Is it weird to wash your hair every day?

[Birdtablegreen]

I know it’s meant to be better to wash your hair infrequently - but is it that unusual to wash it every day? I have washed my hair every day for about the last 20 years but am planning to try and cut down.

But I just don’t feel like I’ve washed properly if I leave my hair! I hate feeling it unwashed around my face (even if tied up)

If you do wash yours once a week etc, HOW do you manage to go to work without greasy hair? Does it just stop being greasy? Douse it in dry shampoo? Seriously looking for tips here!

Or AIBU to think I should just keep washing it every morning?

[GammaStingRay]

No, not weird.

It’s a myth that nobody should wash their hair daily. Many hair types benefit from it. Not all are damaged from daily washing. Some require it.

Also a myth that any given person’s hair will definitely learn to need washing less frequently if only you reduce washing and get through the greasy stage.

This thread comes up time and time again on MN. It’s just an opportunity for everyone to say how often they wash their hair and then people to say ‘urgh that’s disgusting I couldn’t go a week’ or ‘wow you’re damaging it with daily washing you need to cut back’ until it burns out.

[icecreamsundae32]

@StarlingsInSummer yes food smells cling to my hair too!! I hate that is there anyway to stop it? I have kitchen window open and extractor fan on but it doesn't make a difference.

[Troels]

I soak mine in the shower daily, but don't shampoo ever If I don't I can't get a comb through the curls, so I soak, condition and comb then let it dry naturally.

[GammaStingRay]

And I wash mine daily too, it looks great and is in fantastic condition. I would no more leave the house to go to work or socialise with unwashed hair than I would with an unwashed body. Seems so gross to me that you wouldn’t wash hair daily when it gets dirty, smelly, greasy, like any other part of your body. But each to their own, OH washes his maybe once or twice per week and his hair texture is so course it doesn’t look or feel much different from one day to the next.

Have always washed mine daily since being a child and don’t plan on stopping. It seems more of a faff to me to get a shower and try keep it dry and out of the way just to avoid washing it, would rather just wash it along with the rest of me! Plus it would be difficult to style as well as when it’s freshly washed with bed hair having been tied up overnight.

[KatharinaRosalie]

There are some types of hair you can wash less often, that actually benefit from it. Thick and tightly curly, for example. Mine is thin and straight and there's no way to 'distribute oil' or anything similar without it looking lank and greasy.
If you wash it every day, forget about any oil stripping greasy hair shampoos though, use a proper nourishing and conditioning one.

[notacooldad]

I posted on S and B the other day about looking for a shampoo to help with greasy hair. I have to was mine every day when my hair has been highlighted for a few weeeks but other ready to be done again. I only have it highlighted to keep the grease away.

The longest I tried to go without washing it was a week a few years ago when I was on holiday but it was unbearable.
I can't not wash my hair as I need to look decent for work.
My hair is getting ready to be highlighted and is now at the stage where I'd I wash my hair for a night out and it needs to be washed again in the morning.
I had some gooodr recommendations on my thread but haven't been able to buy the shampoos locally so going into a bigger town next week or ordering on line.
I have been like this since going through puberty and I'm 54 now!

I am going to keep coming back to this thread!

[PAWeddingGuest]

It definitely depends on your hair type, I’ve got thick, curly, dry hair that I only wash once a week as it takes so long to dry and style but my MIL has got fine flyaway hair that would be stuck to her head if she didn’t wash it daily.

[Birdtablegreen]

Thanks for all the useful replies!! I was actually expecting most people to flame me for washing it every day as in ‘real life’ it’s always met with horror or ‘how can you be bothered?’ ‘It’s so bad for your hair’!

I do think mine is the type that needs washing - it’s never dry and needing moisture, I can wash it on an evening for a night out and it looks gross by the morning. The only thing I can get away with is dry shampoo and tying it up, when travelling or having a slob day but even then I just don’t feel clean - even though I’ve washed my face and body I feel generally icky!

That being said I am going to ‘try’ to use dry shampoo/tie up every now and then, if nothing more but to save on shampoo and water!

[CountFosco]

I wash mine every day, I swim every morning so it gets wet anyway. I do have a short pixie and never dye my hair and rarely dry it, both of which are very damaging for hair, more so than removing daily dirt. Can't imagine not washing it every day any more than I can imagine not washing the rest of my body.

