How Often Should You Wash Your Hair?

Wondering how often to wash your hair? We found out how often the average woman shampoos her hair, and we’re sharing the answer.

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I’ve received a few emails recently asking about how often a girl should wash her hair. I did a little research and it’s an interesting topic because there really seems to be a big divide in what people recommend.

So, how often should you wash your hair? Personally, I was always taught to shampoo my hair every day. Over the years, however, I’ve learned that daily washing really dries my hair out.

These days, because I get highlights and my hair is damaged, I only shampoo 3 or 4 times a week. This has definitely helped my hair a lot: it’s much less dried out without the constant shampooing and blow drying.

Celebrity hairstylist Ken Paves, who does Eva Longoria and Jessica Simpson’s hair, agrees that you shouldn’t wash your hair every day. According to Oprah.com, Ken says that “certain hair types and textures only require washing once a week, where others work well washing 2 to 3 times a week.”

Thursday’s New York Times style section had an article about hair washing frequency, only to the extreme. Of Course I Washed My Hair Last Year (I’m Almost Certain) talked about how lots of women wash their hair just once a week and some only wash once a month! The average seems to be around 3 times a week. Apparently it’s trendy to spend less time on your hair.

As someone whose hair gets oily after just a few days, I can’t imagine only washing your hair once a month, but maybe it would work well for those with dry hair? The idea does sound tempting – who wouldn’t want to spend less time doing their hair each week? I just don’t know how it would really work for the average woman.

What are your opinions on this? Do you wash your hair every day or do you think once a week is best? Leave a comment and take the poll below! I want to hear what you think!

287 thoughts on “How Often Should You Wash Your Hair?”

  1. Zephyr: It’s hilarious, actually, the length is a product of inertia. I haven’t found any styles that I’ve loved enough to make the salon trip for, so I just let it grow. I did my quarterly trim the other day, 2″ off and it’s still 28″ long.

    Problem is it’s rather fine, so the roots get Pantene Volumizing mousse. Otherwise I use the Garnier Fructis Long and Strong stuff, and so far, so good. I dye my own hair too (Feria), so it should be a mess! So far so good, though 🙂

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  2. See, I’m conflicted because I am totally for not washing my hair daily, but I have curly hair and I use products in it every day after I get out of the shower. If i don’t wash my hair the next day, its usually flattened out and feels kinda gross. I can just put more product in, but I use mousse, which requires that your hair is wet… hence the conflict! Any suggestions?

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  3. I’m of Caribbean descent from the Bahamas. When my hair is relaxed it reaches just below my shoulder blades, but just washed, it’s a thick voluminous puff like a lions mane. I was raised to only get it washed like twice a month. No routine. Just when it seemed like I needed it. My mother always did my hair because she enjoyed it and for treatments and special styles, I went to a salon.

    I did not start to relax my hair until I was 11. Since I’ve started college I wash it about every 2-3 weeks. Sooner if I used gel in my hair or later if it was recently relaxed. I try to constrain my relaxers to at least every 2/3 months because it can damage my hair. Every time I relax my hair(at the salon only by professionals), I treat it at the same time to repair any damage.

    Lately, I’ve been looking for some quick easy styles because I don’t really have the time between work and classes to style my hair. I’m also looking for some easy professional styles because at the end of each term at my college, we have to dress professionally and do group presentations for each course.

    Any suggestion or tutorials?

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  4. Well my hair is the most problematic thing ever. I have a nice face, nice features..and when I straighten my hair I feel like a model. However, my natural hair type is a huge bombardment of unruly and crazy frizzy curls. I love it when it’s just washed because it looks so nice wet, but I have tried every “wet look” product under the SUN and nothing works to keep that “wet look” for long. So I was reduced to straightening my hair right after I wash it, and then I would keep that style for 2-3 days {by wearing a shower cap while im showering} and then wash it again. So basically I straightened my hair twice every week, and I washed it 2-3 times every week {Sunday, Wednesday, Friday}. When I was younger, I used to wash my hair once every week {Sundays}. I never felt it was a problem, and I never felt gross and my hair was still frizzy, but I had no split ends. But then I learned that everyone around me {with straight hair, mind you} seemed to wash their hair everyday, so I, like a fool, started doing the same. Now I feel the grease in my hair if I don’t wash it atleast 2-3 times a week, and it feels gross, so I am not comfortable washing it once every week. However, because I wash my hair so much now, combined with having to straighten it, I have split ends, and my long, previously split end free hair is now riddled with split ends. Please help me. My hair type is crazy insanely curly {and not the good, Beyonce/Vanessa Hudgens/Alyssa Milano curls} and I just want some advice, or hair products to make my curls look NICE so I can finally get my hair cut and have it look nice without any straightening. Not only does straightening take so much time in the mornings, its the reason I have split ends and my hair is so dry and brittle. I hate the split ends in my hair and the dry brittleness. Please PLEASE help me. I need good curl products!

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  5. I have kinky-curly, chin-length hair. As of today I have not washed it for a week and it is just now starting to feel greasy/oily, but it has never looked healthier!

