If you struggle with a particularly oily scalp, you may find yourself more inclined to wash your hair daily to offset the grease factor and improve the appearance of your strands. However, while washing your hair daily may be a short term solution to oily locks, there may actually be some longer term damage that can come about from using shampoo and conditioner on your hair each day.
We spoke with hair stylist Jess Poynter of Sola Salon Studios, and Evelyn Metellus, stylist and owner of the Exotic Hair Doctor to get their input on the negative impact washing your hair too frequently can have on your locks, and how you should be caring for your strands instead.
Loss of Natural Oils
An oily scalp may be a hassle when it comes to achieving luscious, clean looking locks, but maintaining the natural oil balance of your scalp is actually essential for keeping your hair hydrated and sleek. If you take to washing your hair too frequently, your scalp will continuously be stripped of the oil it produces, leading to an overproduction to compensate.
“When you shampoo every day, the surfactants in the shampoo cleanse everything out of the skin and hair, including the natural oils the body produces for healthy body chemistry,” explains Poynter. “Without those natural oils, the body thinks there is a drying out situation and then overproduces, thus making us think our hair looks greasy or oily, prompting us to wash more, and the cycle continues.”
It can take several weeks for your hair to adjust to not being cleansed daily, but your body will ultimately reduce oil production on the scalp to fit how frequently you wash. That being said, if you do exercise regularly, you may find it to be more difficult to go more than a single day without washing your hair, which according to Poynter is a valid concern.
“While you do need to cleanse the sweat off so as not to impact the pores that your hair comes out of (which could lead to hair loss), you shouldn't be cleaning to the point that your hair feels squeaky clean,” she explains. “If you're getting that squeaky clean feeling on your hair, congratulations, you just stripped your hair of all the good things it needs.”
Instead, rinsing your strands after your workout to eliminate the sweat without scrubbing the oils out can help to preserve the long term health of your hair while training your locks to go longer between washings. “If you need a daily cleansing option, opt for a co-wash or a 'cleanditioner' to use on a daily basis,” suggests Poynter. “Cleansing conditioners are great, especially for people with curly hair, because they offer a quick surface clean without surfactants.”
According to Metellus, for fine hair you should ideally be going one to three days between hair washing. For medium and coarse hair, three to four days will be the most effective, and for curly or African American hair, four to five days between washings.
Rinsing your hair more regularly to eliminate product buildup can help to reduce dandruff and itchiness on the scalp, but on the whole it’s best to train your hair to go several days without shampoo and conditioner in order to preserve the best texture in the long term. Washing your hair is great for moisturizing and cleansing dirty locks, but over-cleansing will only further exacerbate the issue, and it’s best to go at least a day between washing for your healthiest, most vibrant hair.
