How often should you wash your hair? It seems to be a medical mystery.
How often should you wash your hair? You’ve probably heard some people say that you should only wash your hair twice a week. Then, you’ll hear others say you should wash your hair every other day. Does anyone really know the truth?
The truth is, it depends! It depends on several biological and lifestyle factors, like how oily your hair and scalp get. Ultimately, there’s really no universal, definitive answer to how many times a week you should wash your hair. However, we did our best to break down the factors to consider, so you can achieve a healthy (and clean) head of hair.
1. How often do you use shampoo?
The purpose of shampoo is to clean your hair and make it less oily, right? Exactly. With that said, it’s also possible to over wash your hair. Shampoo contains purifying ingredients that can dry out your scalp, leading to brittle hair that’s susceptible to breaking.
Angela Lamb, MD, assistant professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai told WebMD, “Hair produces natural oil called sebum, and shampoo is an emulsifier that captures and traps excess oil, dirt, and product residue, which you then rinse out to clean the hair.” Therefore, sometimes it’s healthier to skip a day so those natural oils can nourish your hair and scalp.
Julien Farel of the Julien Farel Restore Salon & Spa in New York City also agrees. “If you shampoo every day, it will strip your scalp of all its natural oils and can lead to dry, brittle hair,” he told GQ. He’s even seen this firsthand with some of his clients, which leads us one step closer to the question: “How often should you wash your hair?”
We know the rumors: if you shampoo more, your hair will be less oily. To some degree, this is true. However, this also causes your scalp to produce more oil because it’s overcompensating for those natural oils you’re rinsing out every day. Linda Goldberg, dermatologist and director of Boston Medical Centre’s hair clinic told Business Insider, “People who wash their hair a lot to get rid of oil are drying out their scalp and producing more oil.”
In order to combat this, you can actually train your hair to be less dependent on shampoo by giving the lather-rinse-repeat routine a rest for a few days. Over time, you’ll see that your hair will acclimate to your new routine and become less oily.
2. What’s your hair type?
Fine Hair: If you’re a guy with thin hair, you probably experience greasy hair after only one wash. Why? Since your hair is fine, oil quickly becomes more noticeable compared to thick hair because it has fewer hair shafts to cling on to. While you can wash it everyday, you don’t want to become too dependent on shampoo either, so consider shampooing every other day.
Normal Hair: If your hair is on the average side — in between thick and thin — you should stick to washing your hair every 2 to 3 days. Once your scalp is itchy or your hair is visibly oily or dirty after a couple of days, it’s probably time for a shampoo. Above all, listen to your hair, and you’ll be rewarded.
Thick Hair: According to Men’s Health, thick hair has “more sebaceous glands and produces more oil” than fine hair. While it produces more oil, thick hair can look less oily than fine hair (despite producing the same amount of oil) because the oil gets distributed over more hair shafts. In other words, you can get away with the least amount of washes. Lucky you.
3. What’s your scalp type?
Oily scalp: Obviously, if you have a naturally oily scalp, you already know the drill. It gets unbearably greasy that you’re tempted to shampoo twice in one sitting. However, celebrity hairstylist, Angelo David Pisacreta of the Angelo David Salon, recommends to Women’s Health that it’s actually better to shampoo less. Again, it’s the same principle (as mentioned above) of training your hair to become less dependent on shampoo. As a result, you can wash it often to remove excess grease, but don’t overdo it.
Dry scalp: The dryer your skin is, the more you have to moisturize it, right? Your scalp has the same principle. If you have a naturally dry scalp, your hair is going to need more conditioning and less purifying. Therefore, it’s important to not wash your hair every single day because you’ll strip away the few, natural oils you do have. You should consider washing it only a few times a week and adding extra hydration with hair oil and moisturizing shampoo.
4. Do you have an active lifestyle?
Have you ever wondered how often should you wash your hair as a gym goer? If you work out every day, you’re probably sweating every day. In this case, it’s better to wash your hair more often for hygienic reasons. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean shampooing after every intense cardio session. You can actually get the job done by rinsing your hair out with plain and pure water. We recommend the water method on days you’ve done a low-intensity workout, like yoga or pilates.
5. How often do you apply heat on your hair?
If you use heat products frequently (hair dryers, curlers or straighteners), your hair is already prone to damage. It’s known that heat-styling tools dry out hair, causing breakage and split ends. On top of frequent washing, the combination is not pretty. Therefore, keep the shampooing to a minimum.
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