Washing hair - or not?

[boyandgirl]

Does anyone know whether it is true that if you don't wash your hair for three weeks it 'cleanses' itself and doesn't need washing any more?

I'm sorely tempted to try it...bad back + no upright shower + long hair + 2 under 3 = hairwashing hassle!

Help?

I haven't tried it myself but a male friend did. His hair was absolutely minging after three weeks and no one would go near him, so in his experience, no, its not true! That's if you're meaning adults, of course. If you're referring to children, then they can go quite a long time without a hair wash. If it's yourself, maybe a sympathetic hairdresser could come up with a way to do yours for you? Hope the back is better soon.

I've never left it that long but occasionally go well over a week and apart from the way it feels, it looks awful (sticking out in weird directions) so I wouldn't recommend it.

Have you got a shower attachment on your bath taps? I don't exactly have a bad back, but mine aches when I wash my hair standing up bent over the bath, so I alternate standing up, kneeling down and leaning against the side of the bath moaning, and get through it that way. (We do have a stand-up shower too but somehow I can only wash mine properly upside-down.)

Or could you get corn-rows? They last for ages (unless you're David Beckham) and you can't wash them, can you?

I know several people who do not use shampoo and you wouldn't realise that they don't. They do sometimes rinse their hair through with water. I think it takes a little while for your hair to adjust to this routine, so it will go through a stage of looking greasy before the scalp rebalances itself.

My dh is a non-hair-washer. When we were first married he never did it but now he does occasionally as a treat for me but often only with water. It LOOKS fine but feels kinda like animal hair, a little greasy, and if he goes out in the rain he smells like a wet dog. (Maybe he would anyway ...)

I wonder how long it takes to get through the minging stage? I loathe the way my hair and scalp go if I don't get to wash them for a week. I tried cornrows many years ago and they just don't work as a low-maintenance style for 'white' hair. Besides, they really don't suite me!

daisylawn and XAusted - what about swimming pools, don't they have to wash the chlorine out of their hair?

I had a friend at school who tried this - she managed 6 weeks then gave up as she couldn't stop scratching! Her hair looked an absolute mess and there were certainly no signs of it starting to clean itself.

Yuk - I had a boyfriend with very dry, curly hair who used to do this. On his birthay he let me shampoo it (first time in 6 months) and the colour of the water was pretty grim. Having said that, it didn't actually look/smell too bad, but if you had straight greasy hair I guess it would be another story...

I've heard of this but don't fancy it myself. I should have washed my hair this morning (tend to wash it every second day) and it already feels gross. Have you considered having your hair cut into a shorter style that would be easier to deal with?

I have a male friend who hasn't washed his hair since he was 17... we all thought it was gross when he decided to do that. It is quite short and curly and it doesn't look too bad. I have no idea how it smells as I am not that close to him anymore IYKWIM ... but it doesn't look bad and he is always smart when I see him. He is a GP btw!

i cant go for more than two days without washing mine,when i was pregnant with ds i could smell peoples dirty hair from a mile and made me feel sick,its never happened before or after,janhs suggestion of the corn rows is a good idea,you can still wash your hair,the only down side is that the scalp is exposed to the sun and so you have to be careful and wear a hat

I wash mine every day and would feel miserable if I didn't (besides it's very fine and straight and would look horribly lank if I didn't) - you wash or cleanse your skin every day so why should hair be different ? I also wash my six year old's hair every day when he has his bath.

Message withdrawn

I thought hair picked up other smells e.g cigarette smoke really easily.
After a night at the pub (chance would be a fine thing these days) my hair smells awful - worse as it's shoulder length and keeps wafting past my nose, so a wash is essential for me.

Everyday wash for me, I've long hair too which doesn't know if it is curly or straight . If I can't be bothered washing it in the morning, I always regret it by lunchtime.

I have always had a fancy for this idea while not wishing to try it myself
I read an interview with Trevor Sorbie (Is that his name? Some high flying hairdresser) and he said it was one of those myths that just refuses to die and it is complete nonsense.
Doesn't he have his own range of shampoos??

Is it my imagination or didn't Take That go through a phase of not washing their hair?

All right I give in

It never occurred to me that people would have such strong opinions on hairwashing!

It would make life much simpler to cut my hair, but I won't do that, for...ahem...personal reasons.

Actually, I luuuurve having my hair washed (when I win the lottery I'll have a personal hairdresser come every day). Aaahhh well, back to the bathtub.

I would never be able to stick the three weeks running up to it as I have fine hair which needs washing every day, If i don't my scalp goes all itchy and I feel disgusting !

I did read about this once and the article said that it was complete tosh and would only work if we lived in a bubble as traffic fumes, cigarette smoke and air pollution stop the 'natural cleansing process'. Have also spent time with people with dreadlocks (which you can't wash 'cos they don't dry properly and your hair rots !) and I have to say that the hair really smells awful !

Ooh, couldn't go so long without washing my hair - just the thought makes my head itch! I wash mine every day and if I don't it feels horrid. It's also so fine it just looks a mess after a night's sleep. Looks like DD is heading the same way too as her hair looks just like mine did as a baby.

Belated answer to the washing out chlorine question ... dh never goes swimming so not a problem to him!

Boyandgirl, perhaps you could find a shampoo which will allow you to wash your hair less frequently? Lots of shampoos and conditioners seem to leave a build up of gloop on hair, maybe you could find one that really cleanses without residue?

what happened to that dry shampoo stuff - Batiste used to do an aerosol spray and there was a funny puffer bottle one too - might be a solution !

Oh yes, I remember that stuff. We used to use it at school to whiten our hair. I played a vicar in a school play once, and we ran out of the spray part-way through my makeup, so finished the job off with flour from the kitchen. Was that a mistake! It looked alright at first, but under the spotlights gradually turned into a waxy sort of wall-paper paste which had set solid by the time I got home. Mum was not pleased.

Don't old ladies use dry shampoo ?!

wsm, what are you implying?

Why not just go to hairdressers once a week - think can get a shampoo and blow for about £8.

Is nice and pampering too!!

I have to wash hair every day as is short and look like hedgehog in morning - also itch like crazy - psycosymatic but ho hum most of me is psycho in some way!!