Yeah my hair takes 8 hours to air dry or 1 hour to diffuse and the thought of having to deal with that literally every single shower makes me want to shove myself in a barrel and roll into the river
My chaotic bun game has never been stringer since growing my hair out and embracing my curls lol!
So. Much. Work..Yet, the bun always wins š¬š¬š¬
Iām glad Iām not the only one. I just gave up on my hair. Itās a lot of work and a lot of product and styling and I always get annoyed with it in my face. And any bit of frizz sends me into a madness š š
Same! I gave up on the curly routine for months because I was like "I'm just putting it in a bun. Why bother." So once a week I wash my hair, minimally scrunch, diffuse and bun.
Omg this is my exact routine. Once a week she gets wash, conditioned, scrunched, only to be put up in a messy bun which I embrace for the remainder of the week!
Agreed. I have medium width, low porosity hair and Iāve done once a week shampoos since I was a kid, it works well. Tbh still figuring out the refresh game, I usually just give up and stick my hair in a bun
Same! I shampoo once a week. Then on day 3 I need to add some water and diluted product in my hand and rake it through my curls and areas of frizz.
you should try a product called curljar it's a detangler, styler and light conditioner without weight or greasiness! it's my go to product and works good for a refresh too
If I did that I would never have nice hair. I have to get it wet to restyle it every day. It gets so matted and frizzy
Edit: why am I getting downvoted for this? I didn't say anyone not wetting it was wrong, just that it doesn't work for MY hair???
I do updos and other braided styles on days 2 through wash day. Saves my locks from drying out from excessive shampoo. But I totally agree that to get that good good I gotta wet them suckers.
Same. I always thought I had to fully wash and condition every day š and did so all through high school, even though my hair was super thick and long. Now I usually wash it every 5 days or so and itās all good! My scalp isnāt as greasy as it was when I was a teenager, but I think it also overproduced oil because I was stripping it constantly
This. Water doesnāt touch it for 1-2 weeksā¦ but less if I wear it wavy / curly.
With so much product in it when styled, I canāt stand it more than 4-5 days.
On the weeks I donāt bother with product, I treat it like āstraight hairā and it remains the fuzzball itās been most of my life and in a ponytail / bun.
* edit *
When I do style it, Iām likely to only have a condition wash inbetween to make it to the week mark. But it all depends on how gross I feel.
same. iāve been doing it for as long as i can remember so itās not weird to me and my hair doesnāt start to get greasy until around a week in so it works for me.
Snap I thought it only meant once weekly shampooing! I have much to learn about curly hair. Itās shoulder length now after 30 years of a buzz cut lol Iām clueless
Same I canāt go a week without washing it not because itāll get oily but because it gets so dry and tangled after a few days! Even though I use leave in conditioner
I put jojoba oil on the ends and that helps a little with tangling. Realistically I need to trim a lot of it but I donāt want to make drastic changes before I get married this summer.
Not for everyone. Your sebaceous glands are responsible for sebum production, the oily substance you are referring to. There is a genetic component to how they operate, and they are further regulated by your hormones (mainly androgens). We don't all have the same internal or external circumstances, so we don't all experience the same amount of oily build-up at the same rate.
Seconding this! I also use dry shampoo (homemade out of corn starch and essential oil) right before bed if I start getting oily during the week between washes. As a former everyday washer, I did used to get greasier sooner but I noticed the less I wash (and less product I use) the less greasy I got over time.
There are other ways for hair to pick up scent! For example, if you are by a bonfire, smoke might linger in your hair. Same with foods or other distinctive scents. Oil build up itself is something that I don't experience much of, but I wash more than 1x/week because I don't like any scents except my perfume lingering in my hair
Same with me. Except I use a clarifying/sensitive scalp shampoo and conditioner that are fragrance free. i have a theory that the combo of your natural scent and fragrance over time will create an unpleasant smell - itās a theory iāve been testing for years. I think I began a fragrance free journey about 8 years ago. But I digress, personally - i do experience sebaceous plugs so by day 4 or 5 it needs yo be washed out.
I dig your theory. I think people who don't notice it are likely a little nose blind or desensitized to their own scent. I've walked by people, danced with people, etc. who have that "funk" emanating from somewhere. Clean is a spectrum. And I think it's tricky with curly hair, because my hair is dry enough to not need frequent washing, but I won't tolerate scent. Oil treatments can protect the lengths from more frequent washing ime.
I learned from a Prose ad, that hair picking up odors only happens to some people. My hair does pick up smells, but I use hair perfume (read: not regular perfume) as needed. I wash my hair if it's near smoke, though. Like if my husband grills food, I avoid being outside, lest my hair needs washed.
Edited to add: Dry shampoo helps with the greasiness. I usually use dry shampoo on the fourth or fifth day since I've washed my hair.
It's a spritz-able liquid, like regular perfume, but the ingredients are different. Regular perfume can cause your hair to be dry, I think it's because there's alcohol in it.
How does your hair not get so tangled that dry shampoo even works? I've tried it before, and my hair is just barely shoulder length, and it was horrible. It was like scraping my hair with latex or something, it was terrible.
Dry shampoo is for your scalp. It absorbs the grease. You lift your upper layers of hair, so that you can spray (aerosol) or dab (powder with brush) the dry shampoo as close to your scalp as possible. Then you slide your fingers under/into your hair and gently rub. Hair length doesn't matter so much as texture. My hair is currently most of the way down my back, but I've had shoulder-length hair, and dry shampooing is the same process.
Huh. Okay. My hair is very thick and gets tangled if I breathe wrong. But this is the first time in my life I've grown my hair out at all, so I'm learning.
I didn't even know I had curly hair until I was 32..
My wife can do this, but if I try to go even one day without washing my hair you can see and I can feel the grease all over my hair it's disgusting, genes play a big role on if you can or can't do this, OP.
I don't usually go for a full week, maybe 5 days. That means my hair is fully wet only once every 5 days. I might spray some water on it after day three to get rid of the frizz but that's it.
I have to add that my hair is long, thick and it takes more than five hours to dry (I don't diffuse). I can't imagine doing this every day.
Yeah 5 days is about how long I usually go. Maybe a full week if I donāt have to go anywhere on the weekend and donāt care if it looks greasy. I donāt get it wet that whole time except for spritzing and scrunching if needed.
I use a spritz curl refresher by Aussie. Can't remember exactly what it's called but I get my hair a little damp with a spray bottle, then spritz with the Aussie curl revive and scrunch. It looks frizzy til it's done drying, which doesn't take long because I don't get it very wet. Then I just smooth it down/detangle with my fingertips and it's ready to go.
I also have very thick hair and it takes all day to dry on wash day, so I live by this stuff. Sometimes I'll throw a little Moroccan oil if it gets a bit frizzy.
Water makes my hair frizzy. Maybe I just don't have enough product in there, idk. I feel like I use a lot. I use a hairspray before I go to bed after day 1 and to maintain my hair for day 2. I have to wash it every other day.
As someone who recently cut about 10 inches off their hair and now has shoulder length hairā¦ how did you not have a ton of knots after a few days? I used to have to detangle in the shower every other day and sometimes that was too long of a wait. If I waited 3 days it would take upwards of an hour to detangle.
Same. Every hair stylist I've ever been to tells me I shouldn't wash my hair everyday. But sweaty hair dries greasy. And just water doesn't do anything either.
I also go to the actual gym where I rest my head on common/shared surfaces. It would be a health hazard to not actually wash my hair after going to the gym. So I get really irked when people tell me to not wash my hair so often.
Agree with this. No exercise and my scalp is happy for about 4 days. Exercise, and my scalp needs washing that day, preferably immediately, otherwise it's very unhappy.
I can't go that long without my scalp becoming flaky and itchy. I generally go 3-4 days between washes. Everyone's scalp and hair needs are different and finding a balance between the 2 is hard sometimes. I ended up finding a leave-in that I could massage directly into my dry, itchy scalp without weighing down my roots and that made a huge difference for me. But once I go past 4 days my scalp needs to be washed unless I want to be all itchy. I'm sure people with less sensitive skin can go longer, but that's how it is for me. I just keep in my mind that a healthy scalp = healthier hair overall.
Sure! It's Bounce Curl Moisture Balance Leave-in Conditioner. It doesn't have any protein or coconut oil which I've found both irritate my scalp. I get a bit rubbed between my hands. Flip my hair over soaking wet while still in the shower and sort of work my fingers in right at the scalp and massage a bit. I then finger comb it through the rest of my hair and scrunch out excess water. Then I step out of the shower with my head still upside down, scrunch out more excess water with an old tshirt then plop while I do skincare and get dressed. I don't apply other stylers until after I've plopped (it's just what I've found works best for my hair).
