One of the big questions in life is how to look after our hair. There are some people who spend hours in front of the mirror applying various products and others who simply put one hand through their hair and are out the door. There are some people who wash their hair every single day and others who wash it once a week. For this article, we will focus on hair washing. How often should you do it and why?
I wish the answer to this question was a simple number and a one-line explanation but it is a little longer than that. The truth is that depending on your hair type and the products that you use, it will change how often you need to wash your hair. For example, if you have hair that is rarely greasy or too dry – most experts agree that you only need to wash your hair every two to three days. Your hair has many natural oils that will keep it healthy and waiting for a few days will allow them to do their job.
If you have curly hair or dry hair then you only need to wash it once a week. Experts say that curls don’t get greasy as much as normal hair so you can last a little longer. People with dry hair should also wait a little longer. This is so they can see the benefits of the oils their hair produces. Waiting a week to wash may give people with dry hair a shine back. Experts also say that brunettes should only wash their hair once a week, anymore could strip the hair of its color.
Some people do need to wash their hair every day. If you live somewhere that has high pollutants, like a busy city then you should wash your hair all the time to rid it of these unwanted chemicals. Similarly, if you have very short hair then you should probably wash it every day too. Those with short hair tend to get greasy looking hair faster because the oils from the top of the head reach the tips faster.
Finally, there are those that use a lot of product. Depending on the type of product you use and which of the brackets you fall into above could change how often you need to wash your hair a lot. This means it will likely be a trial and error process. Experts recommend starting with washing it every other day and seeing how it reacts. Then adjust as you need to.
The key to washing your hair is a good technique. Too often we throw in shampoo and rinse it quickly. The experts tell us that you need to massage the shampoo into your scalp and leave it there for three minutes before rinsing out, then repeat as required. Today there are many people who are slowly moving away from shampoo altogether. If you don’t use products in your hair and don’t suffer from greasy hair then you likely don’t need too many products – what are you hoping to achieve? This has led many people to wash with water only.
Washing with water only is not as crazy as it sounds. As your hair produces natural oils this can keep your hair clean, vibrant, and healthy. If you are interested in trying it you should slowly move away from shampoos. Quitting shampoos in one movement would cause your hair to react badly. The more you wash your hair with shampoo the more you need to in the future so giving up shampoo is a slow process but one that will save you time and money.
There are clearly many different answers to the question – how often should I wash my hair? – and it all depends on what type of hair you have and how it looks on a day-to-day basis. If you follow this simple guide you should get one step closer to the dream hair that you desire.