If you only wash your hair once a week

[JMAngel1]

So I only wash my hair once a week as it takes around 1 hour to wash and around d 6 hours to dry (thick curly long hair). I do curly girl so use sulphate/silicone free oroducts. If I wash it any more frequently, it gets dried out. I actually out leave in conditioner I the ends every day - it is the Sahara!
However, by about day 5, I feel like it doesn't smell very nice - a definite "scalp" smell.
Can anyone recommend me anything to rub into my scalp that smells nice and is CG friendly?

I have weird dry skin and very curly hair. I have to wash my hair every three days or my scalp gets itchy. It's a pain in the arse as my hair only wants to be washed once a week. Oils irritate my skin even more!

However, this is irrelevant but the one thing I used was Low shampoo by Elvive. It is a cream shampoo and washes my scalp just enough and doesn't strip the oils on my hair.

Just to make you laugh op, I come from a curly family and one of my siblings slaps hand moisturiser on her hair whenever she finds it

Dear god this post is exactly why people are afraid to try the curly girl method - it does not need to take you that long to wash your hair. OP it really does sound like you need to shake up your routine a bit.

You don't need to use olaplex every wash day do you? Lose the oil as it will be making your hair and scalp stink 🤢.

Buy a light conditioner. I love the CurlFlo products - I wash once a week but get absolutely no smell or build up with these products and could probably go longer between washes. People always comment on how nice my hair smells.

Btw I also have thick 3b curly hair, albeit only shoulder length. I co-wash once a week in a process that takes approximately 2-3 minutes. I soak and detangle my hair, apply loads of conditioner and give it a vigorous scrub. I then rinse and apply a little bit of curl cream and gel to soaking wet hair. When i come out of the shower i use a smooth towel to scrunch out excess water, let it dry for 20 mins then diffuse.

I refresh every day with some water and a bit of product if required.

Definitely try to simplify your routine and stick to cgm, rather than try to mask a smell from build up.

Not curly but very thick coarse below boob length hair, I only wash once a week but I do refresh with dry shampoo 2 x week. My hair is very dry and is better for washing once a week. Not smelly or disgusting !

@picklemewalnuts

If you do t understand OP's hair type, theres not much point telling her to wash it more often! For some people, that just doesn't work!

Op have you tried cocoa powder on the scalp, assuming it's dark hair? Or cornstarch or a mixture to match your hair. Sprinkle in the roots and rub.

Alternatively, what about a different regime where you wash with a sulphate and silicone free conditioner, no shampoo at all? You could do that every five days, perhaps.

Finger comb when the conditioner is in.

Drying takes longer because of the oils and natural oils in your hair. It may dry more quickly with a different regime.

Cocoa powder and cornstarch will massively help skin bacteria to feed and breed! Do NOT put those on your scalp!

My hair is thin straight and fine but I must say the SLS-free shampoos leave my scalp smelly. I need those detergents!

I can definitely recommend as I am co-wash

I’m not curly but DP is (type 3A) his hair is past shoulder length now.

He’s been doing the CG method for almost two years and swears by it, his curls are beautiful.

He only washes his hair once a week and it doesn’t smell at all.
I definitely think it’s the oil causing it, I have very long hair and used to use a lot of oil in my hair and it would also start to smell after a while.

His ‘routine’ takes oven an hour too. He only uses as I am cowash and occasionally (if it’s partially dry or knotty) as I am leave in conditioner on the length and ends.
He then uses a cg friendly hair gel.

@TooMuchChocolateForDinner

I'll probably be flamed for this, but only washing your hair once a week is disgusting. I know people who do this, and it does not look good and it does smell (even if you can't smell it yourself).

You wouldn't go a week not washing any other part of you, but apparently it's ok to not wash your hair and scalp? Your head sheds dead skin just like every other part of you. And then there's pollution, and general dirt that will get in your hair throughout the week.

I'm not saying it needs to be washed everyday, but I would say 3-4 days maximum just to maintain basic hygiene.

I am white with very fine hair but lots of it. I would go as far as to say I have lovely hair, shiny and bouncy and in excellent condition. I bloody love my hair. I only wash once a week because it takes forever to dry and also because it looks better that way. When it's freshly washed it's so smooth and slippery I can't do anything with it. It doesn't smell on day 6/7.

I don't have dandruff or a flaky scalp despite shedding skin cells every day because I bush my hair thoroughly which removes anything like that. Any 'pollution' that gets caught up in my hair obviously doesn't harm me as I enjoy excellent health.