Washing hair everyday?!

[aldasbeke]

I've given up every single one of my old, bad hair habits except washing everyday. For some strange reason, I feel gross going to bed without having washed my hair. I've always been one of those people who has to feel clean going to bed- even when I was a small child. Anyway, I now know that even with my hair type, it's not necessary to wash everyday, but I still do. I've been using sls free shampoo and washing only my scalp. I also co wash every other day, but I still get my hair wet every night. I also don't blow dry. Does anyone else wash everyday and do you think it's harmful to hair's health or growth? I might be willing to give it up if it actually makes a difference. Thanks.

[Bunnysaur]

I'm the same. I physically cannot go multiple days without washing it, because to me it feels unhygienic (not to knock those who do stretch washes, I don't think of you as dirty! :)) and because taking a shower without washing my hair just feels... weird.
I don't think it's harmful to my hair at all. It feels best when it's CLEAN, and it's cleanest when I wash daily. I just measured my hair and have gotten a little over 1.5" in the past 3 weeks, due to rinsing my hair with rooibos and aloe vera after showering. Daily. There's no way it's hurting my growth.

[dulce]

At 60 my hair has grown from a pixie to past waist[with trims] in 3 1/2 years and I wash daily.My scalp is happier with a daily wash and my hair hasn't suffered.It doesn't work for everyone but some people do better with washing daily.

[dani18]

I recently started washing every other day instead of ever day. My hair has gotten much softer and it doesnt break as much either. My scalp is less oily now too. I think i might start going every three days. :)

[ladyfey]

I always washed every day, just about a year ago switched to every other day. My hair is a bit past knee and grows like a weed. Washing every day works for some people, if it works, why change? I only went to every other day because it is less work.

[Laylah]

If your hair isn't getting damaged, why not? I definitely could NOT wash everyday or I would have a fuzzball of hair. But that's just me. Oily scalps are more common so washing everyday might be good. I think it also has a lot to do with how you grew up and your normal routine, because I never washed my hair normally more than once per week so my scalp is used to it. If you have always washed everyday I can imagine it would be hard to change.

[MrsJacks]

I say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I used to wash every day until a professional hairdresser told me I had dry scalp and needed to wash at the most twice a week, unless I got really dirty or sweaty. Some people, however, not only prefer to wash their hair daily, but their hair benefits from it. :)

[Soltimus]

I've washed my hair every other day for about 15 years and only recently started washing it every day. It's made a big difference for my hair. My scalp is less irritated, and my hair feels and looks healthier and it's not even because I use different shampoos now. I'm sticking to the organic stuff without all the weird things in them, hahaha. I think it's a good idea to try different washing methods out and see what works for you. Some people probably don't get much out of stretching washes while other people do.

[aldasbeke]

I feel like my hair is growing too slowly although I don't know if that's just me being impatient or if I'm doing something to cause breakage- I also s & d and continue to get split ends all over a couple days later. I don't comb my hair while wet. I do sleep on it though and will sometimes braid it. It might be better off if I did wash every other day. I just can't bring myself to not be grossed out- not that it's gross for other people.. Just my own little OCD- like quirk.

[Svart]

I wash daily. Sometimes I skip a wash if I feel it's not needed, but then I shed more (I didn't really count shed hair, but by looks the amount shed after two days is more than twice the aount shed after a single day; it was similar in the old days whenI washed every other day and sometimes streched to three), so I'd claim it's better for my hair to be washed more often.
Go figure.

[Kiwiwi]

I also say if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
But if you're worried or just want to try to actually wash it less you could try to do water only washes in between too. I always feel that it makes my head 'feel' washed. It makes my hair feel refreshed (but just for one day). You could play around with that and see how that feels.
One day wash with shampoo, one day wash with water, one day wash with conditioner and then the next day with shampoo again, etc.

Good luck!

[heidi w.]

There are some valid reasons for washing daily. For example, a person who works outdoors in a dusty or sweaty shop all day, this idea might apply. I have a friend that's a powder coater (adhering dry powdery color on to metal surfaces -- it's a heat process) and man, does that ever produce a lot of dirt. Some days his face is a myriad of different colors by day's end, or other days he looks like a famous artist that had a lot of black around her eyes, Louise Nevelson? Or maybe better to say he looks like a raccoon. Teenagers have an outpouring usually of hormones that really get them grungy, and if they're playing sports too, this can be a real need to clean up at day's end. But a person in their 20s - 50s generally does not need to wash daily.

For one, hair length if long enough is up so one can just simply function, and the length therefore does not really get "dirty". For two, you want a teensy bit of sebum on the scalp skin for maintaining the health of the skin. Third reason to avoid washing daily: less friction on the hair. (Less toweling, less combing need, and so on) A final fourth benefit, you just spend less time on it. People claim long hair takes up a ton of time and it simply does not if you know what you are doing. Scalp washing can get you through the end of a work week, and one can fully hair wash on a weekend when there's typically more time to allow for the process itself.

