Another article: "Don't shampoo daily"

[jevs]

This was a dirty read.

 

[Christine]

I am a "head sweater" too. Have been since I was a baby. My mom used to tell me head smelled like a wet dog after I'd been out in the heat.

Now, I don't normally just sweat for no reason and constantly have sweat on my head, but if I work out, that's where it starts. Now that I am in menopause it is SO bad. My friend who has never had problem sweating from her head, is having a big issue with it now (in menopause). Headbands during exercise are required for me!

 

[Magpie]

Uh, YES my scalp sweats...that's crazy that yours doesn't. My hair is practically soaked after a workout. It has always been this way.

I remember being shocked the first time I learned that some people's FEET sweat. Mine don't. In fact, I have to moisturize them every day or they get so dry they crack and peel. I thought the idea of sweaty feet was the weirdest thing ever and was sure all those stories about stinky sneakers were way over exaggerated, because I'd wear my sneakers until they practically fell off my feet and they never smelled bad.

Then I had a teenage son. His sneakers smell like dead cat.

I think there's a wide variation in how people sweat. I never notice my scalp getting sweaty when I exercise. I just get damp at the back of my neck, so if I pin my hair up it's fine.

 

[Canooknic]

I wash my hair when it needs it - most days in the summer (or at least rinse it in the shower) and 2-3 times a week in the winter (unless I've been skiing and wearing a helmet/toque all day)

I stopped bathing my son every day when he was about 4 weeks old and his eczema disappeared in a matter of days, I suggested it to my SIL for my nephew and it works for him too.
My boys are 8 now so they shower when they need it - more in the summer than winter, and I spend a fortune moisturizing one of them because if I don't his eczema starts to make a reappearance

 

[DLgal]

I remember being shocked the first time I learned that some people's FEET sweat. Mine don't. In fact, I have to moisturize them every day or they get so dry they crack and peel. I thought the idea of sweaty feet was the weirdest thing ever and was sure all those stories about stinky sneakers were way over exaggerated, because I'd wear my sneakers until they practically fell off my feet and they never smelled bad.

Then I had a teenage son. His sneakers smell like dead cat.

I think there's a wide variation in how people sweat. I never notice my scalp getting sweaty when I exercise. I just get damp at the back of my neck, so if I pin my hair up it's fine.

My feet sweat too. I guess I am just a sweaty person.

 

[scrhsa]

I shampoo about once a week and my hair (which is long, mostly straight and medium-to-thick) has never been happier. The last time I tried shampooing every second day (while on vacation at Disney, as it happens), my hair got disgustingly greasy and heavy, even though I spent increasingly longer times in the shower trying to rinse all the shampoo and conditioner out. It was awful, took a couple of weeks to fix, and I swore never again!

My hair just wants to be brushed a few times a day and left alone the rest of the time. I pin it up if I want to shower without washing my hair. I even once went two weeks without shampooing (while on training maneuvers with the military) and my hair was no worse for wear - I simply braided it every day. Though I was glad, in the end, to finally get all the twigs and leaf litter out.

I think different people have different hair needs. If you're happy with shampooing every day and your hair seems to be behaving itself, why not stick with what works?

Long hair that is pulled back doesn't get as oily as short hair. The more the follicles move around the more oil is produced.When I had long hair and kept it braided( especially at night) I could go a day between shampoos. Now...no way. Even if it happens to look half way decent I can't take the unwashed smell. I also have noticed that bleaching/lightening hair helps it to not be oily.

 

[lesliekatya]

I would love to skip a day here and there. I went a whole year doing conditioner washing (shampoo only once a week). My hair was silky, but my scalp was still oily. It never got to the point where I could skip even a day. Now I'm back to shampooing every day. I've been sulfate free for the last 3 years.

 

[MrsDuck]

I wash my hair once a week. I have LOTS of fine, dry hair, though. It's important to know your hair type before shampooing considerably less, no matter what anyone says! Yes, your hair will adjust but if you naturally are oily, it may not be for you.

I use dry shampoo towards the end of the week to absorb some oil. I'm very lucky to get away with only washing 1x - my hair takes forever to dry and I'm lazy!

