«*In-between*» Hair Maintenance

[WednesdayAddams]

Usually 5 days between washes, and on any given day I'll add just a couple drops of oil if it feels dry.

[GoatLady]

I go 5 to 7 days between washes, depending on how long I can stand it. After washing, I apply a leave-in conditioner on my mids and oil on my ends and that's it. I usually don't add anything else before the next wash. I sleep in 2 braids, comb my hair in the morning before bunning it up, and then comb again at night before braiding. I sleep on a silk pillowcase.

[Bri-Chan]

3-5 days between washes, I just reapply the leave in when it feels dry. Every now and then I apply some drop of a coney heavy oil to tame some frizz.
I wear it in bun or braid(s) almost every day, I have it down one day a week on average.

[Etheldreda]

I'll often use a few drops of Aveda Shampure oil on day two hair. I don't think it has any hair benefits (besides just being oily) but it smells amazing and my braids look shiner with a bit of oil. Other than that I just give it a good brush out in the evening.

I sleep in 2 braids, comb my hair in the morning before bunning it up, and then comb again at night before braiding. I sleep on a silk pillowcase.

I love the idea of a silk pillowcase a keep meaning to make one. Do you find it makes a difference to your hair?

[wickedannabella]

Love to hear these routines! For those of you using the leave-in conditioner, what ones do you like and what do you look for in a good leave-in? Also, yes, let's hear about those silk pillowcases!

I have the weirdest combo hair, it is oh so temperamental! I am currently going 3 -5 days between washes, but would like to extend to an average of 5. Sometimes all I need is a good detangler to set things right, but a lot of the times the natural oils make my hair a bit too stringy for my liking. However, things have been better balanced since I switched to a poo-bars and ACV rinse routine. I am starting think about experimenting with a good dry shampoo, though. For the oilier days.

[SandyBottom]

Love to hear these routines! For those of you using the leave-in conditioner, what ones do you like and what do you look for in a good leave-in? Also, yes, let's hear about those silk pillowcases!

I have the weirdest combo hair, it is oh so temperamental! I am currently going 3 -5 days between washes, but would like to extend to an average of 5. Sometimes all I need is a good detangler to set things right, but a lot of the times the natural oils make my hair a bit too stringy for my liking. However, things have been better balanced since I switched to a poo-bars and ACV rinse routine. I am starting think about experimenting with a good dry shampoo, though. For the oilier days.

For my leave in, I just use my regular conditioner (whatever I happen to be using). My hair loves moisture and conditioner and thankfully, it isn't picky about what one I use so no need to break the bank on the expensive stuff.

[Emila]

I'm interested to see what people say here. I'm a newbie. I do sometimes put oil on the lower part when I get dry but I really struggle when my roots get oily and how to manage that. I also experience frizz. Sometimes it's possible for my hair to be both oily and frizzy at the same time and that is the part that really gets to me �� I'm still trying to figure out my routine.

[MusicalSpoons]

I'm interested to see what people say here. I'm a newbie. I do sometimes put oil on the lower part when I get dry but I really struggle when my roots get oily and how to manage that. I also experience frizz. Sometimes it's possible for my hair to be both oily and frizzy at the same time and that is the part that really gets to me �� I'm still trying to figure out my routine.

It's possible you need to clarify, if this is happening often. Use a clear shampoo (ideally with sulphates, if your scalp can handle them) and lather up all of your hair - lengths as well, you can gently squidge the hair to make it lather - and let it sit for a few minutes. You might want to repeat, particularly if you've never knowingly clarified or you use heavy products. Then follow up with a long, deep conditioning if you can, to remoisturise your lengths.

Regarding the original question, what helped my hair go longer between washes was finding a moisturising enough wash routine to keep my lengths happy. Then I could do scalp washes in between to keep my scalp happy.
Keeping my lengths happy involves pre-poo oiling several hours before (a day or two before is ideal), conditioner on for an hour or so before the wash, shampoo, oil rinse on the lengths, and a fairly long conditioning afterwards while I scrub my body then detangle my hair. This way my lengths go 2-4 weeks being fine.

