Washing less seems the way to go...

[growwithme]

I just decided a couple of days ago that I'm not going to wash as frequently because I was starting to loose too much hair. I am trying to make my hair last two weeks (I just roller set on Wednesday) because it seems like the constant washing was drying my hair too much and I remember some of the times my hair was at its healthiest, I wasn't washing so frequently. I have experienced some growth and retained some length in the past couple of months but what good is it if the ends are all dry and brittle? I have tried every kind of moisturizer there is and it's not helping. I think the water is hard where I live now and that also has something to do with it. When I lived in California it never mattered how much I washed it but here (Texas), it seems like the water dries my hair so I don't think frequent washing is something I should be doing right now.

 

[Mahalialee4]

well...well...I have been browsing on this too. I use the odorless MtG replica, I use a lot of essential oils in my deep cleanser, and I spray on Infusium...so my hair does not get too oily or smelly by the end of the week. Actually some of the black church ladies that you see with that waistlength bun do....do the do every 2 weeks. I have never smelled them. So I am going to stretch my wash days a week apart as I said before but if I can go longer, I will without feeling guilty. I have no dandruff problems or overactive oil glands, and I air my hair out at least once a week since I am wearing a protective style all week. I cover my hair when I am cooking anyway, so I do not get the cooking smells, I am not around cigarette smoke etc. I can do this...it will work out for me I think since I am on the maximum growth minimum manipulation challege and one thing I need to avoid is using too much oil. I do not apply any leave ins etc. bonjour

 

[naturaline]

thinking bout it, it seems like a good idea. i usually (lightly) dampen my hair at night with water & baby oil- and then i put on my full head baggies. in the morning my hair is moist and ready to be styled.

however lately iv been washing it daily- looking at the thread where i was asking naturals how often they washed, most said every 3days or daily. i feel beening natural my hair Needs the moisture and it seems the water really adds to this- my hair loves it. i dont comb it often- i think im going to washin every 2days.

 

[joyous]

i only wash my hair once a week and will maybe go back to doing it by-weekly. washing it or cowashing more than that just doesn't work for me. my hair is pretty healthy and long. when i tried to do daily cowashing, it just didn't work for me. my hair seemed weaker and i lost way too much hair due to the extra manipulation.

The same for me. Daily washing was just to much manipulation and it beat the heck out of my ends. Once a week is plenty for me.

 

[Mahalialee4]

My hair is thick and bra strap length and it is just too much handling and separating and sectioning. I have to do a comb out when its wet otherwise all that hair just gets plastered together in a bun or up do and acts like it wants to dread fast. It takes 1 day to airdry...2 days for the curls to loosen up and then I apply the MTG, then let it marinate for a few days.....yes, it has to be this way. If your hair is quite short or a twa why wash every day. Not the same drama. bonjour

 

[MzOptimistic]

exactly my point about its surprising they ca go longer without washing! When we all know white people wash more frequently..as there hair gets oiler, smellier faster...because of the shape of their hair...our is natural curlier, making it harder for oils to travel etc.

Candy C, it seems white people wash more because their hair is oiler and holds dirt easily and we wash more because our hair is the driest...so basically white woman wash their hair more for different reasons than african american women...we wash more to add moisture and they wash more to get the oil out of their hair...one thing I have truely found out about my hair is it get dry after about three days and once I wash my hair it becomes soft again, if I was to go back to washing my hair once a week or every two weeks my hair will start breaking back off.

 

[Mahalialee4]

Let's just say really thick natural length can be a handfull the longer it gets. If I were relaxed, I would treat it differently and probably do the every 3 day or once a week thing. Who knows? bonjour

 

[JustKiya]

I WASH my hair maybe once every two or three weeks, but I RINSE it well with water and add leave in every day. I think that there is a huge difference between moisturizing your hair and washing it. Washing implies that you are using something - whether it me shampoo or conditioner that strips your hair of all it's natural oils and juices.
Even though I work out everyday, I find that rinsing my hair and scalp well leaves my hair and head feeling better than putting any sort of soap on it. My hair/scalp needs water daily - it doesn't need soap and water daily.

