Shampooing every day isn’t only wasteful, it can also harm your hair, according to NPR. Back in the olden days, when waterfalls passed for high-pressure showers, people would shampoo only once a month. That wasn’t enough, but if you shampoo more than three times a week, you’re actually making your hair oilier because your glands need to work overtime to replace the natural oils you’re washing away.
“If you wash your hair every day, you’re removing the sebum,” explains Michelle Hanjani, a dermatologist at Columbia University. “Then the oil glands compensate by producing more oil,” she says.
She recommends that patients wash their hair no more than two or three times a week.
There’s also a lot of variation among hair types. African-Americans and people with curly hair can go even longer between washes compared to folks with straight hair.
Of course, you shouldn’t misread this as an invitation to shop showering. That’s still good and healthy. Just cut back on the shampoo.
When It Comes To Shampoo, Less Is More
(Photo: Yogi)
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@ the poster recommending Buddy Wash:
You can get it even cheaper at KVpet.com. $39.95 for a gallon of the stuff. I use them for some supplements my dog needs and they have always been very reliable.
Other pet sites might have it even cheaper. I would check Petedge.com as they cater to groomers.
ohhhh so this is probably why my mom told me to wash my hair every other day when i was growing up. i just started washing every day b/c i had a hard time remembering when i washed my hair.
my brother on the other hand washes his hair about once a week. it usually looks pretty greasy.
I used to have SUPER oily hair that I washed twice a day to keep decent. After I learned that over washing was likely the cause of the problem, I weened it down to once a week over the course of a couple of months. I just use the same soap I wash my body with, no special shampoo, and rinse with water only during the showers it doesn’t get the full wash. My hair looks much better now that it did then, I don’t get split ends, and I save money since I don’t need to buy shampoo at all.
I read a report about a UK member of parliament [conservative at that] who had not washed his hair with shampoo for more than 10 years becuase some scientist said the who industry is basically a scam.
So I tried it. After the six weeks he said it takes to adjust I was fine. I haven’t shampooed my hair for over 19 months [I wash it with water every day]. I use conditioner when I get it cut and thats it. My hair is fine – I have less dandruff than when I used shampoo. And I am not ripped off by what is basically another beauty fraud!
Most people I talk to who have reeeeaaallly long hair know this — I started asking as I started growing my own hair long. When your hair takes 10 hours to dry, washing every day starts to look dumber and dumber!
Anyway, yes, you do have to go through a period of adjustment, or wean yourself down to shampooing less often, but it’s not that bad. Also, it helps to switch to something less harsh than shampoo — I wash with silicone-free conditioner (conditioners also have a mild detergent in them, so if you use a lot and scrub well, they’re basically mild shampoo) or with (additive-free) bar-soap, and my hair is much happier than it ever was when I shampooed it every day.
“to shop showering”? Nobody noticed that?
Another option is to use shampoo that doesn’t strip the oils from your hair as much. I use L’Oreal Kids Shampoo, which helps me avoid that squeaky-clean effect of shampooing that dries out my hair but my hair still ends up clean and conditioned. My hair is much softer and more manageable than if I shampoo and condition separately. It’s not for everyone, but for my hair type it works great!
It’s not about the act of washing your hair frequently and the statement is too blanket for all people. I get the whole frugal & healthy sentiment but it can’t be applied to all folks.
Most shampoos contain soap, which chemically is a detergent, and strips your hair of its natural oils. Then, when you use your conditioner, you have to use more to over compensate for what you just did with the shampoo. So your shampoo doesn’t necessarily need to have lots of suds to get your hair clean. This is a very common misconception.
Just like one commenter said that he/she had super fine hair that’s oily after one day, there are also people like myself who are of mixed race and have very long, thick, and wavy (but not chemically altered) hair. This requires a specially balanced (not to be confused with expensive) “shampoo” that’s actually more conditioner than it is shampoo. And to keep from looking like a poodle caught in a windstorm, this act of cleansing must be done pretty much every day – especially because I play rugby and being dirty and sweaty is imminent and frequent.
Sorry, but this information about not washing your hair as often can be applied to some but is really not applicable to lots of people.
@ crazyshoes (reply button not working)
That was uncalled for, saying I am superficial!
I was TEASING and joking about my husband’s oily hair. Yes it is gross. Yes, I tease him about it all the time. Yes, I JOKE with him about it. He teases me about things too. I love him dearly and have been married to him over 10 years, and have a beautiful child.
