In Which We Share The Merits Of Rarely Washing Your Hair

by Julia Rubin | 3:19 pm, March 1st, 2011

When the Styleite team saw a tweet from Vogue‘s Lauren Santo Domingo that read: “I honestly can’t remember the last time I washed my own hair…”, we were all sort of shocked. Only our grandmothers don’t wash their own hair! How impractical! How annoying! But that led to a much more interesting conversation about how often we wash our hair.

I wash mine twice a week, and so does Styleite EIC Verena. This is something we feel strongly about! And you should too! Let us count the reasons:

• As counter-intuitive as it sounds, the more you wash your hair, the oilier it gets. Why? Because excessive shampooing strips your hair of its natural oils, and your scalp overcompensates by producing even more sebum to replace what’s been washed away. This is why people who wash their hair every day say they need to — their hair does in fact get way more oily than everyone else’s. And it’s their own fault.

• Yes, you can train your hair! Are you a slave to the daily shampoo, caught up in the cycle of hair that gets oily by the end of the night? Fear not. All you need to do is start spacing out your shampoo schedule. If you usually wash your hair every day, begin by skipping every other shampoo for a week, and then by getting yourself on an every-three-days (or whatever you feel most comfortable with — some types of hair only need to be washed once a week!) schedule the next week. Painless!

• Dry shampoo is a thing that exists. If your hair is feeling oily, a spray or two of the stuff will soak that excess oil right up. This is especially applicable if you’re in the hair training stage, or want to squeeze an extra day between shampoos. (I use the Oscar Blandi one.)

• If you wash your hair every day, you’re also probably subjecting it to a lot more heat damage than you should. Washing your hair twice a week means blowdrying it twice a week max, as opposed to undergoing daily blowdrys. If you’re a flatiron user like myself, less frequent shampooing also means less frequent ironing, which is a very good thing.

• Washing your hair twice a week is not gross. It is not gross because it does not preclude you from showering whenever the hell you want. Shower caps, people! They work! That being said, if you do things that make you sweat excessively (like take Bikram yoga classes or walk around New York City in the middle of July), some extra shampooing might be necessary.

So, how often do you wash your hair? Have any great hair care tips? Let us know in the comments!

Hair how often should you wash hair over-shampooing shampoo

sweet pinky

i shampooed for the first time in at least a month last night. i switched to co-washing because it keeps my hair from drying out so much.
sweet pinky

i shampooed for the first time in at least a month last night. i switched to co-washing because it keeps my hair from drying out so much.
Sujagirl

I shampoo 1-2 times a week and I work out like a crazy person. Basically, when I work out I tie my hair back and in the shower I kinda wash/rinse around the edges of my hairline – that hair naturally gets wet when you wash your face and neck, but I let some soap get in there enough to wash away the sweat. TMI perhaps but I found that my hair is healthier and grows faster this way.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_UYOCGNQWOWXT5ST7TQJPO7WWF4 d

google: no poo method. I haven’t shampooed my hair since December 3rd 2010
Anonymous

I have to agree that not shampooing every day is healthier for the hair… and I currently wash my hair on the third day but even on the second day I have to put my hair up and out of my face. I have curly hair and by the second day the curls are dead, too poofy, my hair too tangled. It’s not practical for a curly haired girl to skip the shampoo. My hair needs to get wet to reform the curls. And just wetting the hair, and not using shampoo defeats the purpose entirely (just wetting hair without getting out the sweat/oil/etc.).
FIL

I wash my hair 1 – 2 times a week, it looks best when it’s just washed. Then I have nice, wavy curls. but because my hair’s so heavy, the curls will be completely gone by the third day. Then either I’ll wash it again, or just straighten my hair, so it’ll look good for another 2/3 days.
When I wash my hair I always let it just dry by air, I only blowdry it when I’m in a hurry. Blowdrying makes my hair really dry and frizzy, don’t like that.
So I’ll wash it in the evening (always use shampoo, hair mask and conditioner), put in a braid, sleep with the wet hair and then the next morning get it out and it looks good.
Emm

I used to bleach my hair platinum and wore it short, in a bob or a little longer than shoulder length. I washed it once a week, unless I got sweaty or noticed it was smelly, or went to a bar and stank like cig smoke.

Most recently I had straight hair down to my waist that had been box colored twice in the couple years it took to grow. I got sick of washing my hair because it was such a chore. I tried to wait a week or longer before washing it. I used Pssst some days before work when it seemed oily looking.

Now I have it cut with bangs to shoulder length and I thought I could get away with washing it once a week. No way, my hair said. It gets more oily looking now. I think it’s because the bangs touch my face and I have oily skin. I’ve washed just the bangs to go out and not look like a slob. I wash my hair every 2 or 3 days. I brush it once a day. I think I’m going to highlight my hair for spring so that it will dry out a little and then I can wash my hair every three or four days.

I shower every day, usually, and I don’t use a shower cap. I put my hair in a ponytail and clips when I take a shower since I find the humidity seems like it makes my hair smell more if I wear a cap. (Weird I know.)

I’ve even used this Pond’s sandalwood talc, I bought at an Indian import store, as hair powder. It’s slightly tinted, smells good and gives my hair body and looks less oily but then I HAVE to wash it or it looks super dirty.
Keep in mind I don’t live in a dense metropolitan area and I’m married, so I don’t worry about my smelly hair offending anyone.
My husband just rinses his hair in the shower sometimes. I don’t know how he can stand the texture after but he doesn’t care if his hair looks oily.
Soo Ngoh Choy

It is great to see so many comments. We all have problems with hair. And it is so important to our looks.
Just sharing, I have been washing my hair daily with a good quality shampoo and conditioner (those without additives and harmful chemicals) and my hair grows well and healthy. I do not use hair treatments and creams now. My hair was thinning a few years ago and it looks bad, but it looks great now.
If you are interested to have some info, I am glad to share.

Soo
http://hairgrowthtreatmentsforwomen.com
Anonymous

Ugh you nasty people please wash your dirty hair. You women usually wear so much perfume you cant tell when you stink. Ive known girls that didnt wash their hair every day and let me tell you something: we men notice. We notice and its gross and we talk about it behind your backs. This isnt the freaking middle ages, you all have running water, USE IT! Oh no, your hair gets dry?? Yeah, thats what conditioner is for.

In Which We Share The Merits Of Rarely Washing Your Hair

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