My getting here was gradual though, I went from shampoo+conditioner every two days, to every 4 days with a scalp wash in between, then as I needed to be presentable less and less often, the time got longer and longer. A few years ago I wash washing once a week with a scalp wash or two in between, then a couple of years ago it was every 2 weeks, and now it's kind of whenever my scalp gets fed up of scalp washes and needs a thorough scrub. I do keep my hair in a bun though, which is a huge factor in the lengths being happy for so long. If I have to braid (e.g. for a dentist appointment) they start to feel dry and I have to wash again sooner than when I keep it in a bun. I also don't manipulate it all that much, just wrapped buns and I don't always redo them every day either. Really emphasising the *neglect* part of benign neglect

I will also point out that by day 3 my hair looks oily, so if I had to look presentable I'd still be having to do scalp washes every other day. I can get away with it being oily when the vast majority of my limited visible contact with the world is over Zoom!

[Emila]

It's possible you need to clarify, if this is happening often. Use a clear shampoo (ideally with sulphates, if your scalp can handle them) and lather up all of your hair - lengths as well, you can gently squidge the hair to make it lather - and let it sit for a few minutes. You might want to repeat, particularly if you've never knowingly clarified or you use heavy products. Then follow up with a long, deep conditioning if you can, to remoisturise your lengths.

Regarding the original question, what helped my hair go longer between washes was finding a moisturising enough wash routine to keep my lengths happy. Then I could do scalp washes in between to keep my scalp happy.
Keeping my lengths happy involves pre-poo oiling several hours before (a day or two before is ideal), conditioner on for an hour or so before the wash, shampoo, oil rinse on the lengths, and a fairly long conditioning afterwards while I scrub my body then detangle my hair. This way my lengths go 2-4 weeks being fine.

My getting here was gradual though, I went from shampoo+conditioner every two days, to every 4 days with a scalp wash in between, then as I needed to be presentable less and less often, the time got longer and longer. A few years ago I wash washing once a week with a scalp wash or two in between, then a couple of years ago it was every 2 weeks, and now it's kind of whenever my scalp gets fed up of scalp washes and needs a thorough scrub. I do keep my hair in a bun though, which is a huge factor in the lengths being happy for so long. If I have to braid (e.g. for a dentist appointment) they start to feel dry and I have to wash again sooner than when I keep it in a bun. I also don't manipulate it all that much, just wrapped buns and I don't always redo them every day either. Really emphasising the *neglect* part of benign neglect

I will also point out that by day 3 my hair looks oily, so if I had to look presentable I'd still be having to do scalp washes every other day. I can get away with it being oily when the vast majority of my limited visible contact with the world is over Zoom!

Thank you so much for taking the time to write that detailed response. I really appreciate it.

I see I have a lot of trial and error ahead of me I like the concept of spacing out my regular washes with some scalp washes. That sounds like a good idea. I was contemplating doing this with a CO wash in between, but worried I will be too oily by the end of the week lol. I currently wash twice a week but feel like my last day before washing is a bit icky. Frizz and oil everywhere lol.

I would like to clarify but I want to hold off until I can purchase some cone free conditioner. Otherwise I feel like I'd be clarifying then chucking the buildup right back on again. But maybe I'm wrong! My current shampoo and conditioner have sulfates and cones and I guess I just want to clarify the "right" way but I'm still figuring out what that is :-)

I've noticed my scalp is less happy and I think it might be because I've stopped brushing. I think brushing made my scalp happy while it made my lengths unhappy. I think combing with a wide tooth comb is less contact with my scalp, so now my scalp feels a little irritated and itchy coz it's not getting scraped by a brush everyday. I don't know if this makes sense but I can't think what else it could be.

I am gathering that addressing the dryness in my lengths is more important that preventing oiliness at my roots. I think my roots might be telling me something so I think I might need to try and figure out what they are telling me before I try to fix it. Basically I feel a bit flakey or dry after a wash then suddenly transition to oily when it's wash time. I'm thinking that my scalp might like to have a sulfate break after I clarify and I'll see if the irritation settles down.

It's interested that even braids can be a bit drying. I kind of like the neglect method though, it makes me happy that I can be lazy and get good results

[jenniferrae]

While I know this is not technically avoiding washing altogether, if you're ever having a day where you absolutely can't find a way around washing, I've avoided washing the length mid-week pretty often by putting it in a very loose looped pony, holding it out of the way to keep dry while just washing and rinsing only the few inches right near the scalp. You could also dilute your shampoo (or whatever you're using to wash with) for this to make it a milder cleansing scalp rinse that doesn't take as much oil away until your next full-blown wash day.