You’d never date or marry someone with, say, smelly feet, or dry skin, or a silly laugh? EVERYONE has a quirk about them or something unattractive, whether it be physical or personality wise. And husbands and wives who love each other do tease and joke about each other’s quirks. You’ve never heard someone joke about his wife’s awful cooking and suggesting they eat out despite loving her dearly? Do you call that man superficial, and question why he married her?
How insulting to suggest I should not have married my dear husband of over a decade because I tease him about hair washing and don’t like him using my pillow!
@Julia789:
A wise woman once told me, “Marry a man who has faults you can live with, because you’re going to have to!” I can’t live with a man who cheats on me, or gambles away our house and home. I could live with a man who had Greasy Scalp.
If you are a man and you have hair that you can grab, it’s too long.
Strangely enough, just got the following book from my local library (great way to save ca$h BTW), Hair Rules! by A. Dickey. This is a book specifically for persons with kinky, curly or wavy hair where he also recommends that such hair types not wash their hair every day as it strips away the sebum and makes the hair dryer and more prone to breakage. He also recommends that you can rinse your hair without shampoo to make it cleaner and says that shampoo is really to clean your scalp and not your hair. Really interesting read!
“but if you shampoo more than three times a week, you’re actually making your hair oilier because your glands need to work overtime to replace the natural oils you’re washing away.”
So what? Is that bad?
And how do your glands know that your hair is missing oils? Is there a sensor at the tip of your hair?
@MrsLopsided: If you’re trying to avoid having oily hair, then yes, that is bad.
NPR said so? ’nuff said. I’ll shampoo 3-4 times a day…
sorry, if I dont’ wash my hair it looks like hell and there ain’t no fixin’ it.
one-size-does-not-fit-all for this advice
When I was growing up I washed my hair only 2 to 3 times a week like I was told, and always wondered why I had such bad dandruff and incredibly oily hair. I found over time that if I washed it every day the dandruff and grease went away (I know, a hair person told me if I washed less that my dandruff would go away because Id have more oil. Exactly the opposite happened, I was just oilier and my scalp was worse, go figure).
Those of us with curly hair already knew this. It’s harder for curly hair to get the oil from the scalp through the hair. When I do shampoo, I use Curly Girl brand no-poo, which is cleansing conditioner.
I only shampoo my hair once every few weeks. I use conditioner in my hair about every three days. My hair has never looked so sleek and silky since I started doing this. My hair looked like hell back when I washed it every other day. No, my hair does not smell or look oily.
synergy said:
“What never ceases to amaze me is when I go to get my hair cut, the hair dressers are always amazed at BEAUTIFUL and HEALTHY my hair is and I tell them I put nothing in it, then 10 minutes later try to sell me every chemical under the sun to slather on it. *rme*”
That happens to me too. I’ll go in someplace to get a trim and they’ll rave about my hair. I use drugstore products and when they ask what I use and I tell them, then they go on about “Oh, that is sooooo bad for your hair, it’ll damage it, etc. etc. Try this expensive crap blah blah blah!”
I just laugh.
Nice find consumerist! Definitely an interesting post!
I have what I thought was naturally oily hair. I shampoo every single day because otherwise my hair would be heavy and oily, and shiny (but not in a good way). This morning I took my shower, but left my hair unwashed (I did rinse). Once it dried, I ran some baby powder through it. It’s shiny (in a good way) and is not heavy and oily today. It did have some frizz, but I combed a bit of water through and tied it back in a half-ponytail (only the top part of my hair, with the bottom hanging down). So far, it seems okay. I’ll try it again tomorrow. Let’s see how this goes.
I can see if you have dirty hair but out of habit ? . I wash it less because I’m cheap and the less chemicals on or in my body the better . If it’s dirty or there’s something on it’s washed .
I heard the same thing with the acne medicines as well . They wind up drying out the oils too much and the body compensates with extra . I’m sure the body has similar reactions with all the crap we purposely expose it to on a daily basis .
And as some have pointed out : the ritual of daily shampooing is perpetuated in the name of profit .
Another thing I forgot to add was that the smells that are the actual reason many winding up doing all these things to their body are unregulated or untested by FDA in many cases . There have even been references here on the consumerist .
In other words the CHEMICALS in those shampoos,soaps,colognes etc used for smell might be the ones that give you something one day other than stylish spring fresh hair . I know they give me headaches .
