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There is one question that is a topic of heated debate in the world of haircare: How often should you be washing your hair? You and your friends may have totally different routines—some washing their locks on the daily, while others only do it once a week.
Whether you’re one end of the hair-washing spectrum or the other, it can be confusing to know what’s right for you. So we asked NYC hair stylist at The Salon Project, Kali Ferrara about her hot takes on hair washing.
How often should you wash your hair?
“Washing your hair too frequently can lead to not only dry locks but a dry and upset scalp. Scalp health fully equates to the health of the follicle and therefore the hair that grows out of it. Try to wash every other day or even every third or fourth day for optimal scalp and hair health.”
Does it depend on hair type?
“Hair type absolutely plays a factor in how often you should wash your hair. Finer, thinner hair may become oily sooner so may need to washed every other day (many people feel the need to wash every day with this hair type). Thicker hair, especially with a wave or curl can go longer without washing mostly because of the volume of the hair to oil ratio.”
What about if you color/bleach your hair?
“Colored or bleached hair can generally go longer between washes because it is chemically processed and therefore can be on the dryer side of the hair spectrum, even when completely healthy. Often my blonde clients will come in for a touch up when their hair loses volume due to their virgin roots being healthy and not sucking up the sebum from the scalp like the more porous and chemically treated hair. For chemically treated clients I always recommend washing once or twice a week, a deep conditioner every other wash, I like Oribe’s Gold Lust Transformative Mask and the Verb Hydrating Mask, and a hair vitamin to help healthy growth from the inside out, I like Vitafusion’s gorgeous hair skin and nails gummies.”
What are some common misconceptions or mistakes about washing your hair?
“If you’re a daily washer and think you can never go more than 24 hours without being a grease ball you need to do a washing detox! I saw a lot of my clients lean into this practice during Covid stay at home orders because no one was seeing them. Doing a washing detox means not washing your hair and getting your scalp accustomed to not having to over produce sebum because those vital natural oils aren’t being stripped on a daily basis. Not only will the hair be less dry from the over use of detergents, the scalp will have time to secrete the natural sebum it produces, resulting in the moisturizing of the scalp as well as the hair. The first couple of weeks when you are detoxing from daily washing are the toughest, but once your scalp becomes balanced you’ll wonder why you washed every day in the first place! Are you a daily gym goer and hate the idea of going on unwashed? Simply just rinse thoroughly and condition! Many conditioners on the market contain enough active ingredients to cleanse the scalp and hair just enough to get away with not having to shampoo every single day.”
So while there is no one hair-washing-routine-fits-all, there are guidelines you can use to determine how often you should wash your hair. Don’t worry if your friends’ routines differ from yours.
