Sections:
- How Often Should You Wash Your Hair?
- Understanding Different Hair and Scalp Types
- Factors Influencing Hair Washing Frequency
- Daily Hair Washing: Pros and Cons
- Alternatives To How Often Should You Wash Your Hair
- Maintaining Scalp Health
- Finding The Right Product
How Often Should You Wash Your Hair?
A common question that gets asked time and time again is “How Often Should You Wash Your Hair?” The answer is there is no right or wrong answer. It’s finding the right balance between what works for your hair type and your lifestyle. Personally, for me the longer I can drag out how often I should wash my hair the better. Am jealous of those who can go a week without washing and it doesn’t ever look dirty - if they didn’t mention it you would have never guessed.
Understanding Different Hair and Scalp Types:
Like our skin types we all have different hair and scalp types, these include oily, dry, sensitive and combination. I’ve got a great blog here that breaks down different hair types and concerns. Find Out More.
Hair Types comes in 4 categories:
Type 1: Straight
Type 2: Wavy
Type 3: Curly
Type 4: Coily
These are then broken into 3 different subcategories! Totalling 12 different types.
Understanding what hair and scalp type you have will assist you in working out how often you should wash your hair. Over-washing your hair no matter what type of hair is never good, the scalp naturally produces oils (sebum) that help keep the skin moist and form a barrier to protect it from infection. By over-washing and stripping away those natural oils, your scalp will produce more to over-compensate for the loss. This leads to greasy roots and some people may find washing too frequently ends up drying out their scalp.
People with straight hair appear to have greasier hair due to the natural oils running down the shaft of the hairs as there is no texture for the oils to grip onto vs those with Type 3 and 4 Hair (Curly & Coily). The unique structure and characteristics of Type 4 hair make it more prone to dryness and porosity. It's essential for individuals with Type 4 hair to use hydrating and moisturising products, practise gentle handling and styling techniques, and protect their hair from environmental stressors to maintain optimal moisture balance and overall hair health. Shop Washla Hydrating Shampoo Bars. People with Type 4 hair should avoid over-washing due to the drier nature of their hair.
Factors Influencing Hair Washing Frequency:
If your job involves working on a dusty building site or you’re a swimming teacher, you may not have a choice but to wash more frequently to remove build up of the environmental factors around your daily life.
Many of us choose to use different styling products on a daily basis, this leads to the build up of products on the hair and leaves it weighed down and possibly feeling greasy.
Different activity levels also affect how often we should wash our hair and your hair type plays a factor.
Daily Hair Washing: Pros and Cons
Cons:
- Strips Natural Oils
- Dryness and Damage
- Sensitivity and Irritation
- Increased Oil Production
- Time and Effort
- Environmental Factors such as increased water, energy and resources.
Pros:
- Oil Control
- Volume and texture especially for fine hair - hair goes limp after couple days
- Styling Flexibility
- Personal Preference
Alternatives To How Often Should You Wash Your Hair
It’s possible to explore co-washing methods such as using water only or dry shampoo. In all honesty though, using a shampoo bar prolongs the frequency between each washes and you might find you won’t need to use/do anything else in between washes. Shampoo bars contain active ingredients which are concentrated and not diluted with water unlike your conventional bottle shampoos and it should just do the trick.
How often you should wash your hair during different seasons can help maintain hair and scalp health in response to changes in weather, humidity levels, and activity levels.
Maintaining Scalp Health
Protecting the health of your scalp no matter how often you wash your hair should be a priority in order to maintain and sustain a healthy scalp and beautiful hair. Using the right products for your scalp concerns and addressing it early on can prevent it from worsening or continuing.
For example those who suffer from dry and itchy scalps may wish to try Hydrating Shampoo Bars containing Eucalyptus. Take a look.
Eucalyptus is a natural ingredient that contains anti-fungal and antiseptic properties that prevent any yeast-like fungus developing and settling on the scalp; which reduces itching.
A shampoo bar containing Tea Tree helps balance sebum production preventing the build up of oil on the scalp. All this plays a pivotal role in how often you should wash your hair.
Finding The Right Product
Whatever your goals are for your hair and scalp, finding the right shampoo for you depends on ingredients that are necessary for you and your hair type.
If you have oily scalp it’s good to look at citrus ingredients that help cut through grease. If you have dry and damaged hair through bleaching and colouring then a natural ingredient such as Shea Butter is a fantastic moisturiser.
It is also possible to switch up and alternate your shampoo just like you would with creams/serums depending on your skin concerns. So…How Often Should You Wash Your Hair? What works for you may not work for someone else and it's about finding the right balance that suits. Do What Suits You.
