Here's why and what happened!
If you're not too fond of blogs, I understand, here's a YouTube video I filmed of my little experiment:
Hey, hey! I decided to give my hair a break and stop washing it for 2 weeks. Usually I wash my hair 1-2 times a week, because it's not very healthy to wash it more often. By washing your hair a lot you're stripping it from its natural oils, and with my hair being thick and frizzy, I can usually go an extra few days without washing it (with the proper hair styles). I'm an active person and get sweaty throughout the day and oil builds up in my scalp. However, I've found that brushing my hair to re-distribute the oils and braid my hair as a go-to hair style helps keep it looking good longer. But, I thought I'd try this experiment...
After reading up on how it can be beneficial not to wash your hair for a prolonged period of time, I thought why not, it's quarantine, I'm not going anywhere or seeing anyone, so this is my time. Here's a bit of a TED Talk regarding washing your hair less often and such:
Washing your hair less often (or never washing it as some do) protects your hair and body from unnecessary healthy chemicals. Like this blog shares, some hair products have carcinogen and hormone disrupter diethyl phthalate (DEP) which helps hair products hold fragrance. Then there's Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) which makes shampoo foam up, but it irritates skin and could be cancer-causing (I need new shampoo 'cus mine foams up and I definitely need to look into better ones!). And then we have parabens which work as a preservative, but they’ve been found in breast cancer tumour tissue. To avoid these chemicals, read the ingredient list on your hair products (not to self) and wash your hair less often.
Use less water: You reduce water consumption by not washing your hair every day which positively contributes to the environment. Additionally, if your hair is coloured then the heat and minerals in your shower water strips colour from your strands. My hair is not coloured but I always try to use less water, so washing my hair less helps me work on that goal.
Washing and conditioning hair takes time, so save some time by doing it less often! If you know you'll be late to something or won't get enough sleep because you need to wash your hair, just skip the wash, comb through your hair and find an alternative way to style it. A low bun will look chic, and a plus is that this look goes well with slick (or greasy in this case) hair. You can also try braids which are my favourite because they further help redistribute the sebum from root to tip.
Your hair naturally produces oils and by washing it often you're removing these natural oils. Instead of using conditioner our scalps are actually pretty proficient at doing that all on their own. Our scalps produce sebum to naturally hydrate our hair. So like I mentioned before, redistribute this by brushing your hair and let your hair be for a little bit!
Products cause build up, so to make your hair last longer, use less products! These products build up and you need to wash your hair to clean it from everything. I personally do not believe in dry shampoo, I've never used one that worked and I've ever seen it actually work on others. Don't pile that on to your scalp, especially if you're trying to grow out healthy new hair (which starts from the roots, so don't clog them!)
Last hair wash day Thursday, May 14th
6 days in update | Wednesday, May 20th: I woke up and my roots were feeling so greasy 😫. I'm contemplating not finishing this experiment and washing my hair tomorrow but I'm going to RESIST. My hair is in braids today, since I find that it's one of the best looks for greasy hair and it helps distribute the oils throughout my hair as well. So braid your hair when it's looking greasy!
FINAL 14 days update | Thursday May 28th: Oh my god. I'm SO glad this is DONE. My hair feels so greasy and the only style that's been working out is braids. Brushing my hair helps distribute the sebum (which sounds so nasty lol) and that's about it. This is not something I'd do again, but I understand the importance of taking care of your hair and not washing it often. Verdict coming soon after I wash my hair and clear my thoughts haha.
Verdict:
I won't be doing this again, and I'll continue to wash my hair 1-2 times a week
Although I understand what's behind this and how washing your hair frequently can be damaging, what also matters is how you feel. I personally feel super gross about myself if I don't wash my hair at least once a week and why would I want to go out feeling gross when I can easily fix it with a shower. My mood depends greatly on how I feel, and greasy hair is not a positive factor for my mood. Although my mood was fine during this experiment (given the circumstances) there were days I was so grossed out brushing my hair and couldn't wait to be done.
Greasy hair is hard to style and applying heat to it to style it just isn't it. The only looks that worked for me were braids (which I loved, and re-discovered once again so I'm thankful for that haha) and a low sleek bun. Long term, this would suck, I want to be able to experiment with my hair and it's not so fun when hair is greasy and looks/feels wet (yikes).
Hair collects a lot of dirt and pollution, so washing it is important to strip it of these things. Yes you'll strip it of some oils too, hence why I just don't think you should wash your hair daily. However, not washing your hair ever or every few weeks seems excessive. Make sure you're washing your pillow case frequently (I wash it once a week) so that you're sleeping on a clean case so that your hair and skin remain healthy.
At the end of the day, do what works for you and what makes you feel good! Personally, washing my hair 1-2 times a week is ideal for me. Prior to washing my hair, I do a hair mask consisting of castor oil and coconut oil. The day of my wash I massage castor oil in my roots and put coconut oil on the tips. I braid my hair and let it all marinate. I then wash my hair, and post wash I use a cotton T-shirt to dry it out. Afterwards, I apply a leave in keratin treatment and use a wet hair brush to detangle. This has been working out great for my hair. As for shampoo and conditioner, I need to do more research and look into chemical free (ish) shampoos. I try to nourish my hair with a few products but mainly through diet and lifestyle. I'm trying to grow my hair out, and so far what I've been doing is working, so we'll see how long it takes for my 'dream' length (butt length hehe).
Sites where I looked up this info (+ I watched some YT videos and TikToks I can't remember which ones):
Hope you enjoyed my little experiment! I also filmed a YouTube video to go along with this, so check that out here if you're more of a video person.
Until next time, don't over wash your hair!
- Jana with a Y
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