One of the major concerns that women face when it comes to hair care is about the frequency of a hair wash. You’ve heard that hair needs to be washed at least twice a week, but you’ve also heard that shampooing your hair too regularly can damage your tresses. So, how often should you actually wash your hair? What are the factors you need to take into consideration while making this decision?
We get into the details of all that hair washing entails, and hope to help you answer this age-old question.
Your hair is unique
There’s a reason why most of these types of articles start with a statutory warning. Everybody’s hair is different, and there are a number of external circumstances that need to be considered before settling in to a regime, as it can affect the health of your hair directly. And let’s not even get started on how genes affect your hair. All in all, it is important to be aware that what worked for someone else might not work for you, even if you have the same hair texture. You have to keep experimenting and changing your regime till you find one that works for your hair perfectly. We’d suggest you keep up with a regime for a week at least, before you incorporate any changes, as that’s how long it’d usually take to know if something is working or not.
Your lifestyle dictates your hair health
Washing hair once in three days might work for someone who has a relatively sedentary lifestyle, but for someone who works out every morning and finds her hair to be greasy, sweaty, and oily more regularly, it won’t work. Similarly, your eating and drinking habits also have a say in how often your hair needs washing. But one thing similar for all of us is the gradual dryness that comes along as we age. At this time, regular conditioning takes precedence over even regular shampooing.
You don’t need to worry about oil
Most of us get into this cycle where we use products to rid our scalp of the oils that it naturally produces, because we feel our hair gets too greasy, and then spend our weekends slathering on organic, essential oils to provide our hair with nourishment. But the fact is, the oil that your scalp produces naturally is the best product you could ever use for your hair. It is biologically targeted at you, and works best for your hair. In fact, we would also suggest that you approach any product that promises to get rid of these natural oils with caution.
You should attempt to stay away from sulphates
Sulphates are a common ingredient in shampoos and conditioners. They act as surfactants that attract dirt and oil, pulling it away from the scalp and the hair shaft, and cleansing your hair in the process. The problem with this is that these sulphates obviously can’t distinguish between the natural oil that your scalp produces, and the grease and sweat that accumulates through the day. Sulphates just strip away these natural oils, making them quite harmful to the hair. We’d suggest you invest in some good sulphate-free shampoos and conditioners for regular use.
You can fake a hair wash, and you should
Yep. You heard that right. As you must have figured by now, shampooing your hair too regularly causes the oils to be stripped away, thus damaging your hair. But it’s not the washing that’s the problem, it’s only the shampoo. Most times, you’ll be able to rinse your hair off the excess sweat and grime with just water, without losing all the good oils in your hair. Just wet your mane completely, and massage your scalp with your fingertips before rinsing your hair with water. You can even use a conditioner in this process, but only use the product downwards from mid-shaft.