How come some people get away with washing so infrequently?

[Guyaneek]

Maybe it's the low manipulation that works in their benefit?
My hair can deal with manipulation but can't deal with the dryness that comes along with infrequent washing (for me)
I also think certain hair types are fundamentally less dry so can deal with infrequent washing...JMO

I agree concerning my own hair. I've tried comparing my hair to my WL friend who seldom washes but I get breakage after about a week of not washing.

 

[Solitude]

I don't know, but now that I have gotten used to washing frequently, it's like I can't go back. My scalp itches after 4 days, and it's terrible if I wait a week. I think if I were to go back to "greasing" my scalp, that would help, but cleansing my scalp frequently is how I got rid of dandruff when I first joined LHCF.

 

[lilyofthenile]

I find that I only wash my hair with shampoo once a month because my hair doesn't really get dirty at all. I'm not very physically active and the products which I use doesn't block my pores etc, they tend to be very natural and based on aloe vera juice and rose (which I think is the contributer to keeping my scalp fresh and clean?).

 

[Britt]

I remember not washing my hair often growing up. That's when I had bad dandruff. My hair was really thick and pretty healthy.. but yuck! When I was a teenager I'd wash every 2wks and thought that was good. Then I progressed on to washing 1x/week. I think I was prob immune to the smell from my head when I washed my hair less frequently. It's not a stinky stinky smell perse, but an odor is def there. I realize by the 4th day of water not hitting my scalp, my scalp def does not feel as fresh/clean. If I workout, forget it... no way I could go days on end w/o washing/co-washing.

 

[Dommo]

Infrequent washing might work for some on the "actual hair" but that scalp is suffering and smelling. People who are used to this are "immune" to their odor after a while. Coming from someone who's worked in a salon and does freelance styling, it will stink. I've had to tell people on too many occasions and you couldn't believe the names I was called or the people who stormed out or just blatantly didn't believe me.

When I first started going to my weave stylist, she always said how good my scalp smelled and how people will come to her and she would have to hold her breathe and sanitize her hands. If she'd offer to wash their hair, they'd refuse saying the old wives tales "dirt makes my hair grow".

All in all, if people like to go a long time without washing their hair, that's fine but don't go to salon and make other people suffer. Its like going for a massage and not taking a shower first. Rant over

 

[pookaloo83]

Infrequent washing might work for some on the "actual hair" but that scalp is suffering and smelling. People who are used to this are "immune" to their odor after a while. Coming from someone who's worked in a salon and does freelance styling, it will stink. I've had to tell people on too many occasions and you couldn't believe the names I was called or the people who stormed out or just blatantly didn't believe me.

When I first started going to my weave stylist, she always said how good my scalp smelled and how people will come to her and she would have to hold her breathe and sanitize her hands. If she'd offer to wash their hair, they'd refuse saying the old wives tales "dirt makes my hair grow".

All in all, if people like to go a long time without washing their hair, that's fine but don't go to salon and make other people suffer. Its like going for a massage and not taking a shower first. Rant over

 

[sajjy]

I've read that hair has self cleaning abilities. Many people on the web conducted experiments were they refrained from washing their hair up to 6 months. One Caucasian women who grew up washing her hair once every day (and thought any other hair washing regime unhygienic) reported positive results after the 6month period was over. The first week hair became slick but not overly greasy, second week leaning toward the greasy side and the 3rd, 4th and 5th week was horribly itchy,smelly, greasy and etc. Once this initially month was over hair hair improved in textured, color and length. She reported getting compliments all over the place the following months of the experiment.
Her hair no longer smelled but it was glossy, full of body and beautiful in health.

Some scientific explanations were that the natural oils when washed to frequently over compensate causing the hair to become excessively oily. The sebum is trying to find its equilibrium, its natural balance. Once it does sebum is produced as necessary.

I'm thinking about conducting this experiment on myself. Like many of you mentioned as a child my hair wasn't washed frequently yet was in great health. Just like many beast of the wild they are clean but do not shampoo. My great-grandmother was raised in an era before shampoo was invented and had lovely hair! the question should be why was shampoo invented? and there are specific reasons? The research on this topic has been quite captivating.