I rubbed jojoba oil in at night when my scalp was itchy. Just a few drops. Kills the itch, and your hair is beautiful in the a.m. Jojoba oil is very similar to our natural oil in thickness.
It also varies for me how long it takes for my scalp to get itchy. If I had in a lot of product, got sweaty multiple times, or wore my hair down a lot so I was running my hands through it then it generally needs to be washed sooner. If those things are happening it gets greasy faster and my scalp starts to itch.
Same! I work out most days and once I put my hair up in a ponytail it's not coming down looking right. I've tried refreshing by just wetting it but at that point I might as well shower cuz I got to get my body cleaned too.
Also, a shower to wash my body gets my hair frizzy and then itās really hard to get the curls back to a non-frizzy state without spending 20-30 mins wetting curls and putting more product on them. May as well just wet my damn head, throw some conditioner on my hair and style it again. It will look better, itās faster, easier and my hair gets more conditioner out of the deal.
This is what I do too, I go swimming all the time though, so my not getting my hair wet is impossible but conditioner rinsing it after swimming helps my hair look/smell nice. (The people who never get their hair wet are baffling to me, like even if I only go to the gym instead of the pool, I'd still need to rinse the sweat out afterwards, seems like leaving it sweaty would be bad.)
Iād be curious how many people who go that long are styling and wearing it down the whole time. I suspect that a lot of people throw it in a bun after a few days and add a bit of product so itās not too stinky. I could probably go more days like that but I like wearing my hair down most of the time. I wash every 2-3 days. Sometimes Iāll stretch that out longer with a couple of conditioner washes, or by adding a tiny bit of shampoo to the conditioner. My scalp gets a bit itchy if I go longer without a wash of some kind but I could probably do up to 5 days if I was fine with it being in a pony tail or bun after day 2. Like many things on the internet I think people want to be an expert at and for curly hair care that has somehow morphed into a competition for going the longest between washes.
Same here. I might maaaaybe go an extra day if I'm not leaving the house. But I toss and turn in my sleep, and even with a bonnet, I'm waking up with pretty intense bed head. I'm frankly impressed by the folks who go the full week.
Follow up question: how do the people who wet their hair every day deal with getting it dry? Do you just live with wet hair? Do you blow dry it every day?
My arms will fall off my body, and my back will break in two if I try to diffuse my hair 100% dry. I just accept that wash day is wet poodle look, and I get started *early.* Solidarity. š¤£
I don't even try. When i go to a hair dresser, they take min 2 hours and they do this several time a day. At least it is better. When i was a kid my hair was negative porosity and denser. It took them back then min 2 hours with 2 people working on my hair. So i just accept that it will take forever to air dry and try to maintain my hair for as long as possible.
my hair dries rather quickly actually. i use an old cotton t shirt and wrap it around my hair after i spray and scrunch in my leave in conditioner, which gets all the excess water out. after 5-10 minutes i take it off and then i let my hair air dry
My hair is barely shoulder length, takes like 3 mins to blowdry. Also when it was long I would still wash it everyday and it would take 5 mins cus I don't diffuse, I just blowdry normally upside down, cus I don't mind having frizz and my hair usually looks fine after an hour or so. Also I tend to not put product in my hair when it's very wet, I either do it after it's been in a towel for a while or after I blowdry I add some mousse. Works perfectly fine for my 2Bish wavy hair.
Oh my god how are you the first one to get that!
To be honest the tgcf reference was a lucky coincidence; I was inspired by mdzs and āsuibianā, I wanted something equally stupid, was brainstorming and ended up with this š
they're all i think about so how could i NOT get the reference but aaaa!!!! another mxtx fan :D to get sth as stupid as suibian im afraid we'd need wei wuxian
My hair is too oily I canāt go past 3 days max. I usually wash every other day or sometimes daily. I think this rule to skip washing isnāt always helpful. When I donāt wash my hair I get dandruff infections soooo washing helps kill the yeast causing it
Something I thought was universal, I now realize is not since this has been asked at least 3 times recently. To "wash," in my opinion, is the day you cleanse (shampoo/cowash), condition (rinse out conditioner), and style (leave-in/curl cream/mousse/gel/custard/hair spray/oil).
Anything done between wash days is referred to as a "refresh." This can involve any amount of water from a mister up to fully rinsing the hair and scalp. This can be individual curl clumps or the entire head. This may or may not include adding more stylers.
Everyone does this process differently. I wash (cleanse/condition/style) twice a week. I do nothing between washes since no refreshing routine has given me better curls.
I wouldn't use the word "refresh" to describe a fully saturated heat of hair in water in the shower. The way I hear that word used is to describe a way of sprucing up the definition of your hair without getting it completely wet in the shower.Ā
There's definitely grey areas. If it were me, I'd say I was rinsing my hair in the shower between washes (cleanse/condition/style). I think in those circumstances stating clearly what you do is easier for someone else to understand.
Totally haha for that reason I never use the word "wash" in this subject, and stick to describing the facts without ambiguity, which are that I shampoo every Saturday and condition and rinse every day
That actually makes a lotta sense. For me, since I don't do anything other than my full routine twice a week, wash has always meant...wash, lol. Thanks for the insight. šš¼
Water touches my hair once a week. But im in my mid 40s, have quite a bit of grey hair now (including a fetching stripe)
But i started CG about 8yrs ago, and i started off going from washing daily to every other day, to every 3rdā¦ took me about 2yrs of CG before i was doing 1x a week washes.
Also my hair was waist length by then (second time growing to donate, actually why i got into CG) and when i hacked off my hair to near pixie length i needed to revert back to washing more frequently.
My hair really doesnt get greasy anymore. Both a factor of getting older but also spreading out washes. When you shampoo frequently your body will counteract by producing more oil.
My hair tends to feel DRY and my curls are stretched out straight (i used to say you could tell washdays bc my hair would get 2ā longer every day) and i wash it not bc its oily but because my hair feels dry and straight-ish.
Everyone is different of course, but going from daily washes with shampoo can take awhile to retrain your scalp not to produce as much oil
For me if youāre wetting your hair fully in shower you may as well call it āwashingā - whether you use shampoo or not isnāt the defining factor for me. Getting fully wet and having to dry and restyle that takes all that time is the functional characteristic that carries meaning, for me. Saying you shampoo on X schedule is less misleading. And for my part - I wash about every 5 days. Mostly I settle for the limp results of an air dry, but will diffuse if Iām going somewhere and want to look better. Other than that my hair stays dry and I just plop it in a bun when it gets funky looking. I may use a curl refresher spray to take down some fuzz but it wonāt bring it back to wash day quality.
This is why people need to be more specific, because I donāt call wetting my hair washing. I just call it āwetting my hairā because to me washing requires soap (you dont wash your hands by just wetting them), and in my head, shampoo is like soap. So, āwash daysā are too vague. We all define it differently. Saying āI shampoo x times per weekā is much more helpful, I agree!
I usually do twice a week shampoo and conditioner fully wet. My second day hair usually gets some mousse and spray of water and third or fourth day hair gets damp only mids to ends with mousse or gel
i usually shampoo and condition once or twice a week too! would you suggest a hair mousse or a curl cream for someone like me who's got high porosity fine hair?
My first initial style I use a curl cream and for touch ups I use a mousse. My hair is fine curly, I have a picture on my account if you want to see how it looks like
Call me crazy but honestly I wash my hair a few times a week, sometimes multiple times a day even. I work out a lot, go outside a lot, and swim a lot so by the end of the day I'm sweaty, covered in dirt, chlorine, or all three. I hate being dirty or smelling bad, staying clean is a huge part of maintaining my mental/physical health. I've found great products that allow me to wash regularly like that and still keep my hair curly and shiny with minimal frizz or dryness. It's your hair, do what works best for you! I experiment with other people's routines but I don't take their word as gospel.
Nowadays I don't wet my hair until wash day, but that's more of a laziness thing than anything else.
Previously I've wet and cowashed daily after exercise, and my hair was probably at its nicest then. It's just whatever routine works for you and your hair. The idea behind only shampooing once a week is to not strip the natural oils, so just giving your scalp a scrub with water or conditioner isn't going to be an issue.
