Are you currently experiencing hair loss? Read on for a few tips to help figure out what your best hair washing schedule might look like.
In recent years there has been a hair movement to try and lengthen the amount of time you can go without washing your hair. And while for some people, extending the washing period can do wonders for their hair health, shampooing is there for a good reason - the health of your scalp, so you need to find a good balance that works for your lifestyle and hair type.
If you wash too much, your strands will become dry and brittle and all of the natural oils will be stripped from your scalp. But, wash too little and you can have oil and product build-up that can make your hair look like a grease ball, clog your scalp follicles, or irritate your scalp to the point where you experience hair loss.
(Are you currently experiencing hair loss? Switching up your washing schedule can only do so much. Have a free online visit with our doctors today to see if a hair loss prescription is a good option for you.)
Read on for a few tips to help figure out what your best hair washing schedule might look like.
If you have fine, thin, stick-straight hair, the natural oils called sebum will find their ways down the strands much quicker than other hair types. Also, thin hair can be weighed down by oils much quicker than thicker hair, making this hair type the one that needs to be washed the most - maybe every 1-2 days.
Thick, curly, and textured hair tends to be able to hold out much longer between washes, since it takes long for that scalp oil to work its way down with these hair types. For thicker and textured hair, waiting 3-7 days between washes is normally completely doable.
Another factor that goes into how often you can want to wash your hair is how often you work out. Sweat from your workout can work its way into your hair, drying it out with salt, adding grease, and potentially making it smell worse.
Try to sync your hair washing days with your workout days, or at the very least save your hair washing for after the workout to avoid the stripping double wash. And since working out is great for your health, don’t cut out workouts simply for the sake of your hair, but try out hair wash extending trick like a water-only rinse, dry shampoo, or working out in an air-conditioned gym.
If your scalp starts feeling irritated, itchy, or has a thick built-up layer of oil and product, you are going too long without washing. Shampooing is almost more for the health of your scalp than your hair, so if you are stretching your washes too far, your scalp will let you know about it.
Alternately, if you have a constantly dry, flaky, tight feeling scalp, you may be stripping off too many of those protective and hydrating oils by washing too often. Pay attention to how your scalp feels in addition to how your hair looks to help you find the best washing schedule.
Different hair types get oily faster or slower, plus everyone has a different rate of scalp sebum production. If oiliness has never been a problem for you, you can probably stretch your washes out for a while, but try to not go longer than a week to keep your scalp happy.
But, if your hair is dripping in grease after day 2, you can maybe buy a day with a dry shampoo, but there may not be much that you can do to stretch your washes out any further.
Bottom line: the more hair products you use, the more often you will need to wash your hair to keep them from building up on your scalp.
If you are dead set on trying to stretch out your washes, you may want to look into paring down your hair products and go with a more natural low product look.
Many factors go into how often you should wash your hair including your hair type, your hair density, how much oil your scalp produces, how often you work out, and if you use hair products.
Pay attention to how your scalp feels and when your hair “feels” oily or dirty to figure out what schedule works best for you.
In general, you want to aim for washing every 2-7 days, but try to not go any longer than a week to keep your scalp healthy.
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