I’ve always read that the more you shampoo your hair, the more dry it can actually get because you’re washing away beneficial oils… which is why washing it less is better, so those oils can accumilate.
And for those of us who need dandruff shampoo? Otherwise it looks like there’s been a snow fall on my head in Southern California…
Just FYI, sodium laurel sulfate is the chemical term for “soap.” It’s a common chemical detergent. Some soaps are given more specific names depending on their fat source (sodium tallowate, for example). But there is nothing to be feared from a little laurel sulfate.
@lincolnparadox:
The idea is that SLS is too harsh for your hair, not that it’s particularly bad for you. There are plenty of SLS free conditioners for sale at any health food store(albeit at a huge markup). I just skip shampoo and only condition.
If I don’t shampoo for one day, I get dandruff on my hair. This is why I can’t stop using it.
I haven’t bought shampoo in over a year. I wash my hair once or twice a week using a small amount of shampoo, and the hair looks fine. It doesn’t matter how long or short my hair is. I stopped using conditioner about a year ago, and haven’t noticed a difference in my hair.
Again with the “victimless crimes”. Why is everyone’s point of view so ASS BACKWARD???? Is this REALLY a problem? Maybe we should focus on issues that affect people….like people who DON’T SHAMPOO THEIR HAIR ENOUGH???
Stand in the subway or train or any crowded area and tell me there’s a problem with people OVER-washing.
So stupid.
@Joe Lachiana:
So you can’t give somebody a tip? Here’s the Consumerist, trying to save you money and you just RAGE? FYI, I’ve been using only conditioner for months now, completely no-poo, and my hair is the same or better than it was before. Anecdotal, for sure, but it worked for me.
All this poo is a sham….
I have extremely curly hair that is dry. After years of daily shampooing I went to once, maybe twice, a week at most. As long as I rinse my hair in the shower daily, rubbing the scalp a bit at the same time, my hair looks wonderful and there is no smell. I put conditioner on the ends also. I use less product on my hair, it looks great and is much softer than when I shampooed every day. I started this mainly because of dry scalp issues, and it seems to have helped this as well.
No thanks, I don’t want to smell and feel like shit all day just because some women have success with not washing their hair. My ex washed her hair about once a week and it was fine.
I also know some people that don’t shower every day. To me, that is goddamn nasty, and yes, they do sometimes reek. Badly.
Is toothbrushing next on the list? I suppose experts will soon say we should only brush our teeth twice a week. Otherwise it will actually encourage cavities, rather than discourage.
And stinky feet? Obviously the result of too much washing! Feet should never be washed, only massaged and slathered with dirt and grease on a regular basis.
I didnt even know people shampooed their hair every day. I always just did it every 3 or 4 days cause if I did it every day my hair would get weird. I think I figured it out back in middle school.
This question has been asked a few times in these comments but never answered: if we don’t wash our hair with shampoo everyday, do we still rinse? Or get a shower-cap and keep it dry? I really want to know, I’m new to this concept, too.
@adamczar: It depends on how your hair looks. If it looks OK, put a shower cap on or just don’t put your head all the way under the water. If your hair is a mess and sticking up at weird angles, wet it down.
A lot of people with longer hair wash it with conditioner, instead of shampoo. They swear it’s the scrubbing and the rinsing that clean the hair more than the shampoo. I tried it, but my hair was too stinky. (I just use baby shampoo on my long hair now, it’s milder and doesn’t strip the oils but still makes me smell better.)
Another alternative is watering down your regular shampoo. You’ll save money, and the diluted formula won’t strip the oil out of the hair as much. So when your regular shampoo is halfway gone, just fill the bottle back up with water.
Every body is different. Some people can get away with washing every week or two, some need to wash daily. Some can wash with conditioner or baby shampoo, others need strong shampoo to get styling products like pomade out or to get dirt and sweat out after hiking or horseback riding. Everyone is unique. Figure out what works best for you.
@mdmadph: They may not but they’re supposed to. Granted, washing it more often makes the weave last less long and they may increase their mileage by being nasty, but they’re just that, nasty.
For the record, I’ve been told that you’re supposed to dilute the shampoo first and put a special cap (though some would just use the cut off top of a pair of pantyhose. No I’m not kidding) and wash through that. Personally, I have extensions and I’m supposed to do the above as well, but I have resilient hair and just slap the stuff on my scalp directly. I’m a hair dresser’s nightmare, but my hair turns out fine.