I bet as soon as you saw the title of this post most of you recoiled in disgust exclaiming, “I can’t do that.” But the fact is you can. When it comes to your hair, cleanliness is not a virtue. In fact, it may be a hindrance.
Train your hair
Whether your hair is oily, fine, frizzy, you name it, the secret lies in training your hair and getting it on a workable schedule. Get on track by limiting shampoos to every other day; then add on extra days once you’re more comfortable with the process. Now I'm not suggesting you don't shower—simply jump in and suds up, but wrap locks in a clip or shower cap and keep it out of the water’s stream.
The benefits
Succumbing to unwashed strands not only cuts down on bathroom and blow drying time, but hair will be healthier and any chemical and coloring services willing last longer. Shampoos are filled with detergents that leave strands squeaky clean and strip it of natural oils. As counter-intuitive as it sounds, the more you wash your hair, the oilier it’s going to get.
Put oil in it's place
Here’s an extra tidbit: Each night before going to bed, take a nylon-bristled, rubber-cushioned hair brush (like a Mason Pearson, or a similar, less pricey variety) and flip your head over running the bristles from scalp to ends, then flip hair back and do the same thing again. Not only is brushing the scalp akin to a mini massage, but it helps distribute hair’s natural oils from scalp (where you don’t want them), to hair’s drier ends (which need them). Do the same thing in the morning and voilà—you’re done!
No excuses
If you’re diligently brushing but still find that your scalp is a little oily on days 2-4 and it’s driving you mad, try a dry shampoo. These oil absorbers not only sap up any greasiness, they also lend great texture and volume to styles.
You should also remain sans shampoo post gym. When you're done with your workout, hit roots with a quick blow dry before walking out. If you have the kind of style that simply MUST be wet or conditioned every day, then go ahead. Just keep that conditioner away from the scalp and limit it to the portion of hair below the ears.
Try this for a week or two and you’ll quickly become a believer—we were all skeptics at the beginning. The only obstacle is you.
Have you taken the shampoo-free challenge? How's your hair lookin?
Photo credit: Getty Images
re
April 10, 2012
I get dandruff from the extra oil if I don’t wash every day.
I’m disabled, so believe me I’ve tried not washing it as much because that would be a lot easier. But it never gets “trained” to not be very very oily.
Heather
April 10, 2012
This probably works great for women who don’t have oily hair. I have very oily hair, but I color mine red, so I’ve only washed mine every other day for YEARS and on day two I am so embarrassed by how greasy my hair looks. The dry shampoos seem to be very drying so I try not to use them unless really necessary. This is great advise for women with normal to dry hair but I know for a fact it doesn’t work for those of us with naturally oily hair.
Rosalie
April 10, 2012
I can’t go more than a second day without cleaning my hair.
They get REALLY oily!
Rinatsu リナツ
April 10, 2012
Brushing your hair doesn’t help much. You must use more natural products so you can wash your hair less. Because all those popular shampoos removes natural oils from your hair so that’s why it hair tends to make more oils so you need to wash your hair every second day or even more often.