As another poster said - what works for each of us varies.

 

[plove]

i agree. i too had been washing upto twice a week with great results, but i wanna try this method for a bit and see how it goes..


any more once a week or biweekly washers??

yes me, i only wash my hair by weekly or once a month and no my hair don't have a smell or itch. I do Spitz my hair with water and a leaven in con every other day. My hair is still growing. MHO a lot of women who do so much to their hair to get it to grow, their hair still grow at a very slow rate. So if you think your hair will be healther and grow faster with less wash why not try it. What is the worst that can happen, oh ya your hair will smell bad but hey doesn't that stuff that a lot of women put on their hair smell bad?


So in the words of my brother "just do you"

 

[KhandiB]

I wash ev 7-14 days when Im freshly relaxed..

If Im due a relaxer or if Im wearing protective styles I wash 2-3 times a week..

 

[Cichelle]

I cowash everyday. I would not use shampoo everyday. I believe that is what they are talking about at the other site. There are plenty of people there who cowash.

I've tried cowashing less frequently and it just doesn't work for me. My hair does best with lots of water and moisture daily. Plus, I need to detangle daily and I do that under the shower water. I learned the hard way that waiting does not lessen the hair I lose. It just all adds up and then some when I finally detangle. A big mess.

So no, for me, I would never go 2 weeks without cowashing. I also can't deal with dirty hair and an itchy scalp. Oil (sebum) from my scalp does not make it to my ends from not washing, possibly because I don't brush my hair and it is very curly. So all that just gets caught up at the top and creates a yucky situation. I like to rinse my hair and scalp very well, every day. But as has been said, everybody's hair is not the same.

 

[kbody4]

I used to wash my hair twice a week because I had dandruff within 3 days. Since treating my hair with Nizoral (OTC) I'm back to washing once a week

 

[napgurl]

Yes Candy C I now only wash every week or week and a half because I let my castor oil soak in. Cutting down on the washing has done wonders.

 

[Dare~to~Dream]

I've started washing my hair every two weeks since the spring/summer started...before I would wash twice a week or at least once a week...so far I'm okay with it.

 

[Mestiza]

Usually, I wash (shampoo & conditioner or CO) my hair 2 - 3 times a week. Lately, I've been washing it, everyday and my hair looks and feels great! I have less shedding and my hair is growing faster. The texture of my hair seems to be changing and I just can't go w/o washing it, often. I hope that I'll be able to continue daily washing during colder months w/o getting sick.

BTW, I airdry, only and I'm a little over 6 1/2 months into my transition to natural and my hair is nearing hip bone length.

I do know some people who wash their hair very infrequently, and it still continues to grow long.

 

[Ayeshia]

With me bing natural going without washing at least 3 days is a no no....my hair would be dry as ever. But on the contrary if I had waist length relaxed hair aint no way in hell I would be washing 2-3 times per week That seems like it would be very time consuming . 2 weeks would be right up my alley.

 

[Ayeshia]

also white folks with stick straight hair do not co wash...well most dont. They use shampoo everytime they wash to strip the excess oil out whereas most of us dont.

 

[Mestiza]

With me bing natural going without washing at least 3 days is a no no....my hair would be dry as ever. But on the contrary if I had waist length relaxed hair aint no way in hell I would be washing 2-3 times per week That seems like it would be very time consuming . 2 weeks would be right up my alley.

My hair is beyond waist length and relaxed w/ a lot of new growth b/c I'm transitioning to natural, but it doesn't take a lot of time for me to wash my hair. It hasn't been tangling and I airdry so that helps, tremendously. Today, my SO said that I wash my hair a lot faster, now. I wash it and leave the conditioner on while I'm taking a shower and then, rinse and comb my hair. I guess I have it down to a science. When I deep condition it under a dryer, it takes longer, but I'm doing that a lot less, now.