I would consider at least washing every other day unless there's an outstanding problem going on. I have Seborrheid Dermatitus which means my sebum builds overly much and very quickly, and I don't really wash daily myself.

heidi w.

[Laur]

I wash every other day, because ... well, because I'm lazy, mostly. I work in an office and very rarely get anything like properly dirty except on weekends (when I'm in my garden!).

If you're showing signs of dry hair or other ill effects (or you have a super oily scalp), consider going to a CO wash on in-between days, or switching to CWC all the time, or both. Scalp washes are another good thing - I almost never get shampoo down the length of my hair - it just doesn't really get dirty.

[arielágua]

I used to wash everyday for 19 years and never noticed any problem in my hair. I think it depends a lot of the person, washing methods and routines vary a lot depending on the person/type of hair.
I had very thick hair (don't have it now because I lost my hair due to surgery stress last year,but is all coming back now though), few splits (only trim once or twice a year) and my hair grew really fast when I used to wash my hair daily.
It still grows very fast and and I have very little splits and breakage. I am trying to wash every other day now simply because of the fact that my hair is getting long and it takes therefore longer to air dry.
I tried stretching washes and all those other amazing things here on LHC and nothing made much of a difference to my hair health. So I am coming back to my primitive routine. Oh I only wash my hair with SLS shampoo once or twice a week, the rest of the days I clean with conditioner or a natural organic shampoo, and my hair is very soft and healthy.
Now, washing daily for you could cause you damage or breakage, I don't know...you have to be attentive and see if stretching washes works better for you, it seems to work wonderful with many people here. Just experiment. :D

[arcane]

I feel like my hair is growing too slowly although I don't know if that's just me being impatient or if I'm doing something to cause breakage- I also s & d and continue to get split ends all over a couple days later. I don't comb my hair while wet. I do sleep on it though and will sometimes braid it. It might be better off if I did wash every other day. I just can't bring myself to not be grossed out- not that it's gross for other people.. Just my own little OCD- like quirk.

So you go to bed with loose wet hair? I'd suspect that as a major culprit for damage. At least try to do a protective style to sleep in, and perhaps you can shower earlier in the evening so your hair has more time to dry before you go to bed. Perhaps look into investing in a satin pillow case or a snood to sleep in as well.

[BBGrrl]

I wash every day. When I miss a day I end up with a major shed and my head hurts. I have been maintaining my goal length for 4 years now and my hair never gets upset when I wash daily. Mind you my hair does get softer when I wash every other day but it gets so thin and ugly the softness isn't worth it.

[Mayflower]

I used to feel the need to wash every day when puberty hit me, but I always washed every other day and used dry shampoo in between washings. Dry shampoo only got me through 1 day though. I had a super oily scalp and very dry ends.
Now that my hair isn't as oily anymore, I wash every 3 days when I have to go to college, and sometimes up to every 6 days if I'm at home or if I wear my hair up a lot. My hair gets a bit greasy (only the roots though, my lengths and ends never get oily) at the end of day 2 or at day 3, and then I use a bit of baby powder or dry shampoo.
The reason why I try to stretch my washes is because I'm really lazy, and washing (I wash my scalp twice), conditioning and washing my body takes way too much time, not to mention letting my hair dry and detangling it. Plus my hair really got better for it, it's not that dry anymore. I also want to train my scalp to go a few days without washing, because I spend the night at other people's places a lot (often non-planned after a party) and I don't want to bring my hairstuff along, or look like a greasball in the morning.

[pheonixphire]

If your hair isn't showing any major damage, I wouldn't change a thing. If your wanting to protect it further try a satin pillow case or sleep cap. I think if what you were doing was all that horrible it would have shown in health of your hair.

[earthnut]

I avoid going to bed with wet hair because, since wet hair is more fragile, the hair gets more damage from the friction against the pillow. I definitely get more snarls waking up in the morning after sleeping on wet hair than after sleeping on dry hair.

But I don't think that washing hair every day is necessarily harmful, as long as it's treated gently when wet.

[Gogobaby]

I wash only twice a week... I used to wash every other day but my scalp feels raw if I do. I know natural sebum is precious to your hair... But I am not sure if it affects growth.

[AdaClare]

I'm not crazy about going to bed without washing either and ended up switching between CWC and CO every night. I think (at least for my hair) CO-ing instead of skipping washing was a good thing because it seems to be a gentler wash. That's especially helpful because when I tried stretching washes my scalp got really itchy.

[kitcatsmeow]

I wash once a week, sometimes twice but my hair is in a bun or braid 99.9% of the time. If I wear my hair down a day or two I definitely need to wash sooner. Environmental factors like smoke, dust, dry or humid air quickly take a toll!