How Often Should You Wash Your Hair?

Hair washing depends on three main factors; your hair type, lifestyle, and how oily your hair gets after cleansing your hair with shampoo.

Ideally, we should wash our hair when it needs to stay naturally moisturized while keeping it healthy and clean, free of follicle-clogging and unnecessary build-up. This, however, varies depending on how often your natural oils appear as you live through your “no wash” days.

When you do wash hair, use a sulfate-free shampoo that gently cleans without damaging delicate strands. The Capillus Clinical Hair Care line includes shampoo, activator, conditioner, and revitalizer to complement low-level laser therapy hair regrowth treatment or simply maintain regular, healthy locks.

DRY HAIR (Lasts up to four days without washing with shampoo.)

This type of hair can be washed every four days without an issue. It is also paired with a delicate scalp, some dandruff, or flaking if overwashed. Natural oils and hydration are essential when it comes to dry hair. Many women are jumping on the twice-per-week wash trend by adding dry shampoo to the end of their week to fight the side effects of under-cleansing.

You can also alternate the products you use. Try washing your hair with shampoo & conditioner. Don’t wash for three days, and on the third day, use just a conditioner to help rehydrate a thirsty scalp and brittle ends. Don’t was for two days, and finally restart your hair wash cycle. Hair oil for styling can also help nurture your hair and add shine between washes.

MEDIUM OILY HAIR (Gets dirty around the third day after shampooing.)

You will know if this is your hair type if your hair can successfully make it to three days post-wash and look semi-descent. This means you can win yourself an extra day with dry shampoo or a stylish updo like a sleek ponytail or braid. The texture of “dirty hair” is ideal for an updo free of fly-aways.

Try to make it four days without washing, and you will be able to retain those natural oils while protecting your hair from the natural breakage that occurs throughout the washing ritual.

PRECAUTIONS: Keep in mind, dry shampoo is designed to make your blowout or styling last a few days extra – not a week, especially if you have medium-oily hair. Applying dry shampoo every day leads to multiple layers of build-up on top of the grease you’re trying to conceal. Too much product weighs hair down and can clog the pores on your scalp, resulting in painful or embarrassing skin conditions like folliculitis.

OILY HAIR (Gets dirty the day after cleansing with shampoo.)

The goal, in this case, is to NOT OVERWASH. Why? The ends will experience excessive brittleness that can lead to split ends and breakage. This can lead to thinner-looking hair that does not grow in length. We know oily hair is unflattering, but overstimulating the scalp may be one of the causes that your body is attempting to compensate for the stripping of natural oils every day.

Wash every other day, and use the shampoo-conditioner wash, followed by a “no-wash day.” On the third day, cleanse your hair with an only-conditioner wash, followed by a “no-wash day.”

Believe it or not, the conditioner is cleansing, just like shampoo. You should interrupt your oil production between hair cycles while nurturing your hair and facilitating brushing by creating this pattern.

Precautions: Not washing regularly causes dirt and bacterial accumulation. This can instigate scalp irritation. Folliculitis is inflammation across the scalp, triggering itchy or painful blemishes and pimples that constrain natural hair growth cycles. In a nutshell, if you wash hair too sparingly, you could potentially suffer temporary thinning.

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