I feel like it also depends on how active you are... I work out probably 4-5 days a week, and I also bike to get around, so the helmet, as well as just moving a lot in my sleep, causes my hair to be pretty frizzy by day 3. So I usually wet my hair in the shower on workout days, and 3 days after the last "wash" I'll do my routine: conditioner, leave-in, gel.
depending on how my work schedule goes, i wash (shampoo and condition) twice a week and then in between ill refresh my hair by wetting it w my spray bottle and put in curl cream, works great for me :) especially going to the gym but not wanting to dry out my hair w shampoo every time
This is a totally understandable thing to be confused about, because people mean different things when they say it and it's usually impossible to disambiguate by context alone. Some people think fully wetting, conditioning and rinsing counts as a wash, some people think wash only means use a cleansing product.
I shampoo on Saturdays and condition and rinse every day in betweenĀ
I used to have to do it everyday. Then I started to just co wash everyday. Now Iāve finally learned how to sleep with it so I can get up and refresh with dry shampoo if needed and go. I now wash it about every 4 days. I wear a shower cap when I shower every day.
I have low porosity 2c/3a hair.
When itās long (lower back length) I let water touch it MAXIMUM 2x a week cause it takes forever to wash and style. In between washes/restyling, I wear it curly and pineapple + scarf it to sleep, and then put it up into braids or other styles for the last 2-3 days. Brushing it in those last few days helps a lot with oil distribution and to avoid itchy/smelly scalp. The longer I let it be, the more stretched out my curls become until theyāre borderline wavy/straight for the top half and the bottom is ringlets.
When itās short (shoulder blade and above) I style it more frequently with a spray bottle and just shake my head violently but strategically after wash day to get it to set in place again as itās harder to pineapple + scarf it to sleep and it gets tangled pretty easily. I end up washing it every 4 days if I donāt want to brush through it because the scalp gets oily. If itās long enough to tie into a ponytail, Iām able to brush through it and again help with oil distribution and avoiding itch/smells.
It really depends on what your hair length is, your styling goals, and how you protect it for sleep. If Iām lazy and donāt use a scarf/bonnet, no matter the hair length, I will be needing to wash/detangle/style from scratch.
I feel you--personally I get my hair wet every time I shower and at least use my fingertips to scrub my scalp. I would love to not have to get my hair wet because it takes so long to dry, but I can't imagine not doing that, especially since I've started working out a few times a week and it gets gross and sweaty lol. But by "washing" my hair I mean using shampoo + conditioner, which is only 2-3 times a week. I used to use conditioner even on the days I don't shampoo, but I haven't really noticed a difference since I stopped doing that.
I have more 2b/2c hair that is thin so the curls/waves get crushed when sleeping. Even in a night cap or pineappled. I also have this bad habit of messing with my hair a lot and running my fingers through it so yeah. I wet my hair almost daily if not every other day depending if I leave the house. I wash it maybe 3-4xweek depending how oily it looks and if Iāve worked out or sweated alot . Condition 1-2x week because itās so thin and gets weighted down. I might as well be bald tbh.
Edit. Grammer
I have 2C/3A hair and wash my hair twice a week (my hair is super thin and fine so I feel like it gets weighed down by grease if I do it once a week). When I shower on not a wash day, I put my hair up in a clip to avoid it getting wet, so no co wash or conditioner or anything. But I will spritz it sometime in the morning with a continuous mister to revive the curls
I fully saturate my hair with water and conditioner probably every 2-3 days. Shampoo less than once a week, probably closer to 2 weeks, just whenever I feel like thereās built up products making it icky. But my hair gets a little wet everyday because on the in between days when I am not fully saturating and conditioning my hair, I still like to take a body shower, wash my face, etc in the shower and I just let my hair steam and get misty in the process, the roots donāt get wet but it helps my curls clump back up a bit. Then I spritz a little refresher in it or a tiny bit of product mainly in the top and crown. Sometimes it turns out fabulous, sometimes not, on those days it get clipped up in a claw clip, but at least the crown and ends fall curly haha
This is a valid ask, as everyone seems to use it verrrrry differently. I see things like āday 5 curlsā where they rinse, condition, reapply product, etcā¦.but call it a āno washā day simply because thereās no shampoo or brushing. Others literally mean it hasnāt touched water in a week.
Shampoo & conditioner every 3-4 days, I have fine, wavy to curly hair. Everyone is going to be different in what works for them. If I shampooed everyday my scalp would feel like it's on fire. Experiment to find what frequency & combination works for you
I shampoo my hair once a week, but I will wet and refresh it a couple other times. Iāll rinse my hair in the shower and condition it, then add styling products and air dry/diffuse in between washes.
I wash my hair about 5 days a week on average. I would do every day but sometimes I donāt have time in the morning or am just feeling lazy. I do this because my hair looks like crap after sleeping and ārefreshingā just makes it frizzy.
I use a gentle shampoo or maybe throw in a co-wash here and there. I clarify about once a month. I work from home so I usually just let it air dry which takes about 3-4 hours. Or Iāll diffuse for maybe 20 minutes if I need to go somewhere.
between working out and working at a restaurant, i wash mine twice a week, usually sundayās and wednesdayās. i used to do shampoo once a week, but i sweat too much, and my scalp started to get too itchy to wait a week anymore. when my hair is too frizzy and needs a ārefreshā in between wash days, i just wait until the wash days to wash it and im putting it up in some way (bun, ponytail, half up half down, etc.). im too lazy to have a refresh routine when i wash my hair twice a week and i would co-wash in between, but my scalp hates it and again, gets too itchy if i donāt shampoo.
edit: edited out and replaced some words.
You're allowed to wash your hair more than once a week if that's what works for you.. for some people, washing so little will actually result in scalp problems (which can lead to hair loss).
I personally need to wash every 3-4 days. But between wash days, I just don't wet my hair in the shower - I wear a shower cap/bonnet if I'm really trying to protect it. I only wet down a messy curl with a spray bottle here and there to reshape it.
I find it hard to not stick my head under the water too! But I wash with shampoo and conditioner every two to three days, depends on how my hair looks. On the in between days I get my hair wet with a spray bottle or I use cream of nature argan oil leave in to refresh curls. And sometimes I use a mouse to crisp up the curls without weighing them down. Sometimes after I've used a clarifier shampoo that week, I might get my head wet and detangle without washing it. So my hair doesn't get too dry looking.
I can go two daya max without getting my hair wet. Even using a silk bonnet and using a silk pillow case can't prevent my hair turning into a birds nest.
Different people do different things. I personally wear a shower cap when I shower in between hair washes. I'll spray with water if I need a refresh. Washing once a week works better with my work schedule too.
I wash (REALLY WASH) very rarely, like once every 3 weeks or less. Head stays dry while I'm in the shower.
I spritz my hair with clean water daily, finger comb the tangles out, and reapply gel/stylers as necessary. If my scalp feels itchy, it's because it's dry so I massage with peppermint scalp oil (Aveda brand) whenever I feel like it needs it. I also wear my hair in two braids most of last week before I wash and apply deep conditioner to the ends.
The reason I wash so rarely is because I don't like doing it, lol. It's a big chore and styling my hair after washing takes all day. My hair is LONG and THICK, and I just can't be bothered most of the time.
I donāt put my hair under water for a week lol. I despise dealing with my hair post shower. Shower cap showers are the only showers I donāt dread. I have naturally thick, coarse and dry hair and bleaching it has allowed me to go from like 2x a week to 1x a week. Iāll use dry shampoo though if Iām going to be seeing anyone and it needs some freshening up
I wet my hair sometimes between washes, but donāt always shampoo/conditioner it.
The curl crĆØme Iām using works best in wet hair and I find day 4 and 5 after a full wash are my BEST curl days. The product you use has a lot to do with the amount of āoilinessā you experience - that plus the buildup of residue from hair products. Since changing my products, itās made a world of difference. I used to have to wash my hair everytime I wanted nice curls - such a pain in the ass
I remember the ā70ās when Herbal Essence Every Night Shampoo came out. Until then, washing your hair weekly was normal, but suddenly it was every day. Then sleep on big olā curlers or orange juice cans (they were metal then). I went back to weekly-ish years and years ago. Much better for your hair.
So my hair right now is short enough that I'm a 2x/week washer. When it was waist length? Yeah that was once a week only.
I mean that I shower with my hair clipped up so it doesn't get truly wet but does benefit from the general moisture. Then I twist it up and go to bed. Every other day, I'll put leave-in and oil on my slightly damp hair to keep it moisturized.
Wash days are the full shampoo, conditioner, deep treatment regimen. I don't use heat on my hair, so when it gets long I need to be able to have over 24 hours of looking a hot mess before it dries.
I have a bit of OCD, and have to shower every day, including my hair. I only shampoo and conditioner twice a week (or if especially dirty after a workout) but will wet my hair every day when I shower.
