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I see all time only wash your hair 2 times a week. I'm a natural sweater and with my job I sweat even more. My hair is usually soaking wet at the end of the day. I love how my hair feels when its clean but cant stand it when it feels dirty. I have to wash my hair every other day at min or keep it pulled into a bun to stand it.. how do you all only wash it 2 times a week..
Hi MikeP,
I wash my hair every day, but only use shampoo 3 times per week. I do not work a daily job anymore so can get away with this. I think a lot of people with longer (shoulder-length and below) probably only use shampoo on their scalp and avoid the ends. With conditioner you can do the whole length of the hair. I guess since you obviously have a job where you sweat a lot these methods cannot work for you. I am sure you will get far more informative responses here.
Ted
I must say I also have that problem as well. But once the weekend hits well I don't waste it. Then monday five days a week again.
I think what you're missing is that many of us only *shampoo* maybe once or twice a week, but will rinse it with conditioner in the time between. I thought I needed daily shampooing, but eventually I found that unless I actually got something in my hair at work I really only needed to shampoo about once a week or so. Less shampooing lead to my hair feeling a lot less dry on the ends and looking healthier overall.
One thing you need to realize is that you can't just go from daily shampooing to weekly shampooing in one fell swoop. Your scalp produces a lot of oil to try to replace what is being shampooed off each day, so you'll have to gradually extend the period between shampooing to give your scalp time to adjust. Rush it and you'll end up with that greasy feeling you dislike. When you do the rinse with conditioner only, use plenty of it to help float off the excess oil and dirt. And when you do shampoo, try to apply it directly only to your scalp, allowing only the resulting suds to reach the ends.
If I've forgotten anything I'm sure others will chime in.
--Dale
Dale's Facebook Page
Hey! I think, you shouldn't worry too much about this. We all are pretty different, our hair and our skin is different.
My skin is also sweaty enough. That's why I have to wash my hair no less than every other day. Otherwise it looks extremely greasy! With a shorter hair I had to wash my hair even more often - simply every day.
Right now I'm trying to shampoo only my scalp (as it's usually way more oily than hair ends), and have conditioner (only to the ends) after that. I think, it works pretty well for me.
Serge.
Or do a water rinse in place of shampoo sometimes.
Washing every day does no harm whatever. Many old wives tales are told and stories of various alleged problems but do not fear it.
Hm. Are you completely sure? What about all those stories and arguments about natural oils etc?
I'm really wondering cause my scalp is oily enough. The grease near the scalp (at the top) appears (I mean, starts being noticeable) just the next day after washing, and the hair overall starts looking greasy in some days, I suppose.
And sometimes I really think of my perspectives :)
Thanks!
Serge.
I wash my hair with shampoo every day. I have a very oil scalp and very thin and fine hair, so skipping a day makes it look really terrible. Kind of like draping a few shoelaces over a coconut.
I haven't had a problem as long as I keep my ends well conditioned and handle the hair gently.
When I get greasy hair but don't want to wash it, I massage baby powder onto my scalp and some on a hairbrush before I brush my hair. It takes the shine away and makes your hair look cleaner than it is. The "wash with conditioner only" thing that other people have suggested doesn't work for everyone; I've tried it and it just leaves my hair looking and feeling greasier than before.
Humans and their scalp and hair vary a lot. What works for one person may not for someone else. But here is my own situation ...
CONDITION:
My hair is fine and wavy. My scalp, like the rest of my body, does not sweat a lot. My job is in an office - so that also helps to limit sweat on most days. But even if I exercise I do not produce excessive sweat.
ROUTINE:
When I had short hair I had to shampoo far more often than I do now. The scalp produces sebum, a natural oil that keeps hair and skin supple and moist. If the hair is cut short, the sebum has nowhere to distribute itself and so tends to simply cling to the scalp and what little hair there is. If the hair is allowed to grow to a more natural length, the sebum can do what it is meant to do and distributes itself far more thinly and evenly. Thus it takes much longer for the hair to become "oily".
Now I have long hair, I shampoo about once a week. On other days, I simply wash my hair with water.
Shampoo strips the hair of sebum. That's great if you want to stop your hair feeling oily but it also makes your hair lifeless. My fine hair has zero volume after a shampoo. The conditioner artificially replaces some of the lost oil but even using "volumising" shampoo and conditioner doesn't give my hair much volume. (Indeed, "volumising shampoo" is a contradiction in terms; it is the shampoo that in fact destroys the volume in the first place.)
Two or three days after the shampoo, my hair suddenly comes back to life - like a phoenix from the ashes! It has tons of volume and looks great. That is because my scalp has had time to replenish the sebum again. And natural sebum can do what no amount of artificial "volumising" shampoo and conditioner can do.
But, as I said, everyone is different. ;)
Damon
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Hey I have found the same as you- too much shampoo strips all the life and volume from my fine dry hair. I now use much less shampoo (a pea sized amount)and only lather once.
Regards
Andy
Yeah, me too NOW, Andy. I used to use tons of shampoo until I finally got some common sense and started using only a tiny amount and only lathered once. I have also learnt to shampoo my hair at the beginning of the week so it will look its best by the weekend. Otherwise I look a complete yuck when I'm partying! Timing is a vital art! :)
Damon
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Hi Damon,
That's a pretty good idea! I don't do much partying anymore, but I still want to look good for the weekend! I'll leave the partying to you guys! Party on! Take care my friend!
Ted
I don't do much partying any more. I did alot in college and
drank alot but now adays I rarely drink. I cringe when I think
of how much i drank in college and what I used to drink. But tht was thirty years ago.
I usually use shampoo once a week although if i'm not going anywhere outside of work and home i'll sometimes only condition the hair for several weeks.
When I do shampoo it's only once, I skip the second shampoo.
I use a dry shampoo on scalp to extend time btween washes - use sparingly & only when needed.
Hey MikeP,
It really depends on your scalp. If you produce so much oil then of course you'll have to wash more often. I happen to believe that it is all about training your scalp to produce less sebum. Like with anything that involves "training" it can take as little as three months to many years. Only you know your own scalp and how much it can take. Based on how much you know about your scalp is key in determining a stretching plan that will work with your own scalp.
It took me about four months to adjust because I had the type of scalp that didn't produce that much sebum. I have the type of scalp that dries out easily and flakes easily. Since I've been washing my hair once a week, I've noticed an improvement on my scalp and the production of sebum.
best of luck,
rowie