Has anyone ever seen it through?

[sandytoesallsummer]

I am not sure what you call it, but has anyone ever gone through with not washing their hair until it 'self cleans'?

I am not planning on it, but I am genuinely curious to see if it would work and how awful it gets before it starts to self clean

I once looked after a lady in her 90s who had waist length hair, she hadn't washed it for years, but brushed it 100 times morning and night, it was absolutely gorgeous, soft shiny and clean.

I think once a week is possible but completely not washing would just smell and look unclean, wouldn't it?

Depends on your type of hair and what you want to achieve. The more I wash my hair the quicker it gets greasy. it does learn to produce oil again more immediately if you strip out the oil it has (same with overcleaning skin makes it oilier)

I have fine hair which looks greasy after day 1 around the face - but I don't have time to wash it daily so wear it up or pinned back from face on other days. If you wash it daily it makes the cycle worse.

p.s. i know absolutely loads of women with crappy fine caucasian hair similar to my own who - in my opinion - look FAR better with their hair up and off their face anyway. Learn to style it up nicely and save half an hour each morning :-)

Yes! I used to have to wash it every other day but it's now 2 times per week. I think a big part of that though is that I used to straighten it most days, where as now it's up in a bun Monday - Friday most weeks.

I’m envious of people who went from daily washing to any less at all because they left it. During the lockdowns of 2020 I revolted myself by leaving it 10 days (it is greasy within 24 hours) and it made not one single iota of difference. I did a 7 day stretch twice more and nothing. If I don’t wash it every day, it’s lank, flat and greasy. Nothing I can do. Am blonde.

I have dry curly hair and I wash it once a week, you shouldn't wash curls too often

my hair is dark, one length and wavy. I wash it once a week and that’s fine. Any longer and my scalp feels dirty and gross.

did once leave it 3 weeks when backpacking. It was disgusting but after I washed it, was glorious. Think that’s more likely being in the Himalayas with negligible amounts of pollution though.

I sort of did this but in reverse (ish).

Lost all my hair during cancer treatment. When it first grew through was wiry and dry. Only washed it with product every other week (although did wet it in the bath). Didn't really even need that. Never looked shiny or greasy. But as it grew had to start washing it more often. Settled on every 3 days. However saying that before treatment used to wash my hair every other day so it has reduced.

When I was at uni I did an experiment where I only washed my hair with water for a month.. no shampoo etc so technically not really washing it.. for the first 2 weeks me and my friends thought it looked great and couldn't believe it.. by the end of the experiment my hair just smelt like dog unfortunately lol. So that was that experiment over!

No, for me I can't really see the point. I do wash my hair every day most of the time and am just used to it. I could easily switch to every couple of days and start using dry shampoo but I just hate how it feels. My hair doesn't look greasy on the second day on top, but does feel greasy around my neckline and hairline towards that time. Nothing extreme but I hate how it feels and would rather just wash. Any time I've tried to eke it all out I've regretted it.

It's possible I'd feel differently if it took longer to do but even with very long hair (down to my bra clasp) it takes 5 minutes to wash,10 to rough dry and finish with a brush, then another 5 or 10 if I want to look more polished and curl the ends under or put a wave in with GHD's. I don't have thin hair but it just is quite pliable and doesn't frizz so generally looks fine with minimal involvement, which I know is fortunate. I expect if it were a longer endeavour I would be looking for any and all ways to not do it daily.

Really interesting reading everyone's experiences - thank you 😊

I don't think I would ever do it, but I would like to have hair that's less of a nightmare!

For those saying their scalp gets sore when they haven't washed it - mine does too!

I don't think I would ever do it, but I would like to have hair that's less of a nightmare!

For those saying their scalp gets sore when they haven't washed it - mine does too!

@sandytoesallsummer, I think the best way to make changes then would be to pare down your routine gradually. If you always wash your hair in the mornings wait until the evening to stretch out the length of time between washes until that is ok and you can stretch it out further to the following morning IYSWIM. Regarding scalp soreness changing to a shampoo which tackles this might help - worth a try.

I also did it trekking in the Himalayas for three weeks (it was so cold the water was frozen) - I had to peel it off my head when we got back to Kathmandu.
My hair is dark blonde and curly although I usually blow dry it straight. For years I’ve conditioned it every day - mainly through laziness as it was hard to comb through otherwise. Now I only condition it once a week, and comb it in the shower before wrapping a towel round to blot it and drying with a decent brush. Ironically it’s in much better condition since I eased off the conditioner - not lank, and has more body. Still wash it every day though.

For those saying their scalp gets sore when they haven't washed it - mine does too!

Me too! I have to wash every other day or it gets sore and itchy. It’s seborrheic dermatitis, commonly known in babies as ‘cradle cap’, which happens when your body reacts against the oil produced rather than using it to keep the skin/scalp conditioned. Unfortunately after 25 years I’ve never found a product that helped for the scalp - things like T-gel burnt my head. You might find you get it around the sides of your nose too, or in your ears. Regular moisturising with something gentle/emollient helps for those.

I agree, I am naturally blonde and the texture of my hair is just too fine. I have tried making a habit of leaving it longer but it gets equally as greasy every time! I don't use styling products on it either.

Mine is curly

I so envy you, would love curly hair. Have you looked at the curly girl method?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CurlyGirlMethod

No silicone, spritz with water to refresh and 'wash' using just conditioner. Just love all the curls

Having said that, I have my hair professionally blow dried weekly.

Never thought I would be 'that sort' of person.

It lasts retry well for the week, doesn't look as perfect as freshly done but stays bouncy. A very wide toothed comb keeps it tidy when I wake up and otherwise don't need to do anything between weekly salon visits.

I have and it works. For me anyway.

During lockdown I wasn’t going anywhere so couldn’t be bothered washing it (yes, I’m that lazy!). It didn’t get greasy or look dirty and actually seemed thicker (it’s quite fine and flyaway normally) and more healthy the longer I left it. So following the success of that accidental experiment, I generally wash it no more than once a week, maybe a fortnight just brush it regularly and rinse it in hot water and put conditioner on the ends every few days. I don’t use any salon products, mind you, so there’s no build up. And no, it doesn’t smell, or at least DH assures me it doesn’t.

My hair is short and dyed blonde. When I first went blonde (7 years ago) the colourist advised that I didn’t shampoo it for a few days before the bleach. Since then it pretty much only gets shampooed at the hairdressers every 6-8 weeks when I get my roots done. I rinse it every day in the shower and condition most days. Use product every day but seems great. Pretty sure it doesn’t smell.