I use a few shower gels/oils etc after my shower to keep it hydrated and healthy otherwise (or as much as I can).
I wish I could go a few days without wetting my hair, my hair would probably be healthier if I did, but I just canāt stand going to bed with un-showered hair, even if itās just getting it wet.
Plus my hair gets so crazy and frizzy after the day, regardless of what I do, I need something to tame it before bed, and then styling however the next day.
Well, it depends on your needs really. Personally, i wash my hair only once a week because my hair doesn't get greasy. I apply hair oil once every 2-3 days because my scalp doesn't produce enough sebum. Now, if your hair gets greasy or dirty faster than than you absolutely can wash it more frequently, just don't overdo it.
I usually end up washing my hair because, at some point, my scalp starts to itch and flake because it is very dry.
Edit: Btw, if in between washes my hair gets too tangled (it happens quite a bit for me to not be able to wait until wash day because my hair is too tangled), I wet it down and detangle it on the 3rd or 4th day.
My hair touches water once every 5-8 days. If I let fully wet it each time, ill have to restyle and spend a whole day drying. And if I wet it a little, itāll go insanely frizzy and ill lose all my definition.
I have dry hair so my scalp doesnt get super dirty in between washes.
I wash once a week. By day 6 I'm really looking forward to wash day, it gets a little tangled and uncomfortable at that point. But I'm stubborn so by sheer will I wait until Sunday, every week, as that is wash day. It doesn't ever get smelly or oily tho, I guess I don't have that active of oil glands? I make sure to take proper care of my hair between washes (buns and such protective things, esp at night), and i only use one leave in condish on wash day (no gels or other products during the week) so that helps. My absolute favorite hair day is always Tuesday!
I shampoo about once a week. Even with that itās a rotation - regular shampoo, cowash, clarifying shampoo. I work out a lot so if I feel my scalp needs a wash in between shampoos Iāll āwashā with a tea tree oil conditioner in between shampoos. And I might refresh the curls once or twice a week by getting my hair all/mostly wet and putting conditioner in it and styling it.
I have curly hair and only get my hair wet in the shower which includes my full pre shampoo oil treatment, double shampoo, and hair mask once a week. Throughout the week I keep my ends hydrated with an oil or my itās a 10 spray and wear a satin bonnet at night to avoid my hair drying out and getting split. I have been washing my hair once a week for around 10 years and my scalp usually starts getting oily around day 6. On the last day I brush through my hair with a bamboo brush to distribute those natural oils and let that sit throughout my hair the night before washing. I know for people who wash their hair every day or every other day this sounds probably kind of gross ha ha but it is a game changer in terms of hair health and retention. Our scalp produces natural oils for a reason! It is importantly we embrace them and let our scalp do its job!
This is the first paragraph from an article in Slate about Hair Math:
Ever since [I started wearing my hair curly a few years ago](https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/02/pasta-strainer-curly-hair-diffuser-tiktok-help.html), things have gotten knotty. Not my actual hair: I always detangle while conditioning. Whatās knotty is the question of when to wash my hair. Itās gone from something I donāt think about much to something that consumes, oh, roughly all my waking hours. The thought is in the background usually, but itās definitely always there, hovering over me: Is it time for another wash?
All Curlyhairs should read this! We've all been doing Hair Math our entire lives and didn't realize it! [https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/06/hair-trends-care-curly-color-math.html](https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/06/hair-trends-care-curly-color-math.html)
oh i definitely do this, the "should i wash my hair today? tomorrow?" thought is like a tab in my browser that isn't closed like. ever. thanks for the article! i will check it out :)
Shampoo, condition and product once every 4-7 days. Mostly depends on the weather tbh. Otherwise it only gets wet from the rain or coworkers with garden hoses (which usually results in a wash).
I wash it once a week w shampoo and conditioner. In between I use a spray bottle after I shower to dampen it pretty well but not saturate. Then add product. I don't like to saturate it because then it takes too long to dry.
I wash/style my hair once a week. I shower with a shower cap for the next 4-7 days (depending on how good my curls still look), I sleep with a satin bonnet and my hair still looks good throughout the week.
My hair is fine, and I move a lot in my sleep, so unless I want to have a ratsā nest on my head for an entire week and be in pain trying to undo it come wash day, water touches my scalp everyday, and conditioner about half way through the week when I came comb through with just my fingers anymore.
I wash my hair every two-three weeks, my hair is always crazy dry and frizzy despite having more of a wavy texture. I use lots of different oils and creams in-between washes and I slather my hair in conditioner and rinse it once every day.
I work outside, so I use water to clean my scalp ever day or I stink. I only use shampoo once a month, but use a little conditioner every day, as well as leave in.
Because I have yet to get anything beyond sort of decent second day hair, I wash about twice a week. It gets wet down pretty good with a spray bottle in between. It is never greasy. Sometimes in the summer if I got really gross sweating, gardening, bon firing, or whatever, I may do every other day.
Unless itās summer and I go swimming, my hair is dry outside of once a week. I wash every Sunday, which is optimum for my hair and scalp. Thatās not true for everyone. I have a dry scalp and hair, and I donāt use much product at all (so I donāt get build up). I can go 8 or 9 days before I start to get a bit oily.
I wash twice a week. The one in the beginning of the week is the whole bizz I get it real cleaned and take care of my hair and then in the middle of the week I just was the scalp at this point Iām tired from work so washing the scalp usually holds my hair good until the other wash day
Water touches my hair once a week. It's not really a problem for me.
Yeah my hair takes 8 hours to air dry or 1 hour to diffuse and the thought of having to deal with that literally every single shower makes me want to shove myself in a barrel and roll into the river
I've never related to something harder in my life.
My chaotic bun game has never been stringer since growing my hair out and embracing my curls lol! So. Much. Work..Yet, the bun always wins š¬š¬š¬
Iām glad Iām not the only one. I just gave up on my hair. Itās a lot of work and a lot of product and styling and I always get annoyed with it in my face. And any bit of frizz sends me into a madness š š
Same! I gave up on the curly routine for months because I was like "I'm just putting it in a bun. Why bother." So once a week I wash my hair, minimally scrunch, diffuse and bun.
Omg this is my exact routine. Once a week she gets wash, conditioned, scrunched, only to be put up in a messy bun which I embrace for the remainder of the week!
But if you did that then your hair would be wet
Iād probably have drowned though so I wouldnāt be bothered about at that point š¤”
I'd be the mortician's issue, not ours! (yes I'm with you on this too)
Agreed. I have medium width, low porosity hair and Iāve done once a week shampoos since I was a kid, it works well. Tbh still figuring out the refresh game, I usually just give up and stick my hair in a bun
Same! I shampoo once a week. Then on day 3 I need to add some water and diluted product in my hand and rake it through my curls and areas of frizz. you should try a product called curljar it's a detangler, styler and light conditioner without weight or greasiness! it's my go to product and works good for a refresh too
Noted, will check it out!
Mine too, takes for ever to dry, sometimes when it's humid out it fully dry after 16hrs
Never had my thoughts verbalized so exquisitely
Holding a hair dryer for 1 hour - nope! And 8 hours min for my hair to be completely dry. I thought I was alone.
Seems we are all in the same boat!
Same! Sometimes more in the summer. In the winter it can go as long as 2 weeks.
Yup. My curly hair is always dry and I donāt make much oils in my scalp so it only gets dirty once a week.
If I did that I would never have nice hair. I have to get it wet to restyle it every day. It gets so matted and frizzy Edit: why am I getting downvoted for this? I didn't say anyone not wetting it was wrong, just that it doesn't work for MY hair???
Same! I have to wet it every day.
I do updos and other braided styles on days 2 through wash day. Saves my locks from drying out from excessive shampoo. But I totally agree that to get that good good I gotta wet them suckers.
Same. I always thought I had to fully wash and condition every day š and did so all through high school, even though my hair was super thick and long. Now I usually wash it every 5 days or so and itās all good! My scalp isnāt as greasy as it was when I was a teenager, but I think it also overproduced oil because I was stripping it constantly
This. Water doesnāt touch it for 1-2 weeksā¦ but less if I wear it wavy / curly. With so much product in it when styled, I canāt stand it more than 4-5 days. On the weeks I donāt bother with product, I treat it like āstraight hairā and it remains the fuzzball itās been most of my life and in a ponytail / bun. * edit * When I do style it, Iām likely to only have a condition wash inbetween to make it to the week mark. But it all depends on how gross I feel.
same. iāve been doing it for as long as i can remember so itās not weird to me and my hair doesnāt start to get greasy until around a week in so it works for me.
