How often do you wash your hair?

[migirl]

Re: How often do you wash your hair?

I wash every day, but maybe I should start shampooing less frequently and just doing conditioner in between? :huh: My hair is really coarse and dry at the ends, but it feels ... unnatural to not wash it every day. BUT, when I was in the hospital after having DS#2 I couldn't get up and shower for 3 days (yuck!) and while my hair felt awesome ... my scalp was nasty. Maybe what someone else said is true, though, that it just takes a while for your scalp to adjust to being washed less frequently. Hmmm. I'm really going to try this ... will let you know how it works (because I know you're all dying to hear! )

[HouseofWool]

Re: How often do you wash your hair?

I have curly hair, and am going to try the getting it wet in between washings and using conditioner to see how it goes. It is still frizzy today, but the curls always look better when I airdry. (Not feasible in January in Wisconsin, but fantastic in August)

[Vishenka69]

Re: How often do you wash your hair?

I am other. I have not washed my hair since December. I am not kidding. I have thin but curly hair and I have the world's driest hair, it NEVER gets greasy ever. I just use conditioner. Since I stopped, my natural curl is back, and I feel like my hair looks so much better.

I started following this website after it worked for my sister -
http://www.ylcf.org/gotcurl/curlycare.htm

I stopped using shampoo on my girls too in December and their rat's nest at the back of their head has mostly disappeared. My parents washed their hair this weekend and the rat's nest was back the next AM.

I agree with a lot of advice in this book but who has time or patience for this?

Use claw clips to arrange and style your curls (click here to see examples), twisting any last curls into place. Then don't touch your hair while it dries! (Use a diffuser on the coolest, lowest setting if you must speed the process.)

Back in NY I hated washing my hair in the winter because the whole conditioning, scrunching process took at least 30 minutes and I just didn't have another hour to roll the curls and dry on lowest setting. The author supposedly lives in NY and should know that it takes regular-thickness hair a few hours to air dry in NY humidity. At least now I can let it finish drying in the car on the way to work.

[Rapunzel]

Re: How often do you wash your hair?

When I have my hair natural (VERY curly and very thick) I wash it about three times a week.

Right now it is super short and platinum blonde and straight (the exact opposite of all of my hairs tendencies/characteristics)! So, right now I wash every day - very pale blonde tends to get dingy looking if it's not cleaned pretty well. And, since it's a platinum I have to rinse with a blue conditioner a few times a week.

I thought that website looked fabulous! When I go back to natural someday I'll definitely need to follow all of that advice!

Re: How often do you wash your hair?

I am a convert! I used to wash everyday and now I only wash every other day or every 3rd day. I've tried the dry shampoos too and they are great. Like others said on this thread, it takes a while to get used to washing less especially if you've shampoo'd everyday with harsh shampoos.
I truly believe most Americans over shampoo their hair, especially children's hair and I think it leads to unnaturally thin wispy hair.
My stylist says there are studies that say the harsh detergents in shampoos (sodium laureth sulfate) tested on lab animals makes their hair FALL OUT!!!!!!!
My hair is naturally oily and naturally blond. However, the ends of my hair are dry and damaged from highlights/lowlights. I usually only shampoo my scalp and condition heavily on the ends and minimally/not at all - at the scalp.
Because I stopped shampooing so often my hair is much longer and healthier than it would be otherwise!

[houseelf]

Re: How often do you wash your hair?

O.K. I've tried this additional time between shampooing that you all have proposed and ...my hair is awful: dry, limp, fly away, and greasy at the roots. Does hair need time to adjust to more infrequent shampooing or am I just a grease ball? I didn't win the genetic lottery on hair, but is this recommended for all hair? :huh:

Enquiring minds need to know...

Kelly

[Cumberland]

Re: How often do you wash your hair?

I think not shampooing works for me bc my hair is so dry. I dont ever get greasy. Alot of people on MDC use apple cider vinegar instead of shampoo to get rid of the grease.

[GreyhoundsRUs]

Re: How often do you wash your hair?

I wash my hair every other day - but now that it is short (I got 11 inches cut after our wedding) it doesn't look that good on day 2 - it gets really limp and seems to have lost all its body...

I just can't bring myself to wash it every day...

[DCJenn]

Re: How often do you wash your hair?

Kelly-

I think fine hair has it's own issues and add to that your running...you're an every day shampoo kinda girl.

and FWIW, I actually went to the gym on my lunch hour. I did 45 minutes on the elliptical machine. If I hadn't showered afterwards (in COLD water to try to cool off faster) I think they would have had me hospitalized for hot flashes or something. I was my normal sweaty, red-faced stinky self. Maybe the people who can throw powder in the their hair after the gym are going to gentle yoga classes or something.

