If you follow me on Instagram and have watched my recent Instastories, you may have seen where I talked about seeing how long I could go without washing my hair.
Now, let me be clear, I’m not talking about trying to put off hygiene or walking around with dirty, smelly hair. Those of you who know me well know that I am kind of a clean freak. I mean, I’m the person who can’t stand to not shower or shave her legs every. single. day.
However, when it comes to washing my hair, I’m all about skipping as many days as possible while still having hair that looks decently clean, isn’t all greasy, and smells clean.
Some of you who have short hair are probably laughing that I’d think about skipping days washing my hair. I mean, it probably only takes you a few minutes to wash and dry your hair and you are good to go.
Because let’s face it: When you have as thick and long of hair as I do, it’s a process to wash and blow dry it. In fact, it usually takes me a good 25 minutes from start to finish to wash and blow dry it and then a little bit more time to style it.
Since I really have no desire to spend 25 minutes washing and drying my hair multiple times per week, I’ve gotten creative and found ways to go at least 4-6+ days between washing my hair.
Many of you have reached out to me and asked how on earth I manage to only wash my hair every 4-6 days, so I figured some of you might be interested in an entire post dedicated to answering this question. If you’re not interested in these types of details of my life, well, you can scroll right on past! 😉
Here are my top 7 tips for washing your hair less often (please note: these are just what work for ME. My hair and your hair are very different, so I can’t guarantee that these will work for you):
1. Don’t Wash Your Hair as Often
I’ve found this to be true and have heard this from multiple people: you can train your hair to be less greasy, just by washing it less. For real.
At first, this is hard. You’ll want to start by just slowly testing this out. Pick a week when you aren’t really going anywhere or can wear a ball cap and wait an extra day to wash your hair. The next week, do the same. By the 3rd or 4th week, you should notice that your hair is less greasy.
2. Don’t Use as Much Hair Product
Many hair products can cause your hair to be greasier and need to be washed more often. Try weaning yourself off of using as much hair product slowly and see if it makes a difference.
I usually only use a little leave-in conditioner and a little hair oil after I wash my hair. And then, on some days, I’ll use a little bit of hairspray. Any time I use a lot of hair product (such as when I have my hair in a formal updo or something), I notice that my hair is much greasier.
3. Don’t Touch Your Hair
If you have a hairstyle that requires you to be touching your hair (moving your bangs out of your face, etc.), it’s going to be a lot more oily because of the oil from your hands.
If possible, don’t touch your hair — move your bangs over to the slide, run your fingers through your hair, etc. as this will make it oily and mean that you’ll need to wash it more often.
This is one reason I love wearing it up… because then you just don’t touch your hair once it is fixed! 🙂
4. Wear Your Hair Up
I usually wear my hair down on days 1-3 and then I’ll wear it up (or wear a hat) on days 4-6. I’ve found that it’s much easier to get your hair up in a bun or a blob if it has a little grease and texture to it — which it usually will have a lot more of a few days after you wash it.
Need some ideas for ways to wear your hair up? Watch this video here (I did Messy Bun #5 in the photos above). I also love the braid updo look here and do something similar to that sometimes when I’m feeling fancy.
5. Wear a Hat
I told you how I’ve become a big fan of hats. They are especially great for when your hair is a little greasy but it doesn’t quite need to be washed yet. You can just braid it over to the side or do a side ponytail or do a low messy bun and then put on the hat.
People will probably compliment you on how cute you look all day long — and you can just smile and giggle over the fact that it took you all of one minute and meant that you didn’t have to wash your hair yet again! 🙂
6. Use Dry Shampoo
I actually don’t use dry shampoo that often, but it comes in handy on days when you workout and have sweat more or you probably really do need to wash your hair but you don’t have time.
I just sprinkle it on at the roots and then comb or brush it out. Dry shampoo is also great for adding some texture to your hair if you’re struggling to get it to go up in a messy bun.
7. Wear It Up When You Work Out
The biggest question I get about only washing my hair every 4-6 days is, “How on earth do you not have to wash your hair after working out??”
I do get really sweaty on certain work out days (especially my long run days). I try to plan those for the day I need to wash my hair since if my entire head of hair is dripping with sweat, it really needs to be washed.
However, on most days — when I’m just doing weight-lifting or shorter runs — I just wear my hair up and then let it air dry or blow dry it a little after working out and I’m good to go. On some days, if I’ve sweat more than usual, I’ll use a little dry shampoo, too.
Washing Your Hair Less Saves You Time & Money
It saves time. Time that I can invest in other things — like money-saving or money-making endeavors, or just being with my family or other more important things that rinsing and lathering my hair! Not only do I spend less time washing it, but I spend less time fixing it since I’ve found it’s so much easier to fix second day hair or third day hair or, gulp, sixth day hair, than it is to fix hair the day you wash it.
It saves money. It means less water used for showers, less shampoo used, less conditioner used, fewer hair products used, fewer electricity used for the blow dryer. (Okay, so if you’re looking for money-saving tactics, probably skipping washing your hair is not going to save you hundreds of dollars per year, but it will definitely save you at least some money!)
Do you skip days between washing your hair? I’d love to know!