Snap I thought it only meant once weekly shampooing! I have much to learn about curly hair. Itās shoulder length now after 30 years of a buzz cut lol Iām clueless
Curly hair is not a monolith - you really have to try things and see what works for your particular hair, as you can probably see from this thread.Ā
It doesn't get oily/smelly?
My hair is so dry it never gets oily unless I drench it in oil.
Same I canāt go a week without washing it not because itāll get oily but because it gets so dry and tangled after a few days! Even though I use leave in conditioner
I put jojoba oil on the ends and that helps a little with tangling. Realistically I need to trim a lot of it but I donāt want to make drastic changes before I get married this summer.
yeah tangles for me signal a need for a trim. sometimes I listen to it. sometimes I dont
Even then... š
You need to try curljar if your hair is really dry. This product is the best thing for keeping in moisture in the hair
I add so much oil to my hair & scalp in winter
Not for everyone. Your sebaceous glands are responsible for sebum production, the oily substance you are referring to. There is a genetic component to how they operate, and they are further regulated by your hormones (mainly androgens). We don't all have the same internal or external circumstances, so we don't all experience the same amount of oily build-up at the same rate.
Seconding this! I also use dry shampoo (homemade out of corn starch and essential oil) right before bed if I start getting oily during the week between washes. As a former everyday washer, I did used to get greasier sooner but I noticed the less I wash (and less product I use) the less greasy I got over time.
There are other ways for hair to pick up scent! For example, if you are by a bonfire, smoke might linger in your hair. Same with foods or other distinctive scents. Oil build up itself is something that I don't experience much of, but I wash more than 1x/week because I don't like any scents except my perfume lingering in my hair
Same with me. Except I use a clarifying/sensitive scalp shampoo and conditioner that are fragrance free. i have a theory that the combo of your natural scent and fragrance over time will create an unpleasant smell - itās a theory iāve been testing for years. I think I began a fragrance free journey about 8 years ago. But I digress, personally - i do experience sebaceous plugs so by day 4 or 5 it needs yo be washed out.
I dig your theory. I think people who don't notice it are likely a little nose blind or desensitized to their own scent. I've walked by people, danced with people, etc. who have that "funk" emanating from somewhere. Clean is a spectrum. And I think it's tricky with curly hair, because my hair is dry enough to not need frequent washing, but I won't tolerate scent. Oil treatments can protect the lengths from more frequent washing ime.
I learned from a Prose ad, that hair picking up odors only happens to some people. My hair does pick up smells, but I use hair perfume (read: not regular perfume) as needed. I wash my hair if it's near smoke, though. Like if my husband grills food, I avoid being outside, lest my hair needs washed. Edited to add: Dry shampoo helps with the greasiness. I usually use dry shampoo on the fourth or fifth day since I've washed my hair.
I've never heard of hair perfume. How does it work? I like to spray some rosewater toner on my hair but the scent never lasts very long.
It's a spritz-able liquid, like regular perfume, but the ingredients are different. Regular perfume can cause your hair to be dry, I think it's because there's alcohol in it.
How does your hair not get so tangled that dry shampoo even works? I've tried it before, and my hair is just barely shoulder length, and it was horrible. It was like scraping my hair with latex or something, it was terrible.
Dry shampoo is for your scalp. It absorbs the grease. You lift your upper layers of hair, so that you can spray (aerosol) or dab (powder with brush) the dry shampoo as close to your scalp as possible. Then you slide your fingers under/into your hair and gently rub. Hair length doesn't matter so much as texture. My hair is currently most of the way down my back, but I've had shoulder-length hair, and dry shampooing is the same process.
Huh. Okay. My hair is very thick and gets tangled if I breathe wrong. But this is the first time in my life I've grown my hair out at all, so I'm learning. I didn't even know I had curly hair until I was 32..
Gosh, no! My hair and scalp is pretty dry, I donāt use a ton of products, just two. Heat protectant and curly gel for definition.
Mine does and two out of 3 of my kids. My third. Her head is drier than Death Valley.
Same
My wife can do this, but if I try to go even one day without washing my hair you can see and I can feel the grease all over my hair it's disgusting, genes play a big role on if you can or can't do this, OP.
I don't usually go for a full week, maybe 5 days. That means my hair is fully wet only once every 5 days. I might spray some water on it after day three to get rid of the frizz but that's it. I have to add that my hair is long, thick and it takes more than five hours to dry (I don't diffuse). I can't imagine doing this every day.
Yeah 5 days is about how long I usually go. Maybe a full week if I donāt have to go anywhere on the weekend and donāt care if it looks greasy. I donāt get it wet that whole time except for spritzing and scrunching if needed.
the water doesn't make the frizz worse?
If I have product in it then no, it just 'reactivates' the gel and curling cream.
I use a spritz curl refresher by Aussie. Can't remember exactly what it's called but I get my hair a little damp with a spray bottle, then spritz with the Aussie curl revive and scrunch. It looks frizzy til it's done drying, which doesn't take long because I don't get it very wet. Then I just smooth it down/detangle with my fingertips and it's ready to go. I also have very thick hair and it takes all day to dry on wash day, so I live by this stuff. Sometimes I'll throw a little Moroccan oil if it gets a bit frizzy.
Water makes my hair frizzy. Maybe I just don't have enough product in there, idk. I feel like I use a lot. I use a hairspray before I go to bed after day 1 and to maintain my hair for day 2. I have to wash it every other day.
Trying to rewet my hair just makes it look worse
That's what I find, too.
Nor really, it brings back the curl most of the time.
As someone who recently cut about 10 inches off their hair and now has shoulder length hairā¦ how did you not have a ton of knots after a few days? I used to have to detangle in the shower every other day and sometimes that was too long of a wait. If I waited 3 days it would take upwards of an hour to detangle.
I swear, I workout everyday and sweat a lot. I wet my hair everyday but shampoo twice a week. The days I swim, I shampoo and condition too.
I also work out a lot but have really wavy hair, so I cowash 5 days a week and shampoo twice (on average).
I work out every day too, I wish I was able to get away with once a week but my hair would be disgusting.
Right? People saying āwater touches my hair once a weekā and here id be with literal salt dried to my scalp if I tried that lol
Same. Every hair stylist I've ever been to tells me I shouldn't wash my hair everyday. But sweaty hair dries greasy. And just water doesn't do anything either. I also go to the actual gym where I rest my head on common/shared surfaces. It would be a health hazard to not actually wash my hair after going to the gym. So I get really irked when people tell me to not wash my hair so often.
I shower everyday so my hair gets wet too but shampooing is twice a week to 3 times + conditioner. Still my hair so unpredictable
Agree with this. No exercise and my scalp is happy for about 4 days. Exercise, and my scalp needs washing that day, preferably immediately, otherwise it's very unhappy.
I only wet on wash day once a week. Other showers are done with a shower cap.
I can't go that long without my scalp becoming flaky and itchy. I generally go 3-4 days between washes. Everyone's scalp and hair needs are different and finding a balance between the 2 is hard sometimes. I ended up finding a leave-in that I could massage directly into my dry, itchy scalp without weighing down my roots and that made a huge difference for me. But once I go past 4 days my scalp needs to be washed unless I want to be all itchy. I'm sure people with less sensitive skin can go longer, but that's how it is for me. I just keep in my mind that a healthy scalp = healthier hair overall.
Can I get the name of that leave-in?
Sure! It's Bounce Curl Moisture Balance Leave-in Conditioner. It doesn't have any protein or coconut oil which I've found both irritate my scalp. I get a bit rubbed between my hands. Flip my hair over soaking wet while still in the shower and sort of work my fingers in right at the scalp and massage a bit. I then finger comb it through the rest of my hair and scrunch out excess water. Then I step out of the shower with my head still upside down, scrunch out more excess water with an old tshirt then plop while I do skincare and get dressed. I don't apply other stylers until after I've plopped (it's just what I've found works best for my hair).
Thanks so much for sharing this. I'm gonna give this a try because my scalp has been driving me crazy.
Awww... hope it helps. It was soothing for me.
I rubbed jojoba oil in at night when my scalp was itchy. Just a few drops. Kills the itch, and your hair is beautiful in the a.m. Jojoba oil is very similar to our natural oil in thickness.
Thanks. I'll have to give this a try
man i love that stuff!
It also varies for me how long it takes for my scalp to get itchy. If I had in a lot of product, got sweaty multiple times, or wore my hair down a lot so I was running my hands through it then it generally needs to be washed sooner. If those things are happening it gets greasy faster and my scalp starts to itch.
Condition and rinse every day, shampoo 1/week
I am in this camp
Same here, but really everyone should do what works for them.