Jenn

[houseelf]

Re: How often do you wash your hair?

and FWIW, I actually went to the gym on my lunch hour. I did 45 minutes on the elliptical machine. If I hadn't showered afterwards (in COLD water to try to cool off faster) I think they would have had me hospitalized for hot flashes or something. I was my normal sweaty, red-faced stinky self. Maybe the people who can throw powder in the their hair after the gym are going to gentle yoga classes or something.

Oh I had to at least wet down my hair when I did a lunch hour run. I always looked HAWT after lunch runs (j/k). You know these women who never break a sweat no matter what and always look somewhat composed? So not me. I'm kind of the opposite of that. My hair is typically wringing wet after a long run. Sadly, my kids are the same way. We're the gross sweaty types. Yuck.

Kelly

Re: How often do you wash your hair?

First of all, I love this thread. Thanks for starting it! I shared the curly girl website with Bryn and she has started trying some of these tips. Her hair is less tangly the day of showering for a day afterwards but then it is back to the tangles. I'm thinking I will have her try rinsing and conditioning and not shampooing to see if that helps and then maybe shampoo once a week or less if it works.

Kelly -- I was rethinking what I said before. I think my hair and scalp have changed a bit since washing every other day for the last year or so. I have fine hair too that easily goes blah. I would say I have a few extra hours now before it gets gross. I think it looks good through early evening of the second no-wash day. I also tried the rinse and condition and it looked good once but not doing that twice. I like skipping a day of washing because it takes time to dry so just rinsing doesn't buy me much time unless I air dry. I don't like having a head of wet hair when it is chilly so that might be better this summer. My hairdryer is nearing the end of its little life and the next one I get will have a diffuser. Maybe that will help?

[Vanquisher]

Re: How often do you wash your hair?

So, I tried a product that made me think of this thread. Ever watch infomercials? Well, I saw one on a lonely call night for Wen.

I have used Wen Cleansing Conditioner (Fig) one time to wash my hair, and it is absolutely amazing!!! I love it. My hair is so soft, and suprisingly less frizzy! I'll report back after I have used it for awhile, but so far, so good.

The sales pitch for this product is that it contains no sodium laureth sulfate which strips your hair.

The WEN® Cleansing Conditioner is a
revolutionary new concept in cleansing your hair that has Hollywood buzzing! It’s special because it cleanses hair thoroughly but without lathering and all the harsh ingredients that may be found in ordinary shampoos — it is designed so it won’t strip your hair and scalp of their natural oils. Your hair is left with sheen, moisture, manageability and better color retention.

My hair definitely feels clean. I know these things can change over multiple uses, so we'll see.

Oh, and I got it on QVC.com, so I didn't have to sign up for the continuous shipments, and it was cheaper than it was selling for on eBay.

Re: How often do you wash your hair?

I am other. I have not washed my hair since December. I am not kidding. I have thin but curly hair and I have the world's driest hair, it NEVER gets greasy ever. I just use conditioner. Since I stopped, my natural curl is back, and I feel like my hair looks so much better.

I'm an every day person (especially necessary with this pregnancy - why is my hair SO much more oily???).

But - my older sister has very curly hair and lives in an arid climate. One time when she came for a visit she told me she hadn't used shampoo on her hair for a YEAR. I sort of chalked it up to the fact that she's extra crunchy. But her hair did look great, and apparently it's not that uncommon for super-curly hair. :huh: (Mine is wavy and thin-stranded, but plenty of it).

[spotty_dog]

Re: How often do you wash your hair?

So, I tried a product that made me think of this thread. Ever watch infomercials? Well, I saw one on a lonely call night for Wen.

I totally watched that infomercial, start to finish, a few weeks ago when I was up at 5am with the boy! I know my favorite knitblogger has been using Wen for months and is really happy with it. I prefer not to use silicone products so I haven't gone in for a trial but I'm still kinda tempted. Sounds like it smells heavenly too.

Some people claim to get the equivalent results with cheap drugstore Suave and VO5 conditioners, but I don't like the way those smell.

My best SLS-free results have been from shampoo bars (soap based). I'm actually way overdue to buy more, and my hair is suffering for it.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

Re: How often do you wash your hair?

I'm everyday. Or sometimes twice a day.

Between fine hair, being a natural blondie, and marathon training, my hair looks limp 8 hours after I wash it let alone if I left it a day or two.

I try to plan ahead on weekends so if I have something nice to do at night even if it's just making dinner with Max, I just rinse in the AM and deal with the grunge so I can shower and blowdry for evening.

I'm so jealous of girls with actual body in their hair. I guess my hair is a nice color but it has NO volume.