I’ve received a few emails recently asking about how often a girl should wash her hair. I did a little research and it’s an interesting topic because there really seems to be a big divide in what people recommend.
So, how often should you wash your hair? Personally, I was always taught to shampoo my hair every day. Over the years, however, I’ve learned that daily washing really dries my hair out.
These days, because I get highlights and my hair is damaged, I only shampoo 3 or 4 times a week. This has definitely helped my hair a lot: it’s much less dried out without the constant shampooing and blow drying.
Celebrity hairstylist Ken Paves, who does Eva Longoria and Jessica Simpson’s hair, agrees that you shouldn’t wash your hair every day. According to Oprah.com, Ken says that “certain hair types and textures only require washing once a week, where others work well washing 2 to 3 times a week.”
Thursday’s New York Times style section had an article about hair washing frequency, only to the extreme. Of Course I Washed My Hair Last Year (I’m Almost Certain) talked about how lots of women wash their hair just once a week and some only wash once a month! The average seems to be around 3 times a week. Apparently it’s trendy to spend less time on your hair.
As someone whose hair gets oily after just a few days, I can’t imagine only washing your hair once a month, but maybe it would work well for those with dry hair? The idea does sound tempting – who wouldn’t want to spend less time doing their hair each week? I just don’t know how it would really work for the average woman.
What are your opinions on this? Do you wash your hair every day or do you think once a week is best? Leave a comment and take the poll below! I want to hear what you think!
I wash my hair 2-3 times a week. I think washing it daily is just way too stressful for hair and i don’t even have any spare time to wash each day anyway. But it seems like a lot have ‘greasy’ hair or it smells.
These are just my suggestions but
– If your’e washing it every day…
Try not to watch as much. It may get greasy but you are actually damaging your hair with all those chemicals and it is actually healthier not to wash it. maybe in the week don’t wash it for a couple of days then try in a few days.
for greasy hair…
maybe the shampoo/conditioner just isn’t working for you. You can also try shampoo or other products specified for greasy/damaged hair. I have this product that helps with oily hair which i use on days i don’t wash it- and it works!
For Smelly Hair…
Use nice smelling shampoo i suppose..?
I have had damaged hair before and it is still recovering from when i straighten it. What i’m trying to stick to is- Don’t treat your hair like an accessory treat it like you need to look after it, it is like a flower 🙂 plenty of sunlight but not too much, a lot of water but not so it’s soaked, yeah i don’t know where i was going with this simile thing aha, just pretty much look after your hair 🙂
I try to wash my hair every week but i forget and i end up with dirty hair i am going to wash it tomorrow. I need help too because i have thick hair. plus is it better too have long hair if you have thick hair? i need help.
My hair is curly, thick and really oily, so I wash my hair every three days. In my opinion, washing it every day will just damage it! It isn’t really neccassary.
I wash my hair every 3 days, i’m latino-white mixed and my hair is long, straight and kinda thick, so i’m too lazy to style it myself, so i go to a beauty salon every 2-3 days to have it styled… i don’t even have to re-styled home because if it gets some waves if i tie it up they go away after 20-40 minutes… what gets greasier faster are my bangs so sometimes i just wash them and dry them and that makes the rest of the hair looks wonderful!!
Lizzie: During the summer, use a chemical stripping shampoo once a week. I swim every single day during the summer, and that really really helped a lot!
Ashley: try not washing ur hair at all. it sounds gross but i just rinse my hair out with water and apply conditioner and rub thru like u would a shampoo. ur hair will not b greasy and ur hair will be healthier!!
PLEASE READ!!!!!!!!
Ok so i wash my hair every other day because it tends to get a little greasy.But is there anything that i can do to make my hair softer without damaging it????
Commercial Shampoos and Conditioners are made to be very powerful oil removing chemicals (called surfactants). These surfactants work by making dirt and oil soluble in water — they also make the outer layers of your hair and skin on your scalp dissolve in water. For this reason Shampoos and Conditioners damage your hair and scalp. This damage stimulates oil glands in your scalp to overproduce oil (in a futile attempt to repair the damage).
You could get by without ever washing you hair with surfactant shampoos again. If that sounds gross try using clay based shampoos or making a one to ten dilution of your favorite shampoo in water and wash you hair every few days (you can rinse your hair every day). It will take a few weeks for the oil glands on your scalp to reduce oil production, but your hair will look and feel healthier for it.
Izzy: Try Aveda Light, Elements smoothing fluid, it has lavender so it smells amazing, helps your hair before straightening, and ive been told its keeps away bugs such as lice(ew!)
