My schedule varies, but I usually wash my hair on Monday, for a fresh start to the week, and again on Friday or Saturday. Some people are shocked when I tell them I only wash my hair about twice a week, but its not good to wash your hair everyday, especially if you have thin and fine hair like me. If you didn’t already know this, listen up! If you could careless about your hair, you might be reading the wrong blog post.
How do I go days with out washing my hair?
It does take sometime for your hair to get used to not being washed everyday, you have to build up a tolerance. Your skin will eventually realize that it wont need to over produce oils constantly when you aren’t always washing them away. When I do wash my hair I use my fingernails to gently exfoliate my scalp to get rid of any product build up or dead skin. (hairspray, dry shampoo, overnight hair mask) I was using Biolage’s Hydrasource Shampoo and Conditioner but after investigating the ingredients, I found sulfates, which is a detergent that is extremely harsh on hair. I recently started using Shea Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner. It’s pretty affordable, and you can find it at Target. Click the photo below to shop.
Even though the roots of my hair can get a little oily my ends tend to be more on the dry side. I do one of two things so that the ends of my hair aren’t dying for moisture by day 2, I use a leaving in healing oil and I try to do a hair mask at least once a week. (I would probably do a hair mask once every wash if I had the time) The leave in oil I use is Lanza Keratin Healing Oil. I usually have to order this off of amazon but you can also get it from Ulta. I absolutely love this product and have been using it for over a year now. My hair feels so much healthier when I apply this oil after and in between showers. I try to concentrate in on my ends and stay away from my scalp. I recently picked up a hair mask sampler from Sephora, it has soooo many options and they are all great! It helps you find the product you love, to be honest I haven’t been disappointed with any of them, and a huge plus is that its only $25! Click the photos below to shop.
When I finally get to day 4 I break out the dry shampoo. Since I am a brunette I use Batiste Dark and Deep Dry Shampoo. Let me tell you, it is amazing!! In the past I never used traditional dry shampoo because it would leave me with white roots. (not cute) If you are a brunette, you need this in your life! Even if you aren’t a brunette they have other options for you, I have several friends that also swear by this brand. You can find it almost anywhere now a days, but if you go through as much of it as I do you will want to go to Sally’s Beauty Supply. With a $5 membership you get discounts on their products and they give you coupons all of the time, the potential to save $$$ heck yes! (I am not sponsored I just really love to shop there) Click on the picture to shop.
Lastly, when its probably about time to wash my hair and I put my hair up. I generally rat my hair a bit by the crown of my head and pull it into a pony tail. I almost always use a sock bun form just because it looks like I spent a ton of time on my hair when it only takes a few minutes. I try to make it look a little messy so the sock bun doesn’t look too perfect. Once I have done this I am on day 5 (being honest sometimes day 6) and my hair looks awesome! Most of these sock bun forms are about $10, but they sell the SAME EXACT THING at the dollar store. (Unfortunately I don’t have an online link for this one, sorry!)
Let me know some of your tips and tricks in the comments!
Why I wouldn’t advise you to wash your hair everyday?
Its not the end of the world if you wash your hair everyday, if you have short hair, if you get it trimmed every couple of weeks to maintain your style, or if you use tons of styling product, you are fine to wash more regularly! For those of us who don’t get a hair cut for months, who color treat, who have longer hair or are trying to grow longer hair do not, I repeat, do not wash your hair daily. When you wash your hair that often it is stripping the natural oils from your hair. It causes breakage and if you are coloring your hair, it won’t last as long. Lastly, due to drying out your scalp you may get dandruff. I don’t know about you but I am trying to avoid my hair breaking off and getting dandruff!
While we are on the topic of things to avoid, sometimes even the best shampoos can dry out your hair. I recently discovered that there were ingredients in my shampoo/conditioner that can actually worsen the condition of my hair over time. Organic products are usually your best bet, but if you are really concerned about what’s in the products you are using, check the ingredients labels. These are the things I try to avoid when making hair product purchases. (remember you can’t always avoid every single product, for example: almost every hair spray contains alcohol, hair spray is a must for some hair styles aka its unavoidable in this product, but other ingredients that are cancerous… avoid avoid avoid)
- Sulfates (A detergent found household cleaners that strips moisture from your hair, avoid anything that includes Sulfate)
- Isopropyl Alcohol (Dries out your hair)
- Parabens (Can cause cancer)
- Formaldehyde, Diazolydinyl Urea, DMDM Hydantion (Preservative chemical and can also cause cancer)
- Polyethylene Glycol (Can cause cancer among other things)
There are so many more, but I am going to end my rant here. Let me know in the comments if I missed a big one that you look for in your products!