How Often Should You Really Be Washing Your Hair?

Wondering how often you should really be washing your hair? You’re not alone. As more and more experts warn of the dangers of over-washing hair, this question has been bouncing around a lot lately, yet many struggle to figure out an answer. If you want to ensure that your hair washing habits are truly beneficial for your mane, read on as Nubi explains how often you really need to be reaching for that shampoo bottle. 

Why Has Hair Washing Come Under the Spotlight?

Shampooing hair used to be something that people just did without putting too much thought into it. Now, however, the whole concept of hair washing has been dragged into the spotlight. It has found itself at the center of many debates, social media trends, and scientific studies, all of which have altered how people approach washing their hair.

While there’s no denying that hair needs to be washed regularly, there’s a fine line between over-washing and under-washing. Over-washing needs to be avoided at all costs. It dries the hair out, strips away natural protection, and leaves strands more prone to damage. The increasing prevalence of this has led to the rise of certain trends, like ‘no-poo’ and ‘co-washing’. However, like what often happens with trends, many people took these to the extreme, cutting back on hair washing to such an extent that under-washing is now being spoken about a lot more too. This can cause product buildup, scalp problems, inflammation, and more, which has led to dermatologists and hair experts warning about how dangerous it can be to blindly follow a new hair-washing trend. 

When it comes down to it, personalizing your hair care routine is a great thing, so long as you’re washing your hair the right amount…

Figuring Out How Often You Should Be Washing Your Hair

The reason why hair washing frequency is such a contentious topic is that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to how often you should be washing your hair. Instead, that magic number depends on several factors that need to be taken into consideration:

Start With Your Hair Type and Length

Your hair type should influence every hair care decision you make, including how often you wash your hair. Essentially, the curlier your hair is, the less you should be washing it. Why? Because it takes a while for the sebum produced by the scalp to travel down to the ends of the hair. This applies to all hair types, but with curly hair, that sebum has to navigate around all of those bends and kinks. This means that it takes even longer, and you should also be waiting longer between washing your hair.

That journey is extended even more if your hair is long. This is why dry ends, which over-washing can cause, are so common in longer lengths.

Consider Your Environment

First, let’s talk about humidity. If you live in a dry environment, your hair will have to deal with more moisture loss than it would if you lived in a humid environment. With shampoos notorious for removing moisture from the hair, a dry environment would call for less hair washing than a humid environment. 

How polluted your environment is plays into things too. It goes without saying that if you’re surrounded by heavy pollution all day, every day, you’ll need to wash your hair more often than someone who isn’t regularly exposed to all of those toxins and impurities. 

Take Into Account the Hair Products You Use

Some people use very few hair care products. They wash and condition their mane, and then leave it at that. This means that they’re unlikely to have to deal with product buildup. 

Others, however, make full use of the many wonderful hair products out there. From leave-in conditioners to heat protectants to hair serums, these products, when used correctly, can make a huge difference to a person’s hair. However, they also contribute to product buildup. Over time, this will leave your hair looking dull, limp, and unmanageable. The more products you use, the faster this will happen, meaning the more often you’ll need to wash your hair.

Your Activity Levels Make a Difference

Usually, people who are active sweat a lot more than those who live sedentary lifestyles. However, it’s not just the skin on your face and body that sweats – your scalp sweats too. If this builds up, it will lead to clogged hair follicles, scalp irritation, and other problems you don’t want to be dealing with. 

As a result, if you’re a very active person who sweats more than average, you’ll likely need to wash your hair more than average. Yes, this can cause issues for your strands, but keep reading as we’ll soon be explaining how to keep this damage to a minimum.

Age Matters

People often don’t take their age into account when planning their hair care routine. However, it matters more than you’d realize…

As you grow older, your oil glands become less active. This means that less sebum is produced by your scalp, making it harder for your hair to stay naturally moisturized. Since you don’t want to keep clearing away those precious sebum reserves, it’s best to cut back on how often you’re washing your hair as you progress through life. 

Damage Takes a Toll

It’s so easy for the hair and scalp to end up damaged. When this happens, it needs all of the protection it can get, which is what sebum provides. If you wash your hair too often, you’ll only exacerbate that damage, making it harder to fix. 

Choosing the Right Shampoo

In addition to making sure that you’re washing your hair the right amount, ensuring that you’re using the right shampoo is also crucial. After all, even if you’ve managed to strike the perfect hair washing frequency for your locks, this won’t make a difference if you’re using an overly aggressive shampoo. You’ll still end up dealing with the symptoms of over-washing.

Again, all of the above factors need to be kept in mind when choosing a shampoo. Pick a formula that not only caters to your hair type/health, but also takes your lifestyle habits into consideration. 

Perfecting Your Shampooing Technique

In order for your shampoo to be as effective as possible, you need to perfect your hair washing technique. It’s easy to make little mistakes that end up interfering with how well your shampoo is able to function. 

Start by ensuring that your hair is thoroughly wet. Use warm water for this. The warmth plus the wetness will help to encourage the cleansing action of your shampoo. Then, massage a small amount of shampoo onto your scalp. Keep your shampoo focused here – shampooing the mid-lengths or ends of your hair will only lead to damage. The lather created by your shampoo will run down your hair shaft and this will provide enough of a cleanse. After about 30 seconds, rinse your shampoo off. 

After-Care is Crucial

As soon as you’ve finished rinsing off your shampoo, you’ll need to follow up with a conditioner. This is essential for restoring some of the moisture and oils that your shampoo has just removed. A conditioner will also help to seal your hair cuticles, giving your mane a smoother and silkier finish. 

If you’d like to take this even further, consider adding a hair mask or a leave-in conditioner to your hair care routine as well.

How to Cut Back on Shampoo Usage Without Under-Washing Your Hair

What should you do if you need to cut back on how often you’re washing your hair, but don’t want to end up under-washing? Here are a few tips:

Buy Time With a Dry Shampoo

While a dry shampoo shouldn’t be a product that you come to fully rely on, they’re great for buying an extra day or two before you next need to shampoo your locks. They work by absorbing oil, so although they don’t actually cleanse your hair, they take away that limp, greasy finish and give the roots a lift.

There are many different types of dry shampoo out there, so pick one that suits your hair type/lifestyle. Sprays and powders are great for oily and fine hair. These light formulas won’t weigh your strands down. On the other hand, dry and curly hair does well with mousse-based dry shampoos. They’re much easier to distribute and help to add some extra moisture. 

Use Fewer Hair Products

While using a dry shampoo is one way to cut back on how often you’re washing your hair, you could also go to the other extreme. Rather than adding yet another product to your hair care routine, try reducing how many you’re using. This way, your hair and scalp won’t be as prone to product buildup, meaning that you won’t need to wash your hair quite so often. 

Try Co-Washing

While co-washing isn’t a trend that everyone should try, dermatologists recommend it for those who are dealing with damaged hair. Shampoos can often slow down the repair process, which is why co-washing became such a hit.

This trend is all about washing your hair with a conditioner, rather than a shampoo. It’s only done every once in a while – when your strands could do with a break, reach for your conditioner on hair wash day instead of your shampoo. Although conditioners won’t clean in the intense way that a shampoo does, they do still have some cleansing agents. They’ll be able to remove some of the dirt and grease from your hair, but without taking away too much of that precious natural protection. 

Summary

Figuring out how often you should be washing your hair usually requires some trial and error. Start with the frequency you’re currently at and determine whether your hair needs to be washed more often or not quite as much. Adjust your schedule as needed, making sure that your hair actually needs to be washed each time you reach for that bottle of shampoo.

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