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Every three days or so for my limp hair. It takes a while to adjust. If you shampoo daily, you'll get majorly greasy once you try to go longer.

 

[SugarRush]

Every three days or so for my limp hair. It takes a while to adjust. If you shampoo daily, you'll get majorly greasy once you try to go longer.

Does it settle eventually? I give up after 2 weeks of trying to go every other day

 

[dotfurio]

I don't think I could ever train my hair to go without washing. It's very fine and thin. Most days it's limp and starting to look oily by bedtime. If I don't wash it everyday it looks awful.

 

[klacey1]

I used to wash my hair approximately every other day, sometimes multiple days in a row if I wanted to change styles (aka on Day 1 I air dry it and scrunch with mousse and then on Day 2 I want to blow it straight). But about two years ago I went blonde and it's made my hair very dry. I'll shampoo 2-3 days a week and on most other days I'll just wet it and condition the ends. Sometimes, if I style it with heat (aka blow out or curl it with a curling wand), I'll skip wetting it the next day and just spray it with heat protectant and touch it up with whatever applicable hot tool.
I work out almost every day and no, my hair or scalp doesn't smell bad. Water cleanses it enough after exercise. I won't work out on days that I style my hair and plan to keep the style the next day.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Does it settle eventually? I give up after 2 weeks of trying to go every other day

Yes. I used to shampoo daily and of course, I was in need of a shampoo every day. My hair looked awful and worse it felt itchy and terrible. Now it doesn't feel itchy really at all and it looks fine for a few days. I have fine, limp hair. I find that it looks better when I work out. It gets more volume. I don't know how long it took to "train" my hair but it was definitely longer than two weeks. I think it was a gradual thing for me, first I started out every other day then after a few weeks of that stretched it out even more. On our recent camping trip/beach vacation, I think I shampooed twice in ten days. I never felt itchy or oily at all.

My husband, OTOH, is a daily shampooer and he's the one with the awful oily hair and itchy head all the time, not me.

 

[Skippy918]

I use shampoo and conditioner daily. I've tried skipping a day here and there, but when I woke up in the morning my hair was oily and limp and I ended up washing it anyway. I don't like the smelly scalp either.

 

[maxaroni]

Add me to the needing to wash daily. I always have had oily skin/hair, although, at 60 not as bad as my teens. I do use some product in my hair, but even if I didn't it just feels awful not washing it daily. My head (and feet!) sweat, along with oiliness just makes me feel gross. When I've been stuck a few times and not washed it, for one reason or another, it looks like it was not washed. I do not feel good about myself as I feel cruddy. Now, if it is true that your hair adjusts, could I not wash for a week? I still doubt it.

 

[ronandannette]

Mine needs to be blow-dried with a ton of product to be styled properly (short, very textured look). I wash it every third day; on the in-between days I just sort of scrunch it back up with a little water and some more hairspray. It's not super-touchable but it looks OK.

 

[TavieP]

I've shampooed once a week (twice in the summer if it's humid out, or after swimming as needed) my whole life and I've never had any complaints. My hair is very very long, medium thick and I wear it in a ponytail or bun most days.

Everyone's hair has different needs. You just know when your hair needs washing, y'know?

 

[ols386]

I couldn't stand to not shampoo my hair everyday, because it is so oily.

 

[TCRAIG]

I have very oily hair. I wash my hair every night - sleep with it wet...I don't even own a hair dryer...and I don't use conditioner. I have long waist length - baby fine - super soft - dark brown hair. I don't color it since there's hardly any grey (gray) and I'm over 60! If I'm going out somewhere - I'll wash it twice a day -
If I don't wash my hair and go to bed with it wet - I can't sleep - and I'll wake up with a headache...it will also be so limp and oily and stringy - even putting it back in a pony won't help...
Back in my teens - when I was swimming at the Y every day - I used to use dishwashing solution instead of shampoo - maybe that's why my hair is still brown??

 

[MataHari22]

My hair gets way too dry if I shampoo it every day. So I do it every other and the days I don't, I rinse throroughly and condition.