Washing Hair too much

ruthiepie

Ok so seeing as I dragged another topic slightly off topic, figured I'd start a new thread. I have come to the conclusion (thanks to other boardsies) that I wash my hair too often. Starting Monday (cos I have plans over the weekend), I'm going to invest in a new shampoo and stop washing my hair as much. Hopefully this will help my hair to stop falling out as much and getting very greasy very quickly!!!

Out of curiosity though, I've read things on the internet where if you stop washing you hair long enough it eventually starts to clean itself?? Is this an urban myth?? Has anyone actually tried it??

Also my other question would be if I am in the shower and just rinse it with hot water, will this hinder me, am I back to square 1 or is this nothing to worry about??

Sorry for the questions but I wash my hair every day and by the end of the working day i notice (my fringe especially) is already greasy. Hopefully by washing it less often, this is all going to stop. Fingers crossed anyway!!!

gctest50

Don't wash it with mad shampoos at all ?

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/its-been-one-year-since-i-stopped-washing-my-hair-8213533.html

ruthiepie

gctest50 wrote: »

Don't wash it with mad shampoos at all ?

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/its-been-one-year-since-i-stopped-washing-my-hair-8213533.html

Oh that's quite interesting. I was going to buy a new shampoo at the weekend but instead I might skip this. Actually just as a follow up from that article, googled not using shampoos at all and apparently there are a lot more peope doing that or even just washing it every 2-3 weeks if needed. People are saying their hair has never looked better??

Hmm now I don't know if I'll be able to stop completely but I am def going to tone it down. Might stop washing it for 10 days like in that article and see does it start to improve. I'm willing to give it a chance for healthier hair!!

Think I might be tieing back my hair for the next 2 weeks!!

PlainP

gctest50 wrote: »

Don't wash it with mad shampoos at all ?

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/its-been-one-year-since-i-stopped-washing-my-hair-8213533.html

Do you use this method?

witchgirl26

While I don't think I'll go down the road of not using anything to wash my hair, I do only wash it maybe 3 times a week. Always have. Yes sometimes it's a bit greasy & a little dry shampoo is needed, most of the time it looks really good. Also as I have a very sensitive scalp, it really helps keep that from getting aggreveted.

One question I'd ask is how much to you play with your hair during the day? I used to be a demon for messing with my fringe & twirling my hair but then realised that I was transferring the grease from my skin to my hair & making it worse.

As for shampoos - they're not all laden with terrible chemicals. I use the Moo Goo ones now & find them fantastic & organic. Also the Dead Sea Magik ones (a former fav) are very good.

One thing that might help is if you cut down washing your hair gradually. Say you don't want to wash it every day but you normally do, maybe try washing it 5 times next week, then down to 3 so that it gives you a chance to see how it's going.

vibrantblue

I don't think all shampoos are evil. I use sulfate free shampoos. My hair is in much better shape since I changed to sulfate free.

I've been washing my hair twice a week for 3 (almost 4) years now. And I've been benefiting from it a lot. My advice would be to ease into it. Start with washing your hair every other day first; then increase the intervals slowly.

I recently started to use a cleansing balm. I am switching between shampoo and it atm. I'll report back how it goes. It's the Revlon Uniq 1. L'Oreal Professional has a famous one too.

ruthiepie

Ah my head (and hair) is all muddled now!!

Ok so to start I think I'm going to gradudally cut back on washing my hair. I think that seems to be the general opinion from everyone. So seeing as I wash it every day, I'm going to initially push it back to every 2nd day and so on.

At the moment I do usually use Wash and Go, or generally anything that comes to hand. So I think the first step is to get a sulphate free one and go from there?? I'm so sick of my hair getting greasy so quickly that I need to try something.

And yes I do tend to play or touch my hair a bit and I have a fringe which doesn't make things any easier. Am going to try and tone that down too. Here's hoping onwards and upwards!!

witchgirl26

ruthiepie wrote: »

Ah my head (and hair) is all muddled now!!

Ok so to start I think I'm going to gradudally cut back on washing my hair. I think that seems to be the general opinion from everyone. So seeing as I wash it every day, I'm going to initially push it back to every 2nd day and so on.

At the moment I do usually use Wash and Go, or generally anything that comes to hand. So I think the first step is to get a sulphate free one and go from there?? I'm so sick of my hair getting greasy so quickly that I need to try something.

And yes I do tend to play or touch my hair a bit and I have a fringe which doesn't make things any easier. Am going to try and tone that down too. Here's hoping onwards and upwards!!

I actually used to use Wash & Go when I was younger & noticed a huge change in the grease levels of my hair when I switched. Now could have been a coincidence as a lot of other things changed at that time but made me steer clear ever since. Tresemme do a sulphate low one which is good but there are a few others on the market that aren't totally over priced.

Good luck with the playing with your hair thing - I know it's really hard to stop but does help. Also if you have a full fringe (moreso than a side but similar applies) try to make sure that your forehead is cleaned well too. That comes across strange but basically so that there isn't a problem. If the fringe is still getting badly greasy, you can just wash it in the sink with a teeny bit of shampoo (or even just water). It's what I used to do when I had a full one.

