Many people may wonder "how often should I wash my hair?" While there is a lot of information available about how often it’s necessary to wash your hair. In most cases you can define your own schedule based on how often you feel you need to wash in order for your hair to feel clean, but there is some general advice that can help you maintain your hair’s natural strength.
How Often Should I Wash My Hair?
Wash your hair enough rather than too much. Find the balance between keeping the natural sebum on your hair without allowing bacteria to build up on the scalp. This can lead to acne or other irritation of the scalp. The frequency of hair washing is affected by many factors. These include:
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Hair Type | |
|---|---|
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Thick or Greasy Hair |
If your hair is very thick or greasy you can usually wash it every day but without the risk of causing damage. |
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Dry Hair |
People with dry hair may only need to wash their hair a few times each week to keep it clean without rinsing away all of the essential oil necessary to keep their hair healthy. |
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Normal Hair |
Those with normal hair can usually wash their hair whenever it’s convenient based on their schedule and how their hair feels. |
|
Lifestyle | |
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Dry Environment |
If you spend most of your time in a dry environment with air conditioning you will need to wash your hair at least twice a week and apply conditioner to keep your hair from getting too dry. |
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Doing Activities |
People that perform activities that often result in their hair being very oily or dusty will need to at least wash their hair in alternate days to keep it clean. |
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Sweating |
Those that often perform activities that cause them to sweat should wash their hair every day, or at least every day where they wind up very sweaty. |
How Often Should I Use Shampoo?
The amount of times you will need to shampoo and how much shampoo you will need to use varies on your skin type and the condition of your scalp. Some dermatologists believe that you should not shampoo frequently as this causes your body to overproduce sebum as a way to compensate for the oil that is being removed from the skin. Some say that you need to shampoo regularly to prevent this sebum from clogging the pores and causing acne.
1. Shampoo Every Day?
Hair is fibrous so you can cause damage if you wind up shampooing too frequently. In general, the longer, curlier and thicker your hair is, the less you need to wash your hair. These hair types do not transport sebum down the strands of hair as quickly so the more you shampoo the harder it will be to keep your hair in good shape. You only need to make a point of shampooing every day if you have very high sebum content to your hair.
2. Shampoo Every Couple of Days?
People with straight hair tend to have trouble with oil building up, so they should usually shampoo every other day. You can use baby powder or dry shampoos to absorb this extra oil on off days. However, you shouldn’t try to replace regular shampoo with dry shampoo.
3. No Shampoo at All?
If you are curly-haired, try to get rid of shampoo.You can use daily conditioning or other replacements such as baking soda, or scalp massages to keep their hair in good condition.
Some people have found success with getting rid of shampoo all together. Instead of using shampoos that can be harsh on the hair and scalp, these people use ingredients like beer, lemon juice or baking soda to keep the scalp clean. This helps to clean the scalp without removing too much of the natural oil that’s necessary to keep your hair healthy. If you want to keep your hair clean and conserve water at the same time, try using baking soda or dry powder with lemon juice and a raw egg.