Hair Washing

[Fr0g]

All the stuff about hand washing & sanitizing - I'm doing all that. I'm just a bit worried about hair washing, and haven't seen anything about it.
I usually only wash my hair once a week or less, and co-wash rather than shampoo (curly girl method).
Bit concerned as to whether I ought to be cleaning it more often, or even going back to shampooing with coronavirus about?
Has anyone else changed hair washing routines?

[ColaFreezePop]

Huh?

Do other people man handle your hair?

[idontlike789]

Ffs

[Duckingell]

I don't think it's an issue.

Hands touch things and people so need to be cleaned often.

[indemMUND]

Unless your hair is coughed on and then hanging right in front of your mouth I wouldn't worry. I wash mine daily because I need to. I don't know many people who can get away with once a week, but if it works for you then just carry on as normal.

[RollingDog]

Just shave it all off.

[PickAChew]

Why not just wear it off your face if you have a genuine worry about it becoming contaminated.

I must admit I've had a job keeping my hands away from my face, when it's been windy and my hair has been blowing in my mouth and tangling in my glasses.

[Fr0g]

thanks, that's reassuring - its not especially long, so I'll stop worrying about it.

[millymaud]

I think it’s sensible for all of us to be as clean as possible.

[Wildthyme]

This is up there with the poster who holds her breath when she walks past someone.

[MsPepperPotts]

As young trainee nurses back in the 70's we were not allowed to wear our hair down. It had to be tied back in a pony tail or bun.
It was a strict rule for a reason because of the risk of contamination.

[backtonormalname]

I've been wondering about this. People here are scoffing but I guess these are people who always lived in a privileged country where antibiotics etc and GPs were always available. One of my grandmothers who grew up in a poor place with no access to any but local remedy type health always wore a headscarf when going out and said it was for hygiene. If you are travelling on packed public transport and someone coughs or sneezes on you (not uncommon on my tube commute in general) where the droplets can travel for 4 metres according to the most recent Chinese reports and last for 30 minutes in the air, you could have droplets in your hair which you could transfer to your face if you are running your hands through your hair a lot. Look back at some of those earliest film of England and the women are all wearing headscarves, this cultural thing would have started for hygiene not modesty I would bet among people who were not used to having remedies to commonly acquired illnesses.

[StillMedusa]

If it makes you feel any better Op, I work in Special Education with some highly unsanitary children (not a criticism but they have no understanding of not sticking fingers up noses, anuses, (!) down their pants, and then come for a cuddle....

By the end of the day my hair is probably a veritable petri dish of bugs...I generally wash it daily or every other day but I'm no more worried about Covid 19 getting in my hair than any other germ.

[mummymog]

A high school biology teacher said to me today (after a rant about washing plums from Italy) that hair basically filters out all particles from the air and the second it touches your face transfers them over.

I was trying to decide if he was a bloody eejit as I washed some strawberries under the cold tap this evening and thought 'surely this just splashes bacteria off the fruit -if there is any- about more.

Maybe pineapple your hair? Satin headwrap? Puff-cuff? Lots of sensible curly girl approved things you can do if you are worried?

I suspect there isn't a research budget.for hair.contamination just now

[MoltonSilver]

I think you're right to consider the cleanliness of your hair at the moment, especially if it falls in your face. Personally, I subconsciously handle my hair a lot. I frequently put it behind my ears or push it back of my face. If my hands are carrying germs they're in my hair too. You wouldn't wear the same clothes 24 hours a day and wash once a week with no detergent. If I were you I'd ditch the curly girl method temporarily.

[MoltonSilver]

off, not of

[nellodee]

I’m sure I read something about all the health care workers in China shaving their hair off. I wouldn’t go that far, but you could drop the curly girl method for a bit and just wear a bun.

[sprinklemagicinmyhair]

I'm laughing somewhat that you are concerned about the virus being on your hair, yet you wash your hair once a week or less. Virus or no virus it must pick up some serious dirt.

[OnTheEdgeOfTheNight]

If you are concerned about strands of hair touching your face close to your eyes, nose or mouth then perhaps tie it back, or cover it up. It's horrible to think that coughs and sneezes land on our hair but they must.

[MitziK]

We've swapped round showers to when we come in, rather than in the morning - that way, nothing on my hair ends up on the pillows.

[MitziK]

In fairness though, whilst I understand the concept of the CG Method (and that for the people it works for, their hair looks nice), it doesn't really take into account the amount of yuck your hair will inevitably have encountered over the course of seven days - pollution, bacteria, skin cells, sweat, viruses.

As it's apparently only soap that breaks down the virus structure, my limited undergraduate level science understanding would suggest to me that water and essentially moisturiser isn't going to achieve that if you do come into contact with the virus.

[BritWifeinUSA]

This is a joke, isn’t it?

[PickAChew]

I don't think there's any need to abandon CGM but cleaning hair more often, perhaps with a sulphate free shampoo, wouldn't hurt.

[Fr0g]

thanks for the sensible comments - I think back to non-sulphate shampoo and washing more regularly.
On the plus side, I think stuff is more lilkely to stick to damp hair, so if I'm going to wash daily, I'll need to get a hairdryer; I've wanted one of the dyson ones for ages, but decided not really justified if I only used it rarely.

[AutumnRose1]

I wash my hair daily but I use public transport.

[Isla727]

You're actually reasonable to think about this. Just because most people don't doesn't mean you shouldn't- people touch their hair all the time and it can also gather viral particles if you're I close proximity to someone who coughs or sneezes. It's best to do it once a day.