Faith

IMO, shampoo and condition are two things worth spending a lot of money on. I'd buy the best you can afford, particularly if you have troublesome hair.

Pessimist

I think the quality of the shampoo, how much you sweat or touch your hair and how often you wash your hair all play small parts in the overall greasiness. When I'm pregnant my hair looks better after a week without washing it than it does after a day when I'm not pregnant. I'm loving it at the moment - even in this humidity! So, for me anyway, it's most definitely hormones that play the greatest part.

Good luck though - I think your fringe could look quite greasy as its touching your face and collecting oil off that too. But overall, I honestly think it's down to hormones.

Dark Phoenix

I used to wash my hair every second day minimum and found sulphate free ones or shampoos for greasy hair made it greasier. I also found too many oils of products on the hair after washing made it greasier

however I have since learned that if I use a shampoo for dry hair it actually stops it getting greasy. I also now leave it two and occasionally three days between washing and find if you stop touching it / straightening it it stops being greasy. In saying that I didnt even brush mine this morning as sometimes it looks nicer if I dont!

I use the loreal riche shampoo for dry fine hair and also the head masters volume shampoo for brunettes and its very good.

another thing my hair dresser told me that helps is when you wash your hair - really wash it! She said when we was our own hair its not same as how they do it - drench your hair, really lather in the shampoo - scrub it into the hair and really rub it in and repeat that. I've been doing that and found it works for me

meoklmrk91

Through puberty I had to wash my hair each and every day or it would be stuck to my head with grease, no exaggeration. When I reached adulthood this was part of the routine and I thought that I would be doing it everyday for the rest of my life. What worked for me was to stop using conditioner when I am washing my hair and use a spray leave in conditioner sparingly and my hair is in good shape. At first I got 2 days out it now I get can go three or even four sometimes with some dry shampoo if needed. Also I find that if I blow dry it I am far more likely to get the three-four days out of it than if I leave it dry naturally.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

I used to wash mine at least once a day if not twice. I found that I'd wash it in the morning and by evening, my hair would look like it hasn't been washed in a week it would be so greasy.

So, I stopped washing it every day and started every second day. At first it was horrible, the second day my hair looked completely vile and disgusting. But it got better! Now I'd only wash my hair twice a week and my hair has never been in better condition.

tigerblob

Just bear in mind that everybody is different. Not everyone will be able to only wash their hair every few weeks, or switch to not using shampoo.

Personally, I realised I was washing my hair too much and I switched to washing it only once a week for a couple of months. The time it was taking to become greasy was getting a bit longer each time I washed it.

However, it stabilised after a while and I realised it was greasy from about day 5 and this wasn't stretching out any more. So now, I wash it every 4/5 days and it's rarely greasy.

I can't use sulfate-free shampoos though because I feel they just don't wash my hair well enough.

I have very thick, mid-back-length hair, and I'm quite a dry person in that my skin tends to be quite dry too, if those things make a difference.

I definitely recommend cutting down on how often you wash your hair, it's made a noticeable difference to the condition of my hair! ...Plus it's handier :P

Valentina

I wash my hair every other day. I go horse riding and my head gets sweaty from the hat, I also touch the front of my hair a lot - pushing it out of my face etc. I just use shampoo & conditioner from Aldi, 79c a bottle I think? My hair is quite thick, below my shoulders and really soft and shiny. I rarely get my hair cut as I like the length but when I do have always gotten compliments from the hairdresser that my hair is in great condition. Brushing your hair too much can make it greasy faster too.

I read an article before that said cheaper shampoos are generally better than dearer ones as they contain more of the actual cleansing agents whereas dearer ones have expensive fragrances, colours, packaging etc to make them more appealing but less of the actual stuff that does the cleaning.

Esoteric_

I wash my hair every 2 days, or more if I'm exercising more than usual.

I used to have a massive problem with greasy hair, it'd be greasy from about 2 hours after washing it.

A lady doing my hair in Dylan Bradshaw told me that while I'm washing my hair properly (ie, getting all the shampoo out!), the shampoo I'm using is way too heavy for my hair. She recommended I switch to something a bit more natural, like Lush products.

Switched to a Lush shampoo bar (they're about 8 euro) and haven't had greasy hair since. Actually, it's been soft, shiny and looks great.

ruthiepie

Hmm there's loads of good hints in here. Thanks for all so far. Have bought a shampoo sulphate free so will try and see if that helps it any bit. Might also look at the Lush shampoo bar just cos I love the smell of Lush!

On another note, how do you manage in heat like this?? I know this doesn't happen very often but I walk to and from work so usually by the time I get in I'm sweating, even more so in this weather. Had to tie back my hair today cos it was soooo warm. Should I always have a can of dry shampoo in my bag for these reasons??

I'm definitely convinced though with all the advice on here I'm going to get down to washing my hair every 3/4 days. I can't wait for that day!! :D

XxMCRxBabyxX

My hair gets greasy quite quickly and normally only lasts 2 - 3 days. I found cutting out conditioner really helped - it'd barely last a day before that!