Lisa: Try Neutrogena Split-End Mender liquid balm, Ive heard its fantastic, also try to keep your hair moisturized and only straighten it when it is completely dry, and try to refrain from blow-drying. Also try Pantene ProV breakage defense.
Alara: Be sure to eat plenty of nutrients, especially Nuts, as these aid in Hair growth and strength. Try to keep your hair un damaged and when possible take a shower without washing your hair. If your hair is greasy and dirty enough to really need that wash, it wont dry out
Discombobulated:You may aso want to try using products ONLY on your tips, since your hair is so long, the oil from your scalp probably isnt reaching those tips!
Lizzie:make sure you are washing the chlorine out of your hair at the end of the say with a chlorine removing shampoo! Chlorine does major damage.
Also, Ya’ll, I’ve noticed that people often think their hair looks and smells worse than it actually is! If you are unsure, ask a friend or someone you trust to tell you the truth.
That’s easy to do for someone who’s hair looks good when they let it dry naturally, sadly some of us aren’t that lucky! I’d love if I didn’t have to spend hours on my hair all the time, and I do use serums, leave-in conditioners, change my shampoos and conditioners every 6months or so, deep condition once a month, and every other special care you can possibly think of! During the summers I never straighten my hair, for one it isn’t worth it cause of how often I’m in the pool, and two my hair is already undergoing a lot of damage no need to add to it. However during our off-season my curly hair takes up a ridiculous amount of gel in order for it to dry naturally which can get pretty expensive and it is kinda nice to straighten it for a change.
I have read alot of the comments on this page and i cant understand why most are complaining about dry hair and then in the same sentence they are saying how much they straighten or bleach their hair? The discussion shouldnt really be about how many times you wash your hair but how many times you use heat to style your hair.. There are alot of good shampoo’s, conditioners and treatments available to help you while you are washing your hair. The trick is to find the one that is designed for your hair type. Also i would reccomend changing your shampoo ever once in a while as your hair can get used to the same thing and it doesnt look as good as the first time you used the one you are currently using!
I reccommend leave in conditioners and shine serums as they can make you hair look alot healthier.
Why dont you try a good quality leave in conditioner and let your hair dry natually? Only use heat styling products when you need to if your “damaged hair is bothering you that much?…
I would always wash my thin straight hair every day because it was so oily. I finally took my hair dresser’s advice and started only washing it every other day. Eventually the grease was not as noticeable. I have bangs and since they look greasy faster, will sometimes just wash the bangs in the morning when washing my face. It gives the illusion of freshly washed hair. Now I go 3 to 5 days between washing my hair and it is much healthier. I don’t use conditioner any longer either, just a natural shampoo and sometimes an oil treatment for my ends. It works great. Oh, and for hiding greasy hair- ponytails and hats always are great options!
arrrrrr i hate my hair it gets really greasy so i wash it bout ever 2-3 days but it also gets really frizzy becasue i use greasy hair shampoo. WHAT SHALL I DO?
I’m Hispanic and I have very long, light blonde -brown (naturally black), super straight (almost Asian like), thick hair. Whew… Anyway, I used to wash my hair every single day, but it being half a foot below my waist, it began to be a real hassle. Well, one day I was just too tired to wash it (I usually wash my hair in the evening) so, feeling bad about it, I skipped a day. Well, since dying my hair lighter-I always had a problem with dryness at the tips of the hair and being terrified of what a salon would do to it, I rarely ever wanted to get it trimmed. I’m pretty scared of salons, I had a friend who went in with nice, pretty hair and came out with the most atrocious mullet looking do ever, poor girl cried her eyes out and terrified me. Well, anyway after I had skipped a day of washing I noticed the tips of my hair weren’t so dry. Now, I had been using those salon “professional grade” shampoos and products, but none had balanced out the oily scalp and the dry tips. Well, now that I had skipped a day, it seemed a whole lot better, so being daring- I skipped another day, and oddly enough, my hair looked even better – not dry, not oily, but nicely balanced. Long story short, I only wash my hair once a week, any more than that and I will have alot of dry hair to deal with. Oh, and I also don’t use styling products AT ALL- I’m unsure of the reason why, but my scalp gets all icky with them, and it doesn’t matter the brand, cheap or expensive my scalp reacts the same way. My hair may be a straight, and sometimes flat- but not oily, dry, or icky.
Actually i dont wash my hair anymore . i just use conditioner and my hair is better than ever. i was skeptical at first but it doesnt get oily or smell. try it!!
Well, it all depends on your hair type and ethnicity. I’m half black, and I only wash my hair once a week. People say “eew, thats nasty” but really, thats only how often I can wash my hair! and it’s nice to be able to skip days flat ironing my hair, considering it takes 2 hours to blow dry and straighten it.