 

[dreamgurl]

My scalp must produce a lot of sebum because I'll wash my hair on Saturday and by Monday it is oily again. I don't use any oil on my hair or scalp because I don't like the limp look after I wash my hair. So it is definitely from my scalp.

I agree that it is the best natural conditioner for the hair.

 

[Miss*Tress]

In the summer I wash my hair anywhere from 2X a week to daily because I sweat so much. Every other season, I only wash my hair once a week and sometimes (though rarely) once every two weeks.

 

[inthepink]

i've been washing once a week for a couple of months now. It's less manipulation for my hair.

 

[macherieamour]

I wash once a week and have been doing so for years.

I workout a lot and mid week, will spray my roots with water or diluted leave-in and blow the roots dry which is a big but it works for me.

I rollerwrap my hair to style and judt dont have the time to rollerset 2x a week.

 

[2cute2B4gotten]

I wash once a week also... It's always worked for me, so I will stick with that. I contemplated washing 2x per week, but I say, if it ain't broke....

 

[SerenityBreeze]

I try to wash my hair twice a week so my hair CAN be moisturized. I only lather once when I wash. I feel that I am quenching the thirst of my hair by washing frequently. However, I understand that washing and airdrying is less manipulation with the hair. If I were rollersetting, there is no way I would do it.

 

[Poohbear]

Hey Candy_C! I just figured this out for myself that washing less is better for MY hair. I have gone back and forth between not washing much and washing frequently. For me, washing anywhere from 1 to 4 times a month is best for my hair... less dryness, less splits, and less breakage. I am someone with naturally dry and soft tresses...too much water and too many products wreaks havoc on my fine stranded nappy hair.

I also wanted to point out a few ladies here at LHCF with waist length hair who wash every 2-3 weeks: Sherrylove and unlvgirl.

 

[Poohbear]

i only wash my hair once a week and will maybe go back to doing it by-weekly. washing it or cowashing more than that just doesn't work for me. my hair is pretty healthy and long. when i tried to do daily cowashing, it just didn't work for me. my hair seemed weaker and i lost way too much hair due to the extra manipulation.

Same here.

 

[inthepink]

I wash once a week and have been doing so for years.

I workout a lot and mid week, will spray my roots with water or diluted leave-in and blow the roots dry which is a big but it works for me.

I rollerwrap my hair to style and judt dont have the time to rollerset 2x a week.

macherie - do you have a particular day of the week that you do your hair\?

 

[Belle Du Jour]

Now that I'm relaxed, I only plan on washing once a week. I washed on Friday and there was shedding, but I had to remind myself that I hadn't manipulated my hair all week, so that was very minimal shedding. I just don't have the time to wash, condition, and rollerset more than once a week, nor do I want to do it.

 

[macherieamour]

macherie - do you have a particular day of the week that you do your hair\?

It depends, I wash on thursday night so around Monday or Tuesday, Ill put on some diluted leave-in conditioner, gently pull the roots taunt and zap with the blowdryer on medium. I then just moisturize with KC creme headdress on the ends and wrap. Its kinda like a fake wash I havent had any adverse effects so far and Ive been doing it since high school.

 

[Lucia]

also white folks with stick straight hair do not co wash...well most dont. They use shampoo everytime they wash to strip the excess oil out whereas most of us dont.

there are alot more stick straight haired ladies on LHC who CO wash than you think they've given up shampoos and I've seen the progress pics, before and after shampoo and it's worked wonders for straight hairs too.

I'm trying to find the right amount of CW to do per week. I mean if your busy with other things you can't deal with the hair on the daily. I mist daily and CW 2x/week now, I try to deep condition 1 every 2 weeks at least with my hair steamer, but that is time consuming so I have to have the day free.