 

[meesch]

Frequent hair washing nearly caused me to go bald.

 

[Inspiired]

Frequent hair washing nearly caused me to go bald.

meesch - did you use sulfate-free shampoos?

 

[meesch]

Nope. I used a couple of shampoos... I was mostly using that Giovanni something or other triple silk at the time. But I don't think it had anything to do with the shampoo. My hair is just too fragile for that.

 

[Evolving78]

i wash my hair frequently because i sweat, use product, and i have combination skin, was well as eczema . i would have major problems if didn't wash at least once a week. i have always washed my hair at least once a week or more.

i don't wait until my hair smells bad, or i start to have a reaction to decide when i wash my hair.

 

[SimJam]

yep its one of those things that vary person to person.

my cousin washes her hair like every 2 months or so, shes haturl and works out everyd day. when she told me I nearly fell out, mainly because I had just complemented her on her hair. All the does is spritz reapply product shake and go.

I cant do that I tried braids YEARS ago and even though I washed I just didint feel like my scalp was clean and I smelled like a wet dog.

I have to get that clean scalp feeling atleast once per week, I can push it to 2 weeks if I co-wash. But as a natural, cowashing doesnt make me feel clean (even thoug when I was relaxed i would go months jsut co-washing) go figure

 

[meesch]

i think the frequency of washing may be correlated to length just judging by the responses in this thread

 

[Evolving78]

i think the frequency of washing may be correlated to length just judging by the responses in this thread

what do you mean? like correlated to length in a positive way, or negative?

 

[candy626]

I'm not knocking anybody on this board but for me hair has to be washed/cowashed regularly for hygeinic purposes. It, like everything else on the body can get dirty and needs to be groomed and cleaned regularly (in my world, that is). Even if regular shampoo isn't used, I feel like hair should at least get cowashed or rinsed biweekly.

I used to wait 10-14 back in the day when I frequented salons, but these days I wash 1-2x a week with shampoo, and rinse or cowash in between. I realized though my hair itself is dry my scalp leans towards being oily, so me regular washing is essential for a healthy scalp.

 

[greenandchic]

I think I need to wash...actually shampoo my hair more often due to possible DHT related shedding, especially if I need to use a special shampoo.

In terms of the woman going six months without washing...IDK. Environmental pollutants is enough for me to wast to wash at least weekly. I assume she didn't use products either.

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[candy626]

All in all, if people like to go a long time without washing their hair, that's fine but don't go to salon and make other people suffer. Its like going for a massage and not taking a shower first. Rant over

This is too funny. I am also very skeptical of people who say their scalp doesn't stink after not washing for months. I mean c'mon.

That's like when I hear people say they feel like they don't need to shower daily. Huh? Anybody whose been through puberty needs to shower daily.

Gaining length is not more important then general hygeine at the end of the day. For goodness sakes...

 

[Qtee]

My scalp will hate me if I go longer than a week to wash my hair...it will become itchy and sore..I luv the way freshly washed hair feels and smells...I wet my hair daily and wash it once a week with shampoo and conditioner..my scalp also hates cowashing..


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[yorkpatties]

Gaining length is not more important then general hygeine at the end of the day. For goodness sakes...

Thank you SO MUCH for saying this! Just because you're not using your scalp to turn doorknobs doesn't mean it doesn't get dirty. I don't use my face to shake hands with, but it's still getting washed 2x a day!

 

[Ogoma]

When I workout I sweat so much, and from my scalp especially, I cannot imagine walking around without at least rinsing that out. I used to shampoo my hair 2x a week when I had relaxed hair for this reason. One of the pros of going natural for me was my desire to rinse the sweat from my hair and scalp more frequently. I "co-wash" (really water wash my scalp and use a conditioner on the length of my hair) almost every day and cleanse 1x a week.

I think people tend to do whatever fits their lifestyle. I don't think frequent washing should hinder retention if a person makes the necessary adjustment for their hair texture/elasticity etc.

 

[discodumpling]

My scalp & hair dictate my wash & DC schedule. I find that going longer than 3 or 4 days without at least a water only rinse is asking for a dry irritated scalp.

