Hair washing routine

[BeccaAngel]

I'm sure there are threads about this, but I was having a hard time getting the search to work on here to find it.

At my hair length (which is close to APL) how often do you think I should wash my hair? I currently do it every other day, sometimes I want to every couple of days or every day. I'm not sure which way to go right now. :)

[WaterMusic]

My personal opinion about this topic is that there is no right way to do it, no right amount to do it. Your length isn't really a strong determiner of how often you need to wash, although it is somewhat of a factor.

My advice is to do what makes your hair happy. I think you should try stretching your washes to see if that makes your hair/scalp happy, but if it doesn't work then don't force it. If you find things are working best at every other day, then keep on doing that. You have to do what works for you.

[caadam]

I agree with WaterMusic—how and when you wash your hair isn't dependent on the length of your hair. If anything, your hair type and condition will determine what your hair needs. You'll just have to figure that out by experimenting with different methods over a steady period of time.

[BeccaAngel]

Yea that's what I thought. Thanks for your advice. :)

[sfgirl]

I noticed I wash my hair less when it's longer. Probably because it has more weight, so it needs less manipulating to look "right", if you get my drift.

[Rosethorn]

Yep. Do whatever your hair likes best. Everybody's different. Personally, I'm trying to go from twice a week to once a week; I think it would be better for my hair to be handled less because I want to grow it to terminal length and I'm super paranoid about damaging it. I'm also VERY lazy and the less I have to deal with wet hair, the better.

[auburntressed]

BeccaAngel, I'm at 36" right now, and I too wash my hair every other day for the most part. I get "lazy" on weekends sometimes, when I don't have to look "presentable" for work. Though I have noticed that my scalp suffers for it when I do that (with itchies and flakes and the like). I have experimented with washing my scalp only and keeping the rest of my hair elevated while washing, but... that hasn't worked as well for me as I thought it would. I think that my hair isn't long enough for that to be practical yet, and I plan to try it again once I gain some more length.

Also, I notice you are in Missouri. Me too. :)

[EmmaDStrange]

It's all very dependant on your hair type IMO. I have quite fine hair, so find I need to wash it every day or every other day or it looks terribly greasy.

I know that my mum, who has very thick coarse mid-back length hair only has to wash it once a week because it's hard to spot when it begins to get oily.

So, it's entirely up to you and when you think it needs it, different hair types and scalps can tolerate different things.

I've almost always washed my hair once a day, and I've never had any problem with this, my scalp coaps just fine as my skin is not sensitive.

You should just try to experiment, find out what works best!!

[hototogisu]

There are two things at play when it comes to washing frequency - scalp health and hair health.

Many of us have scalps that do best when they're clean, I know I'm one of those, but when your hair gets longer frequent washing can take a toll on your lengths and ends.

CWC is a great compromise for me, as is (very VERY) light pre-wash oiling. I wash every other day, also. I just can't stretch washes, it's too itchy and uncomfortable for me.

[Amanah]

I CWC every other day. I can stretch it a day if I use a little baby powder on the front of my hair to make it look less greasy.

[arabicfrizz]

I pretty much have to wash every other day otherwise my scalp becomes too oily. I've experimented a couple times with dry shampoo, but this is a new concept to me and I'm not sure yet what to think of it (or determined if it works adequately).

[jacqueline101]

I think washing method depends on your hair type.

[Madora]

I wash my hair once a month. It is brushed every day with a clean bbb.

[dwell_in_safety]

Mine is grazing BSL and is washed with conditioner once a week with a WO rinse between. Right now I'm at the point that cutting out the WO rinse won't make a difference at all in appearance (in the past it has really helped maintain "clean" hair); in a couple more weeks I am going to remove it from my routine.

[spidermom]

I think you shoud wash your hair whenever it needs to be washed.

I wash mine every 3-4 days CWC style with diluted shampoo, although I've been experimenting with using catnip soaks in place of conditioner recently.

[Ligeia_13]

I think you shoud wash your hair whenever it needs to be washed.

This is what I was going to say :) you'd be surprised at how long hair can actually go without getting yucky. I used to think I HAD to wash my hair three times a week but I really don't, once is enough.

[lapushka]

I'd go by your scalp. Watch when it gets oily enough, and only then wash. You might want to experiment with stretching your washes gradually at first until you find out when your scalp gets oily for real. Some people just wash because of some bizarre rule that it needs to be washed (daily, every other day) instead of going by their scalp, and when it truly needs to be washed.