How Often Should You Wash your Hair?
Ah, the age old question, how often should you wash your hair? You’ve probably seen bloggers take up the challenge of no hair washing for a week. These ‘no-poo’ enthusiasts claim that after resisting washing for a week, your sebaceous glands will gradually adjust to the moisture and make less sebum (grease) overtime. But this may not be realistic for everyone…
How often you should wash depends on a variety of factors, the main 3 being hair type, hair texture, and lifestyle.
- Hair Type
DRY
- “Dry hair should be washed a maximum of two times a week using a shampoo with sulphate-free surfactants and high concentration of moisturisers (glycerine, sodium PCA) to help mitigate dehydration” (Craig Taylor Creative Director of HARI’s salons)
Tip: If you have a dry scalp induced by winter time, try use a diluted solution of raw organic apple cider vinegar. Mix a 1:1 ratio of apple cider vinegar with water. Pour solution on cotton balls or pads and, pat affected areas on the scalp. Let it sit for 10 minutes, and shampoo afterwards as usual! Repeat twice a week until the itchy symptoms discontinue. This article outlines the benefits of using ACV.
OILY
- Should be washed every day with a shampoo that has sulphate-free surfactants and no conditioning agents, silicones, oils or pearlising agents.’
NORMAL
- Once or twice a week will suffice!
- Hair Texture
Have you ever noticed how your friend with beautiful thick curly hair seems to wash her hair less? This is because with coarse or curly hair, the oils produced by the scalp can’t easily migrate downwards, which results in a slower spread of sebum. If you have fine, straight hair then it’s more likely you’ll have to shampoo twice a week or more.
- Lifestyle
- Do you abuse heat styling tools? If you style or chemically treat your hair often you should probably skip out on a few washes.
- If you love hitting the gym, try using some dry shampoo before you exercise, which will help prep your hair to absorb sweat during a workout.
Final Verdict
Taking everything into consideration along with your personal preference will give you your final answer. I personally wash my hair every 3 days, and always try to put my hair in a low bun with dry shampoo when my hair starts feeling greasy. I find if I wear my hair in a high ponytail - when I try to take afterwards it’ll be lifeless... leading me with the urge to shampoo.
Overall, over-washing can strip the hair of all the good natural oils. So, with all the factors above considered, you should aim to wash your hair at most every other day and if you can - every 2 to 3 days.
By Phoebe Kut