 

[kellistarr]

I subscribe to the everyone's hair is different approach. As a young girl, my mother started to have some serious issues, more mental than lazy and she washed my hair very infrequently but continued to do things like oil my scalp. She didn't manipulate my hair much, just brushed a bit and parts of my hair became dreds. My hair continued to grow and nothing major happened to it.

Eventually, I got the dreds cut off, therefore, losing quite a bit of hair. So, I guess it depends on what infrequent means. I think in my case, I fell into the "never getting washed" category. I don't think much would happen if I went for a month without washing, aside from itchiness and mega shedded hair.

 

[meesch]

That's like when I hear people say they feel like they don't need to shower daily. Huh? Anybody whose been through puberty needs to shower daily.

Actually, as humans we don't need to shower daily. Our constant bathing rituals remove layers of skin that we need to protect against a lot of germs and bacterias, and we would be healthier if we bathed every other day for example. Now I'm not advocating skipping showers and/or stinking, but people go so hard for societal norms and just accepting what they know to be the holy grail truth without ever being exposed to contradicting evidence which is why people need to do whatever suits them instead of weighing every decision in the court of public opinion.

 

[Bublin]

kellistarr your banded pony is as thick as my arm!...gorgeous.

On Topic: Shampooing my scalp once or even twice a week with a sulphate free poo has done the world of good for my scalp. I have always suffered from an awful thick build up on my scalp and i have finally realised it needs washing often with a shampoo (co-washing/rubbing condish in my scalp made the issue worse).
I'm not sure what that build up was/is all about but like @greenandchic mentions i think i too have a DHT issue.

 

[Triniwegian]

If it works for you fine. However, I found out that one of my biggest problems WAS infrequent washing. My scalp reacts by breaking out and forming crusty sections. I never made the connection until I stopped with the oft repeated "don't wash your hair so frequently" mantra and stuck with once a week or more. When my scalp thrived, my hair flourished.

Ditto, I was doing that too, thinking I would eventually get rid of the scab-like crust on my scalp by infrequent washing, but it wasn't until I started cleansing my scalp more frequently that my problem went away. I wish I could go at least 4 weeks without shampooing since my hair is getting bigger and more labor intensive.

 

[Triniwegian]

I will add that by washing I mean shampooing. I co-was daily, always have.
I do agree that not cleansing or rinsing your hair/scalp for weeks and months is unhygienic.

 

[LovelyNaps26]

i thought i was an infrequent washer. now, i only wash every 2 weeks. every 3 or 4 months i mean even if your hair does fine just for the sake of hygiene rinse it at least once a month. heck, at least get caught out in a rainstorm

 

[Lucia]

If it works for you fine. However, I found out that one of my biggest problems WAS infrequent washing. My scalp reacts by breaking out and forming crusty sections. I never made the connection until I stopped with the oft repeated "don't wash your hair so frequently" mantra and stuck with once a week or more. When my scalp thrived, my hair flourished.

I had scalp issues too flaky itching bumps I didnt wash frequently because I wanted to keep my hair straight for 2-3 weeks at a time wihout having to do the whole wash dry iron process weekly but when I was a kid my mom DC shampood and conditioned my hair weekly so I don't know what I was thinking.

When I use to wear braids, I would only wash my hair when I removed them which was every three months. I would occassionally rinse my head. My hair didn't really smell but I hardly put anything on my scalp. I think that if the scalp (no oils) is left alone then there is no need for frequent washing.

Thats only if you have dry scalp if you have oily scalp or sweat alot on your head then you have to rinse at least Weekly or risk smelling or having scalp issues

 

[cheryl26]

I have to wash my hair every day or every other day not just b/c it gets oily but I venture out of the home sometimes and I think people forget about pollutants/dusts/etc in the air that attach to your hair/body/clothes. I prefer to be clean everywhere.....

 

[Meemee6223]

I've been on my hhj for about 5 months. I am transitioning and at this point I don't know what to do with it. It's extremely.....fluffy and thick? I don't know if I should wash more or less often. I really hate to deal with my hair at all. I almost grabbed a perm just so it would be more manageable but I don't want all this work to have been for nothing. To answer the question, I fight to wash my hair once a week on average...

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