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I have hair that is about shoulder length, kind of wavy, and pretty full. How often should I wash it? Now I wash it every day (one of those shampoo/conditioner combos) and condition it every few days. Is that too often? Would it look less bushy if I cut down? Thanks.
Paul
I've had better luck just rinsing the back of my hair with water and using shampoo/conditioner on the rest. I'll wash the back with shampoo about once/week. Otherwise mine gets too dry. I also use a leave-in conditioner or gel before blow drying.
Paul, my hair is a lot like yours, but just a bit longer. After trying all kinds of stuff, I've found what works best is to wash it every other day in lukewarm water. No shampoo. Just water. I've found the temperature that works best is the coolest one you can set that isn't uncomfortable in any way from the cold. I wash briefly, maybe a minute maximum, with the stream of water strong enough to be very adequate to wet things quickly, but not a torrent or forceful.
I start by washing the oil and dirt out of my ends. Then I wash higher up, such as on the scalp. I massage the scalp to loosen any flakes and more important, fresh oil, which my lower ends need. I do that gently because I don't want my nails to scratch my scalp or damage any hair stands there. I make sure the runoff from the top of my head passes through my ends on its way off my head. This makes sure the fresh oil ends up in the ends, where it is needed.
Running hotter water on your body (not your hair!) before and after washing your hair will greatly decrease the discomfort of having the cooler water briefly on your scalp.
Next I towel dry but briefly. My preference is to leave the oil-water solution in my ends so the oil will be left behind by the eventual evaporation of the water, rather than soaking the water, and the oil with it, out with a towel. So I only dry off the minimum needed to stop dripping.
I'll comb before washing (important to get out tangles while your hair is dry!), immediately afterwards, and then twice more - one hour after washing and two hours afterwards. This assures that the oil gets distributed in the strands and that they dry in the position you want.
If my hair seems particularly dirty I may use shampoo, but I realize that using shampoo will completely destroy all oil that is in my hair or on my scalp at the time of use, so I try to avoid it. I am finding, with careful attention to the above, the need to shampoo is really very rare. And my hair looks and feels greater, day after day, than it ever has!
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try washing it with just water every day when I take my shower and see how that goes. I know from previous experience that it looks better if I don't wash it at all the day before; I'd like to know what happens if I go without for a longer time. Thanks again.