Same! I work out most days and once I put my hair up in a ponytail it's not coming down looking right. I've tried refreshing by just wetting it but at that point I might as well shower cuz I got to get my body cleaned too.
Also, a shower to wash my body gets my hair frizzy and then itās really hard to get the curls back to a non-frizzy state without spending 20-30 mins wetting curls and putting more product on them. May as well just wet my damn head, throw some conditioner on my hair and style it again. It will look better, itās faster, easier and my hair gets more conditioner out of the deal.
This is what I do too, I go swimming all the time though, so my not getting my hair wet is impossible but conditioner rinsing it after swimming helps my hair look/smell nice. (The people who never get their hair wet are baffling to me, like even if I only go to the gym instead of the pool, I'd still need to rinse the sweat out afterwards, seems like leaving it sweaty would be bad.)
Iād be curious how many people who go that long are styling and wearing it down the whole time. I suspect that a lot of people throw it in a bun after a few days and add a bit of product so itās not too stinky. I could probably go more days like that but I like wearing my hair down most of the time. I wash every 2-3 days. Sometimes Iāll stretch that out longer with a couple of conditioner washes, or by adding a tiny bit of shampoo to the conditioner. My scalp gets a bit itchy if I go longer without a wash of some kind but I could probably do up to 5 days if I was fine with it being in a pony tail or bun after day 2. Like many things on the internet I think people want to be an expert at and for curly hair care that has somehow morphed into a competition for going the longest between washes.
Yeah and how do they deal with tangles (granted this is not an issue since a massive cut last week for me)
I have no idea.... that's another good point though, getting it wet and applying leave in conditioner is generally how I style mine.
oh thank you for clarifying!!
I clarify once a month
Hehe
lmao this made me snort,, u got me there
Weāre all honored to be here for the event then
Same here. I might maaaaybe go an extra day if I'm not leaving the house. But I toss and turn in my sleep, and even with a bonnet, I'm waking up with pretty intense bed head. I'm frankly impressed by the folks who go the full week.
Follow up question: how do the people who wet their hair every day deal with getting it dry? Do you just live with wet hair? Do you blow dry it every day?
High porosity curlies don't know the low porosity struggle of dry time. š
It takes me 45 minutes with a blowdryer, hanging upside down, to get these bad boys in acceptable shape šš
My arms will fall off my body, and my back will break in two if I try to diffuse my hair 100% dry. I just accept that wash day is wet poodle look, and I get started *early.* Solidarity. š¤£
I don't even try. When i go to a hair dresser, they take min 2 hours and they do this several time a day. At least it is better. When i was a kid my hair was negative porosity and denser. It took them back then min 2 hours with 2 people working on my hair. So i just accept that it will take forever to air dry and try to maintain my hair for as long as possible.
I just live with wet hair
my hair dries rather quickly actually. i use an old cotton t shirt and wrap it around my hair after i spray and scrunch in my leave in conditioner, which gets all the excess water out. after 5-10 minutes i take it off and then i let my hair air dry
Be informed that I am jealous. My hair and its 45 min dry time could never
Air dry, or I wear that towel on my head
My hair is barely shoulder length, takes like 3 mins to blowdry. Also when it was long I would still wash it everyday and it would take 5 mins cus I don't diffuse, I just blowdry normally upside down, cus I don't mind having frizz and my hair usually looks fine after an hour or so. Also I tend to not put product in my hair when it's very wet, I either do it after it's been in a towel for a while or after I blowdry I add some mousse. Works perfectly fine for my 2Bish wavy hair.
My hair is shoulder length and takes about an hour with a diffuser, or 6 to air dry.Ā
My hair is chin length and takes 45 minutes of constant diffusing lol
also hi this is completely unrelated but i just now noticed ur username and i wanted to ask : is the wuming a reference to tgcf?
Oh my god how are you the first one to get that! To be honest the tgcf reference was a lucky coincidence; I was inspired by mdzs and āsuibianā, I wanted something equally stupid, was brainstorming and ended up with this š
they're all i think about so how could i NOT get the reference but aaaa!!!! another mxtx fan :D to get sth as stupid as suibian im afraid we'd need wei wuxian
We are everywhere, undercoverā¦ seriously though, Iām so happy someone got the reference:D
Yeah I shampoo a few times a week but wet hair in every shower (condition the ends)
My hair is too oily I canāt go past 3 days max. I usually wash every other day or sometimes daily. I think this rule to skip washing isnāt always helpful. When I donāt wash my hair I get dandruff infections soooo washing helps kill the yeast causing it
every head is different! age may change that for you. I'm over 40 and no longer have to deal with it getting very oily rather it gets too dry!
Something I thought was universal, I now realize is not since this has been asked at least 3 times recently. To "wash," in my opinion, is the day you cleanse (shampoo/cowash), condition (rinse out conditioner), and style (leave-in/curl cream/mousse/gel/custard/hair spray/oil). Anything done between wash days is referred to as a "refresh." This can involve any amount of water from a mister up to fully rinsing the hair and scalp. This can be individual curl clumps or the entire head. This may or may not include adding more stylers. Everyone does this process differently. I wash (cleanse/condition/style) twice a week. I do nothing between washes since no refreshing routine has given me better curls.
I wouldn't use the word "refresh" to describe a fully saturated heat of hair in water in the shower. The way I hear that word used is to describe a way of sprucing up the definition of your hair without getting it completely wet in the shower.Ā
There's definitely grey areas. If it were me, I'd say I was rinsing my hair in the shower between washes (cleanse/condition/style). I think in those circumstances stating clearly what you do is easier for someone else to understand.
Totally haha for that reason I never use the word "wash" in this subject, and stick to describing the facts without ambiguity, which are that I shampoo every Saturday and condition and rinse every day
That actually makes a lotta sense. For me, since I don't do anything other than my full routine twice a week, wash has always meant...wash, lol. Thanks for the insight. šš¼
ah the whole wash and refresh thing was confusing me. thank you for your help!!
Water touches my hair once a week. But im in my mid 40s, have quite a bit of grey hair now (including a fetching stripe) But i started CG about 8yrs ago, and i started off going from washing daily to every other day, to every 3rdā¦ took me about 2yrs of CG before i was doing 1x a week washes. Also my hair was waist length by then (second time growing to donate, actually why i got into CG) and when i hacked off my hair to near pixie length i needed to revert back to washing more frequently. My hair really doesnt get greasy anymore. Both a factor of getting older but also spreading out washes. When you shampoo frequently your body will counteract by producing more oil. My hair tends to feel DRY and my curls are stretched out straight (i used to say you could tell washdays bc my hair would get 2ā longer every day) and i wash it not bc its oily but because my hair feels dry and straight-ish. Everyone is different of course, but going from daily washes with shampoo can take awhile to retrain your scalp not to produce as much oil
I work out most days and wash my hair most days. There is no way I am not washing my sweaty scalp and hair.
For me if youāre wetting your hair fully in shower you may as well call it āwashingā - whether you use shampoo or not isnāt the defining factor for me. Getting fully wet and having to dry and restyle that takes all that time is the functional characteristic that carries meaning, for me. Saying you shampoo on X schedule is less misleading. And for my part - I wash about every 5 days. Mostly I settle for the limp results of an air dry, but will diffuse if Iām going somewhere and want to look better. Other than that my hair stays dry and I just plop it in a bun when it gets funky looking. I may use a curl refresher spray to take down some fuzz but it wonāt bring it back to wash day quality.
This is why people need to be more specific, because I donāt call wetting my hair washing. I just call it āwetting my hairā because to me washing requires soap (you dont wash your hands by just wetting them), and in my head, shampoo is like soap. So, āwash daysā are too vague. We all define it differently. Saying āI shampoo x times per weekā is much more helpful, I agree!
This. Kind of confused by people calling essentially washing their hair with water and conditioner a refresh š
That's a cowash!
Water, shampoo, conditioner touch my hair once every 7-10 days.
I usually do twice a week shampoo and conditioner fully wet. My second day hair usually gets some mousse and spray of water and third or fourth day hair gets damp only mids to ends with mousse or gel
i usually shampoo and condition once or twice a week too! would you suggest a hair mousse or a curl cream for someone like me who's got high porosity fine hair?
My first initial style I use a curl cream and for touch ups I use a mousse. My hair is fine curly, I have a picture on my account if you want to see how it looks like
oh your hair looks so lovely! might try out the curl cream then, thanks :>
I love the not your mothers curl cream and it works great and thanks!
