To not get this not washing your hair thing?!

[BarbieBarbieBaa]

Recent trip to the hairdresser resulted in me getting told off (gently) for washing my hair every day. Post pregnancy my hair is a lot thinner and prone to breaking, and in the last few months I’ve had the nastiest greasy roots. I mean proper crispy hair, it’s grim!

I’ve always washed my hair daily since childhood, but now I’m told I shouldn’t.

Problem is by the end of the day I haven’t washed I look a mess! My fringe looks like a oil slick, it is horrible.

Do I go back to daily washing and just go bald? Or am I missing a trick that everyone else knows and I don’t?

I think it depends on your hair. Years ago I tried the whole 'no wash' thing where you stop using shampoo and rinse with water instead, using a proper bristle brush to circulate the oils. The idea is that the hair becomes self cleaning and no shampoo is required. I know someone who did it and it worked really well for her. Usually kicks in at about 3-4 weeks.

I tried it for 3 months and it was awful. My hair looked so shit, I didn't dare wear it down. I washed it and tried only doing so once a week - thinking that the 3 month break might mean I could get away with just weekly washing. Nope, still looked shit.

If I use dry shampoo more than one day running then it makes my head itch like crazy. I now wash my hair every other day and use Moo Goo shampoo and conditioner.

I have washed my hair every day since I was about 14 and I am in my 60's now. I have very thick hair and it's in good condition.

Not all hairdressers say you shouldn't wash hair every day, quite a lot say it's fine to wash it every day. My hairdresser now says you wash your skin every day so why wouldn't you wash your hair?

Even when I had long hair I washed it every day. Otherwise it just feels really yuk

No I dont get it either. I know several who are evangelical about the no poo thing and they all insist it's fine and never smells.

All of them smell. All of them. I think people don't realise that the British would rather gouge their own eyes out than tell someone they smell, and a lot of people seem to have a very poor sense of smell.
When I get on a bus in the uk the smell of the unwashed is grim.

Try just washing your fringe daily, the rest every other day to start. Let us know how you get on.

I have thick hair and wash it every 3-4 days. Never any issues with it being greasy, and only use dry hair shampoo if away as it can take a while to dry.

My hairdresser said that if you use a hair dryer every day it makes it greasier because the heat does something to the follicles but I don't know if that's true or not.

Washing your hair daily does not make your hair fall out. I doubt very much if your hairdresser actually said that if they did they're talking bollox,they might have said over washing can make it greasy.

No I dont get it either. I know several who are evangelical about the no poo thing and they all insist it's fine and never smells.

All of them smell. All of them. I think people don't realise that the British would rather gouge their own eyes out than tell someone they smell, and a lot of people seem to have a very poor sense of smell.

This. Not washing your hair every day is rank and grim. I once did a hobby with a girl who espoused this "don't wash your hair" every day nonsense. She absolutely stank - you could smell her hair when she walked into a room. Disgusting.

The experts agree: Only a small group needs to shampoo daily, like those with very fine hair, someone who exercises a lot (and sweats), or someone living in very humid place, Goh says. “If you have oily scalp, then daily washing is needed,” she explains

Google says it's fine.

Does it not take ages washing your hair everyday? totally misses point

Another vote for dry shampoo here!

You don't need to wash every day - every other day or 2-3 days is ok. But you do need to wash it.

I too agree with the washing of the fringe only - and no conditioning - try to condition just once or twice a week. Use basics shampoo for the fringe, then rinse through the whole hair. Less is more.

Your hair will recover post pregnancy, it might just take some time. I hate dry shampoo as well because it seems to attract all the dust and dirt, cringe, and I'd rather just wash it instead.

I'm afraid that I know a few people who espouse no poo also. One you can smell her hair as soon as she walks into the room, although she swears blind no-one has ever said it to her. if she has been in the office kitchen and left I can tell when I walk in. Maybe it does not help that she wears her hair very long, to her bum I don't know.

But I am a bit hyper sensitive and paranoid about smells. I had bad BO issues when i was young (neglect etc) and was teased badly, so I wash my hair every day and my body twice a day. Might well be my issue I know!!!!

