How often should I wash my hair?

One of the most common questions I get is “How often should I be washing my hair?” because there is so many different answers online and on social media. The other thing that makes this tough too is exactly how many times a week hair should be washed does vary based on individual hair type and lifestyle. It is true though that hair should NOT be washed every single day. Personally, I wash my hair usually twice a week but sometimes it is maybe three times. If I’m being honest though sometimes I also only wash it once a week. This took me awhile though to get my hair to this point. I also used to be an every day or almost every day hair washer. It took me a process of training my hair. We will get to the training part later though. First, let’s talk about why hair shouldn’t be washed daily.

The main reason I hear for someone washing their hair daily is that their hair/scalp gets too oily if they don’t wash daily. What many people don’t realize is that washing your hair daily is what is causing it to become so oily. The scalp naturally produces an oil called sebum that protects and hydrates the scalp and hair. So sometimes when you are washing your hair every day the scalp starts producing more sebum because it thinks that it is needed. By not washing your hair every day you are allowing that natural sebum to still do it’s job for your hair and scalp while also letting the scalp not over-produce the amount you need. By even just washing every other day the scalp will product less of the sebum but still enough to help the hair and scalp.

So how can you train the hair to not over produce sebum and get a day or two between washes? You quite literally have to train your hair. I know it sounds silly but it really does work if you have the patience to allow your scalp to get used to not being washed daily. I used to wash my hair every day. I would skip a wash on occasion and use dry shampoo but by training my hair I now can wash my hair usually just twice a week. If you wash daily and want to cut back start by first just washing every other day. Do this for several weeks and you will notice that your scalp will stop producing excess oil and that washing every other day becomes enough. Then you can cut back to washing your hair every third day and so on until your comfortable with your hair health and the amount of oil your scalp produces. This does take patience and at first you may need dry shampoo for the one day in between. Another trick I learned if you are someone who doesn’t like the feel of dry shampoo but don’t want to wash daily is to apply the dry shampoo at night. By applying the dry shampoo and working it in before bed it will absorb more so that in the morning your scalp will be less oily but you also won’t feel the dry shampoo in your hair so much. Another thing that helps you not have to wash daily and not get as oily is make sure you are properly washing you hair. A regular shampoo should suds up when you are washing your hair. A co-wash will not lather but regular shampoos do. If you wash your hair and the shampoo didn’t lather then simply wash it a second time and you should notice it lather and suds up more that second wash. I usually shampoo twice on one of my wash days every week. Because if you are not getting your hair and scalp fully clean then it will become oily/dirty quicker. Over time you will notice you can start to just wash a few times a week or less. Some people do still wash every other day and even that is better than daily. It does take some time and patience, but I can say from personal experience it really is worth it. Training my hair to not wash it daily has really helped me to not get overly oily so quick and it also helps my hair from not getting so dry.

Again, there is no set number for how often everyone should wash their hair. It does vary person to person and also lifestyle. I usually wash twice my hair twice a week. However, sometimes I only need to wash it once and sometimes I need to wash it maybe three times in a week. With that being said though it really is true that it is best if you don’t wash your hair every single day. By trying these tricks with training your hair and using dry shampoo I hope you can also helps your hair and scalp become healthier! By not washing your hair every day you should see your scalp stop producing excess sebum and that your hair won’t get oily/greasy so quick. You also will be allowing that less amount of oil do its job better and giving it some time to protect and nourish your hair and scalp.