    When I don’t want to wash it, I use a mixture of one part vegetable glycerin and two parts water, mix it in a spray bottle, and spray on my hair liberally.

    It works as a detangler and I can comb my hair with my fingers!–The glycerin should be available at health food stores and you can use rose water instead of tap water to make your hair smell all good.

    It’s cheap, easy, and it works better and better over time!

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  6. I have relaxed, colour treated hair and the Shielo Hydrate Conditioner is fantastic to use after both of those processes. Nice smell. I use it with each shampoo. Love this product!

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  7. hi girls! im from Mexico, and the weather here really doesn’t help my hair at all, but i started to wash my hair 3 times a week since last year, and it’s true that at first you feel like its really oily and stuff, but it get used, anyway the thing is that i realized that the more you wash it the more grease it gets , ’cause you’re taking off the natural grease so the hair produces more and more thats why it gets like that, until it get used and starts to look even better than before. by the way is the same with the face, so try not to wash it more than 2 times a day! =)

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  8. I Wash 3 Times à week, more Dries out my hair, less causes the psioriasis on top of my head to start itching like crazy, not to mention THE amount of dandruff, its horrible. Combine that with crazy frizzy wavy hair and you got me. So three times à week is it for me.

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  9. Well hello there everyone!
    I am here to talk about the new Pantene Flat to Volume Shampoo and Conditioner. Just to let you know first that this shampoo and conditioner shouldn’t really be used daily because it does make your hair thicker but at the same time it does make it feel dry. I have the medium-thick choice of shampoo and conditioner. I only really use it if I want my hair to look nice for the day. And it does work as it says it does. If you want to know how to get your hair looking nice with volume throughout the day look below(:

    ~Directions~
    1.Put some shampoo in your hand and lather up
    2.Put in a second time if desired
    3.Rinse out shampoo
    4.Put some conditioner in your hand and put it just on your ends and put in a bun(its good to keep a ponytail holder handy)
    5.Rinse out conditioner
    6.Keep in a towel for and extended amount of time, or until very damp)
    7.Do not blowdry, let air-dry until hair is completely dry
    8.Part hair into sections(ears, eyebrows, and middle forehead)
    9.Make sure to use a heat protectant(I use TRESemme Heat Tamer Spray,bought at walmart for $5)
    10.Your finished!

    Have any questions about your hair???
    just leave a comment to me(@Ash)and I will answer it!

    Reply
  10. I have temperamental hair – sometimes straightish, curly, wavy or frizzy.
    I used to wash my hair every 2 weeks because it would take several days to start to shine and look good. It is dry and damages easily.
    I used Heads and Shoulders to control dandruff from not washing my hair regularly.

    I now get an expensive salon shampoo and conditioner so I can wash it every 4-5 days and not get dandruff. This is doing the trick.

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  11. I have straight, fine, medium length hair that normally looks limp and greasy after a couple days between shampooing. I am a stay-at-home mommy of twin 2-year-olds and time for washing my hair is not at the top of my priority list. So, I got a spiral perm. I now wash my hair 1-2 times a week and life is much better. I just put my hair up in a shower cap for showers each day between hair-washing. I used to subscribe to the idea that it is gross to go a week between washing, but to each her own!! I love my perm and yeah, maybe I look like an 80s leftover, but if I’m happy, who’s to say? 🙂

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  12. I have curly hair, that I absolutely love, and the best thing you can do to care for it is stop using shampoo unless it’s sulfate-free. Even then, curly-haired people should only wash their hair with shampoo every couple of weeks or once a month, depending on their texture, if at all. I use conditioner on my hair when I want to clean it up – I’ve stopped used shampoo at all – firm scalp massages using your conditioner are sufficient to get rid of dirt and retain essential natural oils that make your hair beautiful and healthy.

    I used to wash my hair every day, and couldn’t imagine not doing so – it got so oily so quickly! As I learned more about my hair type, I discovered that the more the oil glands in your hair are stimulated (through shampooing and regular washing), the more oil you’re going to produce – making it so that the very act of washing your hair every day makes it necessary to wash your hair every day! Stopping this was hard for a couple of weeks, but it only took my hair 2 weeks to adjust to my new regimen, and I can honestly say my hair is much healthier and cleaner for it. I seriously recommend that people read up on curly hair to make the most of it and take care of this beautiful part of your body.

    I’m not sure what is recommended for straight-haired women, but I do know that every hair type requires different hair care – and that it’s easy once you decide to treat yourself well.

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  13. Unless it is very hot and humid, once a week is plenty for washing my hair. I have thick, long straight hair to my waist. The odd thing about hair, is if it gets washed daily, it gets used to it and starts getting greasy by the end of the day. Overwashing hair leads to split ends and damaged looking hair… you are stripping the oil from it. In certain countries where many women have long hair… guatemala, india, tahiti…. women oil their hair periodically. Hair becomes flyaway if the natural oils get stripped by washing

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  14. Oh yeah! I used to wash my hair every day because it also got greasy but after I started cutting back, my hair got less greasy. If you wash every day your scalp produces more sebum (stuff that makes your hair look greasy) to replace the natural oils you’re stripping from washing.

    Reply

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