Washing your hair every day means that you need to wash your hair every day. It strips your hair of its natural oils which it then over produces so within 24 hours it needs doing again. You need to gradually increase the time beween shampoos. If I use no products on my hair then I can go 5 days between washes. 3/4 if I use hair spray or mousse on it.

If you need to wash every day, you need to do it as gently as possible. You need SLS free shampoo and a moisturising silicone free conditioner. Use way less shampoo than you think and smooth the shampoo onto your hair and gently squeeze it. Don’t scrub at your scalp as you remove too much of the natural oil, causing it to produce a ton more. Rinse really well in lukewarm water, again without scrubbing at it. Use a small amount of conditioner rubbed into your hands and combed through with your fingers. Avoid putting conditioner on your scalp. Squeeze most of the water out and then wrap your hair tightly in a towel, don’t rub it with the towel. Don’t put product near your scalp, and only use silicone free products.

If you do this for a few weeks, you should start to find the oil production reduces, and then you can start spacing out the days you use shampoo. On non shampoo days, just wet your hair and gently rub in some conditioner and then rinse.

You should aim to treat your hair and scalp like you would your face.

Oh- I use dry shampoo daily also instead of hair spray, (as well as washing!) as I find it works almost as well on my hair and looks more natural. (Told you... I have ishoos)

My hair is fine though. Very thick, shoulder length. I deep condition every couple of weeks.

In short- horses for courses I guess!

Was always given to understand that washing hair everyday was not a good idea. That was years ago. Also, told by a Vidal Sassoon trained hairdresser to never use a hair dryer. Several other people have reiterated this view that hairdryers are a no, no. If you are using a hairdryer every day maybe that is not helping!

Good point about the hair dryer. I almost never use one, I just leave it to dry naturally but on the odd occasion I do use it then I find it needs washing again much earlier than if I dont.

Just to let people know that people of Afro-Caribbean descent have very different hair type and it's typical to wash hair 1-2 a week at most. It's naturally dry and using shampoo daily is very damaging to the hair. Quite ignorant to say anyone who doesn't wash their hair daily stinks and is rank, you are talking about a large group of people who due to different ethnicity have different needs.

My hair is fine like yours OP- I found switching to a Lush shampoo bar and their really lightweight conditioner has massively helped.

Completely unintentionally, I can now get two days in between hair washes when previously I HAD to wash my hair everyday. I think the shampoo bars cut through any residual product from what I was using before but isn't too harsh to strip my hair after each wash, meaning less washing, blow drying and straightening.

This. Not washing your hair every day is rank and grim.

Not being funny but if your hair stinks with an-every-other-day wash then you're either not washing it properly or you have some kind of medical issue which needs investigating.

Yes! I find that using a hairdryer results in my hair getting greasier too (and I have dry hair).

I have never noticed smelly hair on people and I work in a school with young teenagers. BO can be a problem, especially in hot days, but it's not in any way rank!

I also have dealt with very unkempt people - served Xmas dinner at a homeless shelter in my youth - they do smell but you do get used to it.

I've got fine hair that goes greasy if I don't wash it daily, my hairdresser said washing it daily is ok

I've "trained" my hair to only be washed twice a week. I used to wash it every day. I have thick hair and this was just an absolute pain. I wash on day one, nothing day two, maybe dry shampoo day 3 and either wash it on day 4 or dry shampoo and tie it up day 4 depending on what I'm doing on day 5..

Just to let people know that people of Afro-Caribbean descent have very different hair type and it's typical to wash hair 1-2 a week at most. It's naturally dry and using shampoo daily is very damaging to the hair. Quite ignorant to say anyone who doesn't wash their hair daily stinks and is rank, you are talking about a large group of people who due to different ethnicity have different needs.

Quite. God forbid anyone on mumsnet should consider that there might be different people out there with different needs and considerations.

I wash my hair about 5 times a week - generally after exercise.

The only time my hair sees a hair dryer is at the hairdressers. I just let it dry on its own the rest of the time.

I can't say I've ever noticed smelly hair on anyone, but you can smell BO a mile off (or that nasty fleshy smell that you get on a hot day when men take their tops off eg on a train).