STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Kari · Dooney & Bourke

how often do you wash hair?

Elle · Hermes

I think that there is a small percentage of people who can actually get away with not washing everyday. That includes people with dry or curly hair who don't have oily scalps. Oil production also decreases as you get older, so that's a possiblity too.

I have fine, oily hair and absolutely must wash everyday. It is not optional.

I think the 'rule' works like this - if your hair is dry in the first place, washing everyday could dry it further and therefore damage it. However, if your hair is oily enough that it needs to be washed everyday to keep you from looking like Johnny Depp, it can probably handle the slightly drying effects of daily washing without harm.

Seashells · Dooney & Bourke

If I have to skip one day, I usually put baby powder in my hair which will dry up the oil. There are also other products that you can use that will do similar things.

like this:

Jonathan Product™

Redo™ Freshen Up Mist for Hair and Skin

Rework and restyle without starting over. Fresh botanical water mist is perfect to restyle hair without shampooing. Can also be used to cleanse, hydrate and condition skin. Sulfate- and alcohol-free. 100% vegan. Domestic.

Essential Ingredients:
• Cucumber/rose Essential Water™ refreshes slightly dirty, oily hair.
• Vegetable enzyme neutralizes odor and leaves hair with a clean scent.
• White tea, almond, aloe and pomegranate condition and add shine.

I think these products might be good for hair that is dry on the ends, but oily on the scalp.

cc · Marc Jacobs

I always felt the same way - that I had to wash my hair every day, especially since it is light and it seemed much more noticeable (i.e. darker) when it was dirty. Whenever I would skip a day my hair seemed very oily, had that unwashed hair smell, etc. I would feel disgusting.

But, like you, I kept reading articles about not washing hair daily and then I was inspired by the experience of some girls on Fashion Hag to commit to this. It was really hard at first but eventually my hair started looking normal on the second day and didn't feel gross and then my hair started looking normal to better on both the second and third days. I wish FH was still around so that I could find the posts about it because I can't remember how long it took but I'd say maybe only a few weeks. And I think it was only during the first week that I felt gross on unwashed days. So that really only boils down to maybe 4-5 days of feeling somewhat icky.

As Seashells said you can use a number of things to soak up the oil (baby powder, cornstarch, a colored powder like the one from bumble & bumble, dry shampoo spray) and there are the refreshing sprays which will give your hair a nice smell.
I don't really need to use either kind of product anymore but I keep them on hand just in case.

Some people notice a big improvement in the condition of their hair. I did not, however my hair wasn't really damaged to begin with. But this saves me a lot of time, makes it easier when I travel, cuts down on the amount of shampoo and conditioner I buy, and I often think that my hair looks better when it hasn't been washed in a day or two.

jettie · Kate Spade

I wash my hair every other day or every three days. I have relatively dry, thick, wavy hair that I flat iron. Not washing every day saves me a lot of time as well decreases the damage caused by styling with a flat iron - I only need to use it 3 days a week rather than 7 days a week.

I also like the way my hair looks better on the second day. There is a whole lot less puffiness.

-- Edited by jettie at 15:02, 2006-08-09

Kelly · Hermes

I wash my hair every day. The only time I find that unwashed hair is preferrable is if I'm wearing a pony-tail, which is convenient because I would only wear a ponytail on rushed days, anyway. However, my hair has been too short for a ponytail for a couple years now, so I wash every day. Sometimes twice a day - my hair never looks as nice as it does within the first few hours of blow drying it, and if I have a date or something where I want to look my best, I wash it again in the evening before I go out.

member · Hermes

I wash my hair every other day or every 3 days as well. My hair is dry and naturally wavy, so my hair looks way better on the 2nd day after it's washed. Way less poufy and my hair doesn't start to get a drop of oiliness until the 3rd day. If I washed every day, my scalp would be so dry, it would flake.

needsfashionadvice · Kate Spade

I have really oily fine hair so I wash it everyday. Plus I go to the gym about 5 days a week and my head gets all sweaty so there's no way I'd skip washing it after it's been sweaty.

zeitgeist4 · Gucci

I have very oily, fine hair. Both of my parents have oily hair, so there isn't any getting around it.

I wash my hair every day. It gets all messed up after I sleep on it, and it can't be controlled by brushing. By the middle of day 1 it already starts looking oily, so there's no way I would skip a wash.

rlutz · Chanel

I wash my hair every other day

Bastet · Kate Spade

I have fine, straight, oily hair. I have to wash it every day or the oily bits really show up. The odd thing is, when I was a little kid, I washed it every other day and was fine.

wetbandit42 · Marc Jacobs

I have curly hair which I wash every other day. If it does look oily on the second day I use a dry shampoo spray.

Lilykind · Hermes

I have thick, coarse, straight hair and my scalp is oily but my ends are sort of dry. I wash every two or three days. I did the hair experiment cc is referring to and now I generally like my hair best on the second day.

Kitty · Hermes

My hair gets oily, so I wash everyday. I TRY to give it a break on Sunday..but I usually can't take it and have to wash it.

twinkle · Coach

every other day. it starts to get oily on day 3 but i can get away with it.

AllieGurl · Marc Jacobs

Every other day. I love my hair more the second day for some reason. However, 3 days is to long for me. :)

Becca · Kate Spade

I have to wash mine everday. It just doesn't look good the second day, too oily and I hate that unwashed hair smell. It makes me feel gross.

halleybird · Hermes

My experience is similar to cc's. I have fine, thin hair that is semi-oily at the roots and dry at the tips, and it has made it less damaged. I wash it every other day. I usually have to pull it back or up on the second day, only because it doesn't hold a curl as well (and my hair needs some sort of curl not to look flat). But when I do put it up, it looks really good and stays all day with no problems.

You can also try just rinsing your hair on the second day with no shampoo or conditioner. I had a roommate with thick, curly hair who washed every 3-4 days and just rinsed & used conditioner on the other days, and her hair always looked great. I don't think it would work on mine, though.

kittenheels · Coach

I generally do it every other day and use a refresher spray on the days in between. I have short hair that's pretty much normal in every conceivable way. But I color it, so I try to give it a break!

Cortney1982 · Chanel

Usually everyday. I didn't wash it yesterday since I didn't plan on going anywhere and it was all I could think about ALL day! It gets so greasy looking by the end of day 2 that I can't stand myself! I use a bristle brush to distribute the oil, but that only helps a small amount.