[RJnomore1]

I’d say it depends on the type of hair you have. My thick wavy hair would be like straw if I washed it every day. My daughters finer very straight hair needs it.

[catspyjamas27]

I have to wash mine daily too. It's fine and oily and my scalp looks noticeably greasy if I miss a day.

And as odd as it sounds I feel unclean everywhere else too even if I've washed. It's like the oil from my hair radiates everywhere else. It feels itchy and just unclean so for the sake of ten minutes washing and drying it id rather just feel clean.

Having said all that I went through a phase a few years back of having my hair coloured at the hairdressers and with lighter shades in it it seemed to feel less greasy. On a few occasions i did go every other day without washing it and it was in a lot better condition then. I have friends who can get away with washing once or twice a week and their hair never looks greasy. Gits.

[Aprillygirl]

I have curly hair which tends to actually look better a few days after being washed so I only wash it every five days or so. I do worry sometimes that it might honk a bit though especially if I've been dribbling in my sleep but have just had a whiff and it doesn't at all.

[IceCreamAndCandyfloss]

I was mine everyday too. It just gets oily if left more than that. There’s no way I could go a week without washing it.

[Cyclemad222]

Your body responds to the detergent in shampoo by producing more oil to replace what the shampoo washes away. It takes time to adjust and produce less oil.

Try rinsing without shampoo on alternate days while you get used to it.

I used to wash every day, now more like once a week. Don't feel gross at all.

[ShatnersWig]

Very occasionally I'll give my hair a day off (usually the day after it's been cut). Otherwise, every day unless I am ill. You can tell how ill I am - if I don't wash my hair, I clearly feel really really shit.

[Bwekfusth]

I usually only wash it after I work out (it gets drenched in sweat) so about 3 times a week...my excuse for not working out more than 3 times a week is so that I don't have to wash my hair more.

[TreacherousPissFlap]

My hair is short and I wash it at least once a day, whenever I shower. I cannot imagine showering and not washing it, but in fairness it takes about 3 minutes to dry and style my hair.

[aLilNonnyMouse]

I wash mine once a week, but it takes two weeks for it to become visibly greasy. Can't really give any tricks on how to manage the in-between stage though, mine was because of crippling depression and I stopped caring about washing it totally for a few months. It's a nice upside of it all though.

[motherheroic]

I wash mine once a week or bi weekly depending on the situation.

I have afro hair so washing it everyday is not necessary as my hair is quite dry. I also use very expensive products to maintain my hair so washing them out every single day would be an absolute waste of money.

[SomewhereInbetween1]

I'm another daily washer! My hair is really fine but thankfully has a natural wavy texture so I don't have to faff about with blow drying or styling. Just let it dry naturally

[TheOrigRightsofwomen]

I wash my hair once sometimes twice a day because I do a lot of sport and also perimenopausal night sweats. I have very thick shoulder length hair.

Actually, it's probably wet more than dry!

[CaveMum]

I’m exactly the same. If I don’t wash my hair everyday by 36 hours after the last wash I look like I’ve pulled a 12hr shift in a chippy! It doesn’t help that it’s so prone to frizz too so I have to put serum on it to stop looking like Monica in Barbados.

Out of interest does anyone else with this problem have PCOS? I do (only diagnosed aged 32 when TTC) and have had greasy hair and spotty skin for as long as I can remember. I strongly suspect the two are linked as I understand excess testosterone can cause overproduction of natural skin/hair oils.

[bluetongue]

Another daily hair washer here.

Like others I have fine, straight hair that looks best when freshly washed and gets greasy quickly.

I never straightened it and it air dries straight if I don’t use a hairdryer so don’t think the daily washing is doing it any real harm.

[Stefoscope]

Try switching to a sulphate free shampoo. I used to have to wash everyday as I have very fine long hair and oily roots. Since going sulphate free, I can go a few days without washing and I don't need a conditioner anymore.

[leiaskye]

My hairdresser told me to shampoo twice& then it’s no longer necessary to wash your hair every day.
I have tried but after 30 years of washing my hair every day, it’s a hard habit to break. Especially when I shower every day. It’s an automatic reaction (for me) to put my head under the water.

My DD12 has started using a Paul Mitchell shampoo, & shampooing twice as hers was needing washing every day. She can now go 2 days before it needs washing.

Someone recommended baby shampoo the other day as a good alternative. I was surprised by that, but her teenage daughters use it, so I will give it a go when we next need some.