of right now, I did wash my hair every other day. I'm hoping, that by extending to three days and then four, it'll work! I just washed it today, so my next hair washing day is Wednesday!

[blondie9912]

I agree that sometimes, stretching watching isn't something to strive for. I have a friend with a moderately oily scalp, and she used to wash every single day. Now, shes been trying to stretch washes for several years, and when she stretches any longer than 3 days, it itches terribly. Does that sound healthy to you? :/

I obviously agree that washing hair every day with a SLS shampoo and brushing while wet with a plastic brush (argh! I can barely type this without cringing!) is basically a recipe for disaster on any hair type. That being said, I don't think stretching washes should be the ultimate goal for EVERYONE. Some people just have a scalp that needs to be washed more often in order to feel clean. What would be the point of growing your hair long if it doesn't feel nice?

If you want to stretch washes, start slowly, and don't go past a point that makes you uncomfortable. If your scalp itches like crazy when you wash once every 8 days, that probably isn't the routine for you.

[Kricket]

It took me forever to make the transition. Sulfate free shampoo helps. And dry shampoo. =)

[Nadiner]

I have to wash my hair every single day, or else it looks like I've gone for a swim in oil. I do love the feeling of fresh hair though, thats always a benefit of constantly washing it. I would love to stretch out my washes, but I have school and I don't want to look gross when there is the place people judge you must on :rolleyes:

At the minute I am using Herbal, but my ends feel quite dry so I tried Tresemme tonight. I have the dentist on tuesday so I'm hoping to be brave enough to try a CO wash tomorrow night (: some people have said it's calmed their scalps down, and got curlier hair as a result. Hoping for some good results! I'll let you guys know how it goes.

[Zesty]

I would like to stretch my washes more because it's a pain to wash and air dry thick, waist-length hair, but I'm not too worried about it. My current routine works well. I wash three times a week, usually on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday (because of my class schedule). What exactly I do on a wash day varies -- I might CO, S&C with Head and Shoulders, do a full scalp wash with Head and Shoulders but leave the length dry, clarify and SMT, etc. It depends on how my hair looks and how I'm feeling. My scalp has adjusted so that on the off-days my hair is still nice and I feel comfortable even wearing it down. If I can stretch farther, I will, but it's not mandatory for having healthy hair.

[starshade]

i NEED to wash my hair 3x a week since I workout 5x. It's fairly warm where I live AND I sweat gallons! But since joining LHC, I've switched to 2 washes with shikakai and amla, conditioner after. So that way I use shampoo only once a week. It seems to be working for me. My hair feels clean all the time, still soft and not dry at all.

[CherrySilver]

Daily washing will eventually strip your hair of oil and leave it looking like straw (unless you use something to restore the oil).

I wash my hair once a month but brush it every day with a clean bbb. Of course, if your hair is naturally oily, then washing more frequently is necessary...but not every day.

All due respect, Madora, but I beg to differ on that one. I've been washing my hair pretty much daily for the past few years (after my gym workouts) without any ill effects whatsoever. It hardly ever sheds, grows like a weed and is long overdue for a much needed trim (going on 2 years from practicing benign neglect) .

[vanillabones]

I wash my hair every other day. When I was very young (starting puberty) I would have to wash my hair every morning and it would be greasy again by that night :'( Luckily I grew out of that and I also discovered dry shampoo to help me along. I wash my hair every other day now and it doesn't look so nice on the days I don't wash but I sometimes sprinkle SOME dry shampoo in. If I have nowhere to go I'll put off washing until my next wash so two days but by then my oily head breaks out in pimples.

[julliams]

My hair actually gets sore if I don't wash it often enough. My scalp also starts to itch and I find myself scratching. When this happens, I know it's time to wash, and all that soreness and itchiness goes away immediately.

I wash about 2-3 times a week and I find it works well for me. I enjoy washing my hair so this schedule works fine for me.

[Avital88]

i can do once a week but i like the smell of fresh hair,,i used to wash twice a week but since a month its more every 5th day or so.its really just transitioning, you can try cowashing though to start with

[Lize]

I used to wash every other day for a long time with shampoo and conditioner. A while ago I jumped into CO (with occasional shampoo, less than once a month) and washing every four days instead. Hair is pretty oily DD3 and DD4, but not so oily that it doesn't work. I just brush with BBB and keep it up. My goal is to wash it once a week eventually and I am starting with trying to get it used to every four days. When I feel that it's used to that I will try every five days and so on until I reach seven. I realize this may take several years. I have to say my hair feels much less dry since making this change.

[queenovnight]

I've been training mine by using baby powder or dry shampoo. It's not pleasant but it's working!

[tlover]

a couple of years agi I tried CO and it didn't work for me at all (I got really gerasy for more than 6 months) after that I washed my hair every other day waryating between scampoo and WO then I did two WO in a row and then schampoo and streched my washes that way. up until last month I washed my hair with schampoo once every/everyother week, the other times it was just WO (about 2 times a week we have alot of animals and I don't want to smell like chickenpoo)

Now I only do WO and wash "as needed" wich can be every day or less than once a week, but even when I havn't washed my hair for a week it don't get really greasy nowdays (I wash for the poofactor though).