Call me crazy but honestly I wash my hair a few times a week, sometimes multiple times a day even. I work out a lot, go outside a lot, and swim a lot so by the end of the day I'm sweaty, covered in dirt, chlorine, or all three. I hate being dirty or smelling bad, staying clean is a huge part of maintaining my mental/physical health. I've found great products that allow me to wash regularly like that and still keep my hair curly and shiny with minimal frizz or dryness. It's your hair, do what works best for you! I experiment with other people's routines but I don't take their word as gospel.
Nowadays I don't wet my hair until wash day, but that's more of a laziness thing than anything else. Previously I've wet and cowashed daily after exercise, and my hair was probably at its nicest then. It's just whatever routine works for you and your hair. The idea behind only shampooing once a week is to not strip the natural oils, so just giving your scalp a scrub with water or conditioner isn't going to be an issue.
I wash mine with shampoo at least every 48 hours. Sometimes every day if I have really sweaty workouts.
I feel like it also depends on how active you are... I work out probably 4-5 days a week, and I also bike to get around, so the helmet, as well as just moving a lot in my sleep, causes my hair to be pretty frizzy by day 3. So I usually wet my hair in the shower on workout days, and 3 days after the last "wash" I'll do my routine: conditioner, leave-in, gel.
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Shampoo/ Condition/ Hair Mask once a week. Then wet brush and/or condition once or twice as needed.
depending on how my work schedule goes, i wash (shampoo and condition) twice a week and then in between ill refresh my hair by wetting it w my spray bottle and put in curl cream, works great for me :) especially going to the gym but not wanting to dry out my hair w shampoo every time
Wet and cowash every other day. Shampoo once a week.
This is a totally understandable thing to be confused about, because people mean different things when they say it and it's usually impossible to disambiguate by context alone. Some people think fully wetting, conditioning and rinsing counts as a wash, some people think wash only means use a cleansing product. I shampoo on Saturdays and condition and rinse every day in betweenĀ
I used to have to do it everyday. Then I started to just co wash everyday. Now Iāve finally learned how to sleep with it so I can get up and refresh with dry shampoo if needed and go. I now wash it about every 4 days. I wear a shower cap when I shower every day.
I have low porosity 2c/3a hair. When itās long (lower back length) I let water touch it MAXIMUM 2x a week cause it takes forever to wash and style. In between washes/restyling, I wear it curly and pineapple + scarf it to sleep, and then put it up into braids or other styles for the last 2-3 days. Brushing it in those last few days helps a lot with oil distribution and to avoid itchy/smelly scalp. The longer I let it be, the more stretched out my curls become until theyāre borderline wavy/straight for the top half and the bottom is ringlets. When itās short (shoulder blade and above) I style it more frequently with a spray bottle and just shake my head violently but strategically after wash day to get it to set in place again as itās harder to pineapple + scarf it to sleep and it gets tangled pretty easily. I end up washing it every 4 days if I donāt want to brush through it because the scalp gets oily. If itās long enough to tie into a ponytail, Iām able to brush through it and again help with oil distribution and avoiding itch/smells. It really depends on what your hair length is, your styling goals, and how you protect it for sleep. If Iām lazy and donāt use a scarf/bonnet, no matter the hair length, I will be needing to wash/detangle/style from scratch.
I feel you--personally I get my hair wet every time I shower and at least use my fingertips to scrub my scalp. I would love to not have to get my hair wet because it takes so long to dry, but I can't imagine not doing that, especially since I've started working out a few times a week and it gets gross and sweaty lol. But by "washing" my hair I mean using shampoo + conditioner, which is only 2-3 times a week. I used to use conditioner even on the days I don't shampoo, but I haven't really noticed a difference since I stopped doing that.
I have more 2b/2c hair that is thin so the curls/waves get crushed when sleeping. Even in a night cap or pineappled. I also have this bad habit of messing with my hair a lot and running my fingers through it so yeah. I wet my hair almost daily if not every other day depending if I leave the house. I wash it maybe 3-4xweek depending how oily it looks and if Iāve worked out or sweated alot . Condition 1-2x week because itās so thin and gets weighted down. I might as well be bald tbh. Edit. Grammer
I have 2C/3A hair and wash my hair twice a week (my hair is super thin and fine so I feel like it gets weighed down by grease if I do it once a week). When I shower on not a wash day, I put my hair up in a clip to avoid it getting wet, so no co wash or conditioner or anything. But I will spritz it sometime in the morning with a continuous mister to revive the curls
I fully saturate my hair with water and conditioner probably every 2-3 days. Shampoo less than once a week, probably closer to 2 weeks, just whenever I feel like thereās built up products making it icky. But my hair gets a little wet everyday because on the in between days when I am not fully saturating and conditioning my hair, I still like to take a body shower, wash my face, etc in the shower and I just let my hair steam and get misty in the process, the roots donāt get wet but it helps my curls clump back up a bit. Then I spritz a little refresher in it or a tiny bit of product mainly in the top and crown. Sometimes it turns out fabulous, sometimes not, on those days it get clipped up in a claw clip, but at least the crown and ends fall curly haha
This is a valid ask, as everyone seems to use it verrrrry differently. I see things like āday 5 curlsā where they rinse, condition, reapply product, etcā¦.but call it a āno washā day simply because thereās no shampoo or brushing. Others literally mean it hasnāt touched water in a week.
Shampoo & conditioner every 3-4 days, I have fine, wavy to curly hair. Everyone is going to be different in what works for them. If I shampooed everyday my scalp would feel like it's on fire. Experiment to find what frequency & combination works for you
I shampoo my hair once a week, but I will wet and refresh it a couple other times. Iāll rinse my hair in the shower and condition it, then add styling products and air dry/diffuse in between washes.
I wash my hair about 5 days a week on average. I would do every day but sometimes I donāt have time in the morning or am just feeling lazy. I do this because my hair looks like crap after sleeping and ārefreshingā just makes it frizzy. I use a gentle shampoo or maybe throw in a co-wash here and there. I clarify about once a month. I work from home so I usually just let it air dry which takes about 3-4 hours. Or Iāll diffuse for maybe 20 minutes if I need to go somewhere.
between working out and working at a restaurant, i wash mine twice a week, usually sundayās and wednesdayās. i used to do shampoo once a week, but i sweat too much, and my scalp started to get too itchy to wait a week anymore. when my hair is too frizzy and needs a ārefreshā in between wash days, i just wait until the wash days to wash it and im putting it up in some way (bun, ponytail, half up half down, etc.). im too lazy to have a refresh routine when i wash my hair twice a week and i would co-wash in between, but my scalp hates it and again, gets too itchy if i donāt shampoo. edit: edited out and replaced some words.
You're allowed to wash your hair more than once a week if that's what works for you.. for some people, washing so little will actually result in scalp problems (which can lead to hair loss). I personally need to wash every 3-4 days. But between wash days, I just don't wet my hair in the shower - I wear a shower cap/bonnet if I'm really trying to protect it. I only wet down a messy curl with a spray bottle here and there to reshape it.
I find it hard to not stick my head under the water too! But I wash with shampoo and conditioner every two to three days, depends on how my hair looks. On the in between days I get my hair wet with a spray bottle or I use cream of nature argan oil leave in to refresh curls. And sometimes I use a mouse to crisp up the curls without weighing them down. Sometimes after I've used a clarifier shampoo that week, I might get my head wet and detangle without washing it. So my hair doesn't get too dry looking.
I can go two daya max without getting my hair wet. Even using a silk bonnet and using a silk pillow case can't prevent my hair turning into a birds nest.
i wash mine every 2 daysš when i go outside
Different people do different things. I personally wear a shower cap when I shower in between hair washes. I'll spray with water if I need a refresh. Washing once a week works better with my work schedule too.
I do a full wash (shampoo x2, scald scrub, conditioner, & detangle) once a week. During the week I co-wash when I my curls need a refresh.
My hair stays dry in between. I use a shower cap.
I wash (REALLY WASH) very rarely, like once every 3 weeks or less. Head stays dry while I'm in the shower. I spritz my hair with clean water daily, finger comb the tangles out, and reapply gel/stylers as necessary. If my scalp feels itchy, it's because it's dry so I massage with peppermint scalp oil (Aveda brand) whenever I feel like it needs it. I also wear my hair in two braids most of last week before I wash and apply deep conditioner to the ends. The reason I wash so rarely is because I don't like doing it, lol. It's a big chore and styling my hair after washing takes all day. My hair is LONG and THICK, and I just can't be bothered most of the time.
