Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Style and beauty

Looking for style advice? Chat all about it here. For the latest discounts on fashion and beauty, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Original poster

How often do you wash your hair?

161 replies

MrsMontague · 25/02/2010 19:12

I was at the hairdressers today, as my colour was fading again.

She asked me how often I wash my hair and I said every other day and she said that's why my colour fades so quickly, and that she only washes her hair once a week

Her hair always looks fab though, whereas mine always looks greays and awful by the 3rd day. I won't leave the house at that point!

How often does everyone wash their hair??

OP posts:
Ivykaty44 · 26/02/2010 11:14

oh gosh I couldn't not wash my hari after the gym and it sometimes get washed twice a day..

i don't have colour though to wash out so doesn't matter how often i wash it as the grey doesn't fade

Bonsoir · 26/02/2010 11:15

Every day. My hair absolutely requires it.

TrillianAstra · 26/02/2010 11:16

Curly hair - doesn't get greasy - wet it very day, condition every other day. Doesn't save much in the way of time.

ampere · 26/02/2010 11:17

Every bleedin' goddam DAY. Fine and lank. Nice..

BUT does anyone recall an experiment I think perhaps the BBC did years ago where they got a couple of (young) female office 'girls' at the BBC to not wash their hair for 3 months, just brush it with a real bristle brush?

Needless to say they had fab, lustrous hair at the end. They even did the sniff test!

I do wonder whether the women were selected coz of their good quality, thick hair to start with (mine's thin and wispy) but once I did try to go a week without washing BUT I ended up using dry shampoo and I think that may be 'cheating' as you are stripping the grease from the hair thus perhaps (??) encouraging more oil?

BlueEyeshadow · 26/02/2010 11:20

I'm a once-a-week-hair-washer too. We haven't washed DS1's hair with shampoo for months because it's such a palaver and it looks fine so I'm relieved that there's at least one other person out there who's similar!

MummyTumble · 26/02/2010 11:22

Every 2-3 days when pregnant.....every day when i'm not!

Something about being pregnant makes my hair great, thicker, less greasy... (about the only positive pregnancy symptom i get!!!)

IsaacsMomma · 26/02/2010 11:27

Used to be every 2-3 days, but since becoming pregnant it doesn't get greasy as quickly so now its every 3-4 - result!

Nefret · 26/02/2010 11:30

I wash mine every 2 or 3 days. I have never thought about not using shampoo. Maybe I should try it, I don't use styling products on my hair so it can't really be so dirty.

Rindercella · 26/02/2010 11:33

ampere, I do remember that. I also remember between them last washing their hair and it look fab 3 months later they went through hell where it looked shite and itched like crazy! Sigh, there's just no easy way is there?

I was my hair every single morning when I shower, without fail. Tbh, my hair would probably look ok if I left it a couple of days, but I just can't bear the feeling of it being unwashed. I wash it even before I go to the hairdresser (even if the appointment is first thing) because otherwise I just feel grubby. I usually have my colour (highlights) touched up every 6-8 weeks, so not that worried about the colour fading.

Am a bit about my OCD-ness in this actually. On another thread a couple of days ago I was saying people who wash their bath towels every day are crazy...looks like I am too

Lobyd · 26/02/2010 11:35

I don't think I need to wash my hair every day although I do, because I shower every day. Do you shower and not wash your hair? How does that work? Is it all about shower caps? (Genuinely interested here!)

Mongolia · 26/02/2010 11:39

Mine is washed everyday, every other day if I don't have time to style it AND if I had not have much activity in the previous day, like doing exercise or walking under the sun... otherwise it smells horrible (admitedly I would get used to it and wouldn't feel the smell but believe me... it's there!)

Pineapplechunks · 26/02/2010 11:39

Maybe twice a week. Only conditioner though, no shampoo.

MrsJohnDeere · 26/02/2010 11:44

Wash with shampoo alternate days
Rinse in the shower on the other days

I have mad curly hair that can only be tamed by thoroughly wetting it. My hairdresser told me to only use shampoo every 2 or 3 days though to stop it drying out, and it has helped with that.

MiniMarmite · 26/02/2010 11:44

Every day. I really wish I didn't have to but I do. I didn't wash it yesterday morning because I had washed it the previous evening after swimming and it still looked and felt horrible - is very fine and gets greasy really quickly.

Numberfour · 26/02/2010 11:48

every morning. my hair is limp and fine so it needs it.

sometimes i also wash it again in the evening if I am going out. but that is VERY rare....

Kaloki · 26/02/2010 11:56

When it was short it was once a week, now it is longer it has to be every other day.

jaggythistle · 26/02/2010 11:58

Rindercella - me too, have to have my shower and hair wash every day or I just don't feel right. I actually turned up at the hairdressers with still wet hair the other day, I thought I probably looked mental

It just seems greasy and yuk the next day and I can't stand it. I have a shower to wake up every day anyway so it doesn't take long to wash hair quickly. I very rarely blow dry or straighten, I get told off for going out with damp hair I only condition every other day at most though.

I only go to the hairdresser about 3 times a year though, I don't really enjoy it.

LurcioLovesFrankie · 26/02/2010 12:02

Anyone else finding they have to do it less often as they get older? I used to have to every 2-3 days, then pregnancy hormones turned that to once a week (bliss) - but it hasn't gone back since (late baby, now mid-forties, wondering if I'm now peri-menopausal).

diddl · 26/02/2010 12:05

Everyday.

It´s part of having a shower.

thumbwitch · 26/02/2010 12:06

Once a week maximum, sometimes longer between washes. Hair is very fine and fairly curly and goes ballistic if washed more often, really frizzy and dry. So I used frequent wash shampoo once a week until I discovered Aveda. In the last stages of pg I didn't wash it for nearly 3m - it was glorious and didn't need it (thank goodness )

DS only has his hair washed with shampoo when it really gets mucky or when he's been particularly sweaty, otherwise it just gets rinsed.

WorzselMummage · 26/02/2010 12:10

Most days

ShinyMom · 26/02/2010 12:20

Every other day, otherwise it's flat and greasy. I had a friend who only washed every three or four days or a week, but she had short hair and used talc to give her hair volume. I tried talc. Then I had greasy hair with a white scalp.

SarahMumtoAlex · 26/02/2010 12:35

Just to say that a lot of what seems to be 'greasiness' is in fact dust and crap stuck to silicon. Silicon is in most hair products because it smooths the damage done by sodium laureth sulfate (a very strong degreaser found in pretty much all shampoos) If you stop using the shampoo, and use a silcon free conditioner (they all have alcohol, which is a degreaser as well) your hair will look much better - honest.

PreachyPeachyRantsALot · 26/02/2010 12:38

!-2 times a week, although if we had a shower rather than a bath it'd be more. It's thick and wavy so takes a long time to tame efficiently.

truthisinthewine · 26/02/2010 12:41

3 times a week although I might spray dry shampoo in it once a week if my scalp starts to feel a bit horrible. It never looks greasy though.