WO could be an alternetive if CO don't work for you. (or something else)

[tlover]

a couple of years agi I tried CO and it didn't work for me at all (I got really gerasy for more than 6 months) after that I washed my hair every other day waryating between scampoo and WO then I did two WO in a row and then schampoo and streched my washes that way. up until last month I washed my hair with schampoo once every/everyother week, the other times it was just WO (about 2 times a week we have alot of animals and I don't want to smell like chickenpoo)

Now I only do WO and wash "as needed" wich can be every day or less than once a week, but even when I havn't washed my hair for a week it don't get really greasy nowdays (I wash for the poofactor though).

WO could be an alternetive if CO don't work for you. (or something else)

[LongHairLesbian]

I started stretching my wash schedule from every other day to every third day about a month ago. What helped me to do this was finding a S&C that works near-perfectly on my hair, so my scalp stays happy for as long as possible. Also, learning lots of different ways to wear my hair. I used to only wear my hair down or in a ponytail, but now that I know a bunch of different braid styles, I can hide the greasiness for another day. ;) My hair is seriously dry right now from the icy cold weather, so that's another motivation to not wash my hair as frequently, I don't need it to be any drier than it already is. Honestly, I don't love freshly washed hair; it's floppy and slippery on me, which makes it harder to put up.

[Nadine <3]

I just started stretching it. I wash every 4 days or so and only the last day is greasy. I just shake some cocoa powder into my bangs and rock some braids that day. I also found that sleeping with my bangs pinned up and off my forehead helped keep my bangs clean for sooo much longer!

[Bagginslover]

The more ofen I wash my hair, the greasier it gets. So If I wash once a week, I get good looking hair, that I could wear down for at least 3 days. If I washed everyother day, I wouldn't be able to wear it down after the first morning-it will get oily that fast.

So for me, washing weekly is a necessity if I don't want to be a totaly greaseball all the time.

I have found that wearing my hair up almost constantly (even on the days I could wear it loose), has helped tremendously to keeping it less oily. Any sort of movement of my hair seems to stimulate the oil production, so keeping it immobile is key. Also switching to a non-sulphate shampoo. My scalp can tell its not totally stripped of its precious oils, and so doesn't go crazy trying to replace them ;)

[sally_neuf]

Well... I transitioned gradually. I do wash once a week or every 5 days, my hair does get greasy!

on the 3rd or 4th day I will only wash my bangs and keep my hair in a tidy bun, then it doesn't look greasy because it is pulled back.

[bunzfan]

I had to wash every 3 days when using shampoo it was like a oil slick at that point, but since i went back to co washing i can go much longer at least 7 days . Currently on day 5 starting to get a bit greasy i like dry shampoo if you dont want to shampoo for a few days.

[hairpleasegrow]

I understand unless I wash every other day I feel gross. I love that just washed feeling :)!!

[SecretMermaid]

I used to wash my hair every night with shampoo & conditioner, and by the following afternoon it was already beginning to become greasy again. I also used to have a sore scalp and itching if I didn't wash for a couple of days.

Last year I decided I wanted to stop using shampoo, conditioner and most 'traditional' hair products so switched to baking soda & apple cider vinegar rinse, using this every night in place of shampoo & conditioner. The first time I used it my hair was normal but from then on for about a fortnight it was a downward spiral of disgusting greasiness. After that two week period it began to improve though.

From there I stretched it to every second day and eventually once a week (note that this was over about six months and I briefly returned to shampoo & conditioner for convenience a few times). I have now dropped the baking soda as I'm concerned it could be damaging so just use the apple cider vinegar rinse which works fine on its own anyway.

The transition period can be difficult if you have to go out regularly (I didn't have to) but I would suggest wearing your hair up, if it's a reasonably 'tight' hairstyle (ie no pieces of hair left out etc) nobody should notice - that's what I did when I had to go out. You could also wait until you're on holidays if you'd be more comfortable doing it then.

If you go down this track I really recommend combing your hair every day, even twice and making sure the sebum is well distributed throughout your hair. It's important regardless but especially so when transitioning I found, just to alleviate some of the greasiness.

It's worth trying if you're interested, you never know. My hair is fine so not even in the category this tends to work for, and suffice to say I never ever thought I'd only been washing my hair once a week! You don't have to do exactly what I or anyone else does either, find your own happy medium :)

PS I didn't stop using shampoo & conditioner because it was damaging my hair. I stopped because I was becoming more aware of chemicals in general and curious what would happen if I stopped using them in my hair. Washing my hair every day could be very annoying and inconvenient, as was the fact my hair was already getting oily and not looking its best by midday. I also wanted to see if the sore scalp and itchiness would stop - the sore scalp has stopped completely and the itchiness only makes an appearance if I don't brush my hair or 'scritch'. My hair looks better on the whole but I don't believe it was ever permanently damaged by shampoo etc.

[Avenie]

[COLOR=darkred]Daily washing will eventually strip your hair of oil and leave it looking like straw (unless you use something to restore the oil).

But, like all hair rules, there are no absolute truths. I have washed my daily for over 15 years and it is silky and strong, with little shedding and no noticeable breakage or splitting. It all depends on the hair type, or genes, or fate. I don't know. But it isn't an automatic given that it will ruin your hair.