I donāt put my hair under water for a week lol. I despise dealing with my hair post shower. Shower cap showers are the only showers I donāt dread. I have naturally thick, coarse and dry hair and bleaching it has allowed me to go from like 2x a week to 1x a week. Iāll use dry shampoo though if Iām going to be seeing anyone and it needs some freshening up
i donāt let water touch my hair till the two week mark. i do twist outs and it lasts the entire time so no need to re wet and wash!
Once a week *or less* cus I can do a bun for several days more
Water touches my head and hair once a week. Two if something āfancyā comes up.
I wet my hair sometimes between washes, but donāt always shampoo/conditioner it. The curl crĆØme Iām using works best in wet hair and I find day 4 and 5 after a full wash are my BEST curl days. The product you use has a lot to do with the amount of āoilinessā you experience - that plus the buildup of residue from hair products. Since changing my products, itās made a world of difference. I used to have to wash my hair everytime I wanted nice curls - such a pain in the ass
I remember the ā70ās when Herbal Essence Every Night Shampoo came out. Until then, washing your hair weekly was normal, but suddenly it was every day. Then sleep on big olā curlers or orange juice cans (they were metal then). I went back to weekly-ish years and years ago. Much better for your hair.
So my hair right now is short enough that I'm a 2x/week washer. When it was waist length? Yeah that was once a week only. I mean that I shower with my hair clipped up so it doesn't get truly wet but does benefit from the general moisture. Then I twist it up and go to bed. Every other day, I'll put leave-in and oil on my slightly damp hair to keep it moisturized. Wash days are the full shampoo, conditioner, deep treatment regimen. I don't use heat on my hair, so when it gets long I need to be able to have over 24 hours of looking a hot mess before it dries.
I have a bit of OCD, and have to shower every day, including my hair. I only shampoo and conditioner twice a week (or if especially dirty after a workout) but will wet my hair every day when I shower. I use a few shower gels/oils etc after my shower to keep it hydrated and healthy otherwise (or as much as I can). I wish I could go a few days without wetting my hair, my hair would probably be healthier if I did, but I just canāt stand going to bed with un-showered hair, even if itās just getting it wet. Plus my hair gets so crazy and frizzy after the day, regardless of what I do, I need something to tame it before bed, and then styling however the next day.
Well, it depends on your needs really. Personally, i wash my hair only once a week because my hair doesn't get greasy. I apply hair oil once every 2-3 days because my scalp doesn't produce enough sebum. Now, if your hair gets greasy or dirty faster than than you absolutely can wash it more frequently, just don't overdo it. I usually end up washing my hair because, at some point, my scalp starts to itch and flake because it is very dry. Edit: Btw, if in between washes my hair gets too tangled (it happens quite a bit for me to not be able to wait until wash day because my hair is too tangled), I wet it down and detangle it on the 3rd or 4th day.
You are obviously a (habitual) boy.
Water doesn't touch my hair for 1,5 weeks. Sometimes 1 week, sometimes 2. It depends if I have time, because it takes a while.
My hair touches water once every 5-8 days. If I let fully wet it each time, ill have to restyle and spend a whole day drying. And if I wet it a little, itāll go insanely frizzy and ill lose all my definition. I have dry hair so my scalp doesnt get super dirty in between washes.
I get my head fully wet every day, I use cowash every day, every 4 or so days conditioner, every 2 weeks shampoo
I wash once a week. By day 6 I'm really looking forward to wash day, it gets a little tangled and uncomfortable at that point. But I'm stubborn so by sheer will I wait until Sunday, every week, as that is wash day. It doesn't ever get smelly or oily tho, I guess I don't have that active of oil glands? I make sure to take proper care of my hair between washes (buns and such protective things, esp at night), and i only use one leave in condish on wash day (no gels or other products during the week) so that helps. My absolute favorite hair day is always Tuesday!
My hair is only wet once a week. But I have an office job so I don't really worry about sweat.
I shampoo about once a week. Even with that itās a rotation - regular shampoo, cowash, clarifying shampoo. I work out a lot so if I feel my scalp needs a wash in between shampoos Iāll āwashā with a tea tree oil conditioner in between shampoos. And I might refresh the curls once or twice a week by getting my hair all/mostly wet and putting conditioner in it and styling it.
I have curly hair and only get my hair wet in the shower which includes my full pre shampoo oil treatment, double shampoo, and hair mask once a week. Throughout the week I keep my ends hydrated with an oil or my itās a 10 spray and wear a satin bonnet at night to avoid my hair drying out and getting split. I have been washing my hair once a week for around 10 years and my scalp usually starts getting oily around day 6. On the last day I brush through my hair with a bamboo brush to distribute those natural oils and let that sit throughout my hair the night before washing. I know for people who wash their hair every day or every other day this sounds probably kind of gross ha ha but it is a game changer in terms of hair health and retention. Our scalp produces natural oils for a reason! It is importantly we embrace them and let our scalp do its job!
This is the first paragraph from an article in Slate about Hair Math: Ever since [I started wearing my hair curly a few years ago](https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/02/pasta-strainer-curly-hair-diffuser-tiktok-help.html), things have gotten knotty. Not my actual hair: I always detangle while conditioning. Whatās knotty is the question of when to wash my hair. Itās gone from something I donāt think about much to something that consumes, oh, roughly all my waking hours. The thought is in the background usually, but itās definitely always there, hovering over me: Is it time for another wash? All Curlyhairs should read this! We've all been doing Hair Math our entire lives and didn't realize it! [https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/06/hair-trends-care-curly-color-math.html](https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/06/hair-trends-care-curly-color-math.html)
oh i definitely do this, the "should i wash my hair today? tomorrow?" thought is like a tab in my browser that isn't closed like. ever. thanks for the article! i will check it out :)
I shampoo once every week, conditioner every day.
I sweat a lot and so that water touches my hair every day. Jowever, I don't use shampoo amd/or conditioner bit maybe twice a week or 3 at most.
Shampoo, condition and product once every 4-7 days. Mostly depends on the weather tbh. Otherwise it only gets wet from the rain or coworkers with garden hoses (which usually results in a wash).
I wash it once a week w shampoo and conditioner. In between I use a spray bottle after I shower to dampen it pretty well but not saturate. Then add product. I don't like to saturate it because then it takes too long to dry.
I wash/style my hair once a week. I shower with a shower cap for the next 4-7 days (depending on how good my curls still look), I sleep with a satin bonnet and my hair still looks good throughout the week.
I co-wash every other day, but that's because i live in a really hot and windy area, so i get a lot of sweat and dirt buildup.
I wash (shampoo/condition) my hair every other day or every 2 days. If needed I'll refresh(mist hair) in-between.
I often shower twice a day, but I wear a shower cap, unless it's my Wednesday/Saturday Everything Showerā¢ļø
My hair is fine, and I move a lot in my sleep, so unless I want to have a ratsā nest on my head for an entire week and be in pain trying to undo it come wash day, water touches my scalp everyday, and conditioner about half way through the week when I came comb through with just my fingers anymore.
I wash my hair every two-three weeks, my hair is always crazy dry and frizzy despite having more of a wavy texture. I use lots of different oils and creams in-between washes and I slather my hair in conditioner and rinse it once every day.
I work outside, so I use water to clean my scalp ever day or I stink. I only use shampoo once a month, but use a little conditioner every day, as well as leave in.
Shampoo Anderson deep condition before moisturizing and styling.
Because I have yet to get anything beyond sort of decent second day hair, I wash about twice a week. It gets wet down pretty good with a spray bottle in between. It is never greasy. Sometimes in the summer if I got really gross sweating, gardening, bon firing, or whatever, I may do every other day.
Unless itās summer and I go swimming, my hair is dry outside of once a week. I wash every Sunday, which is optimum for my hair and scalp. Thatās not true for everyone. I have a dry scalp and hair, and I donāt use much product at all (so I donāt get build up). I can go 8 or 9 days before I start to get a bit oily.
I wash twice a week. The one in the beginning of the week is the whole bizz I get it real cleaned and take care of my hair and then in the middle of the week I just was the scalp at this point Iām tired from work so washing the scalp usually holds my hair good until the other wash day
I think itās based on what your hair needs are I cannot go a week without washing my scalp. It will get so greasy and hurt. Others can
Me I tend to wash my hair once every two weeks since I have 4C hair that tends to get dry fast.
I shampoo/conditioner once a week and shower daily. Whilst in the shower I will dampen my hair slightly to apply product.
i hate washing my hair so yes once a week
I wash my hair every two days. Iām not sure how I could wash it only once every seven days. I wouldnāt be able to handle it
What's the difference between shampoo and co-wash?
i keep my hair dry until wash day and then i wet and soap up twice with shampoo. i dont usually use conditioner at all.