Wetting Hair Daily?

[n_lucky]

Just wanted to get some opinions on washing/wetting your hair daily.

I recently read this post from The Natural Haven, what do you all think?

Thursday, 3 September 2009

Moisture or Oil: Case for Water (Part 1 of 2)

Have you asked yourself (or me) one of these questions, 'Am I overdoing the moisture by washing/moisturising daily or am I overdoing the oiling by applying oil every night? '

Well the answer is...........it is complicated. It really depends on you and your hair. There is a case for water and one for oil. Here is the case for water

Hair is approximately 10% water and can easily absorb and lose this water.

Water gets into hair and causes separation of the keratin (hair protein) molecules. This increases the pliability of hair meaning the hair is less rigid and is able to move/bend easily. (Journal of Cosmetic Science, pg 355-368, 2001)

The level of moisture in hair depends on one key factor – the humidity of the air (Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, 447-470, 1972). If the air is dry, water can be lost from the hair and if the air is very humid, hair will absorb water.

Secondary factors that can affect the amount of water include things like heat treatment which can drive alot of moisture from hair. In fact heat treated hair cannot go back to its original level even in humid conditions. It has to be re-wetted with water. (Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, pg 27-36, 1981)

Another secondary factor is porosity (Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings, pg 2–5, 2007) – (read more on porosity)

So is there a benefit to using water/water based product to add moisture to your hair?

From the research above, I would think so. This is probably most useful if where you live is not particularly humid. There is one article which does point out though that consumers doing the touch and feel test really cannot tell the difference between different levels of hair hydration. (Journal of Cosmetic Science, pg 527-535, 2003).

Is there a case against wetting the hair?

Yes there are potential issues

1. Hygral fatigue – wetting the hair and then letting it dry and repeating the process several times causes the hair to swell and relax repeatedly which can damage the hair (Journal of Cosmetic Science, pg169-184, 2001).
2. Cuticle damage – Cuticle can lift due to wetting and can then subsequently be chipped during combing (Journal of Cosmetic Science, pg 327-339,1999).

Remedies to potential issues
1. Before washing - Use a penetrating oil (such as coconut oil) to limit the swelling of the hair.
2. After washing - Use an oil film to slow down moisture pick up from the environment around you (Journal of Cosmetic Science, pg135-145, 2007).
3. In between washing – Your hair probably does not need to be soaking wet to be moisturised, less is more.

So now that you’ve heard the case for water, click here to go to part 2 - the case for oil!

 

[Seraphina]

During the summer my hair thrives on daily co-washing and bunning. It's not always practical for me, though.

 

[CarefreeinChicago]

I have been cowashing everyday since its to hot to wear wigs

 

[Tiye]

I don't think it's harmful in the summer or if you live in a tropical climate. I tend to wash my hair more often in the summer but not everyday for the most part.

 

[PinkSunshine77]

Water is the best moisturizer. Water can NEVER dry out your hair. Yes you can very well wet your hair daily for moisture.

 

[greenandchic]

I cowash 3-4 days a week and wet my hair probably more often than I should. I'm not sure what else I could do to keep the dryness down though.

 

[SmilingElephant]

I think it depends on the person. I co wash my hair everyday right now and every 3 days in the winter and my hair is doing fine. My hair thrives on water.

 

[Philippians413]

Wetting my hair daily leads to breakage.

 

[Ogoma]

I think the last group in the world to worry about hygral fatigue are black women . If wetting hair daily led to loss of hair, most non-black women in the world would be bald, but we know that is not the case.

Do whatever works for you and your hair. Washing your hair, not washing your hair, moisturizing your hair, not moisturizing your hair, detangling your hair, not detangling your hair, leaving your hair out, hiding your hair for months have all caused someone problems somewhere.

It all appears to be a matter of finding which of these or which combination of these will allow one achieve whatever they wish with these dead fibers meant for temperature regulation.

 

[lamaria211]

I only wet my hair 2x a week. One CW and one wash + DC. I always use water based moisturizers. I live in fl its usually extra humid

 

[n_lucky]

Water is the best moisturizer. Water can NEVER dry out your hair. Yes you can very well wet your hair daily for moisture.

I agree. I was just wondering if it might be better to mist the hair with water in between washes rather than having it soaking wet every day.

 

[PinkSunshine77]

I don't think water is leading some if you ladies to breakage. I truly believe its the constant or less than patient manipulation of your hair while it's wet.

 

[PinkSunshine77]

I agree. I was just wondering if it might be better to mist the hair with water in between washes rather than having it soaking wet every day.

Oh I used to do that especially during this heat wave. My hair loved it.

 

[browneyedgrl]

only when it's hot. Have to be careful with what conditioner I use though because too much moisture will make my hair too soft.

 

[faithVA]

I used to think water between washes was too much. But now I know that my hair prefers to be washed/cowashed more often. I'm not sure if it likes every day but definitely every other day is a preference. After switching over my hair is much softer and my scalp is healthier.

I think some people can get by with misting in between, misting doesn't seem to do much for my hair. My hair is very thirsty. So misty can get me by for a day but my hair doesn't absorb enough of it to last. My hair is low porosity though.

I think the best thing you can do is wash, co wash your hair, and then start misting it and watch your hair to see when it says its dry. It will tell you. And when it's dry no amount of misting will compensate for it. You will need a full wash/cowash to rehydrate it.

Listen to your hair, it will tell you when it's dry and it won't accept any substitutes.

 

[irisak]

I don't think water is leading some if you ladies to breakage. I truly believe its the constant or less than patient manipulation of your hair while it's wet.

I think you might be on to something. When I cowash daily, I usually don't detangle my hair at all or only lightly detangle. The running water and the conditioner seem to be enough to keep the major tangles at bay until wash/DC day.

 

[AudraChanell]

Wet hair usually requires a lot of manipulation. I expect more breakage. I would definitely re-think my Detangling or having perpetually wet hair all the time-365.

 

[ScorpioRising]

I don't co wash daily but I have started wetting my hair daily and just use a bit of leave in until its time for wash day. I have seen less tangles, breakage, dryness, more definition (in my crown area especially), and my scalp LOVES it.

I also don't manipulate it and just do wng's when I do this, finger detangle about once a week. When I manipulate it (twist outs, updos, ps) I leave the style in for a few days without wetting it.

 

[PinkSunshine77]

I think you might be on to something. When I cowash daily, I usually don't detangle my hair at all or only lightly detangle. The running water and the conditioner seem to be enough to keep the major tangles at bay until wash/DC day.

Hehe yeah I know for sure with me, I was just snatching through my hair while it was wet and without a thought. What in the world was I thinking