There are two types of people: those who can’t bear to go a day with dirty hair, and those who compete week by week to see just how long they can go without being in dire need of a hair wash; I am the latter and I am not afraid to assume that title.

Here’s the thing, up until just a few months ago, I was an avid hair washer. I was convinced that I was condemned to live with greasy hair, and without a constant wash, my hair would become disgusting. 

The main issue, however, lay in the fact that I washed my hair too often, in turn encouraging it to produce more oil. 

As far as the ritual of hair washing goes, I have always stuck to a specific regime. Shampoo, rinse, conditioner, rinse, never one without the other. Here is where I was wrong.

The issue with constant hair washing has little to do with conditioner, and more to do with shampoo. The anti-shampoo movement is a passionate and difficult train to get on. 

The issue with shampoo is that it is stripping the hair when used too often. Your hair produces a natural oil at the roots which is healthy and important to maintain healthy hair, but washing it out is also important to avoid buildup. The question is how often should you be doing this?

Frequency of hair washing can really depend on hair type, and that’s an important factor to recognize.

For straight-haired girls, especially with thinner hair, oils tend to move quicker down your hair as opposed to curly-haired people who may experience more grace in regards to frequency of washing. 

A simple fix to this problem is washing without shampooing. Say you decide you are going to shampoo your hair twice a week, say Wednesday and Saturday, but you still want clean hair in between. Rinsing or simply conditioning every 2-3 days between shampooing avoids a stiff or brittle feeling, but lets the scalp continue to produce those necessary oils you need to maintain healthy hair. 

Between washing, if this rinse is still not satisfying enough, there are a few other methods of taming your hair.

While this may come as a surprise, using hair oil is an effective way of minimizing the need for washing your hair. Instead of constantly washing your greasy hair and sending your hair into the cycle of the constant production of oil, using hair oil may help balance this overproduction. It can tame frizzy or brittle-looking hair if you get that as a result of not washing your hair, and can help prevent heat damage and breakage.

Utilizing dry shampoo is also effective in preventing a greasy appearance to the hair, and pairing this with a restorative oil is adequate in prohibiting that unwashed look. Nonetheless, dry shampoo shouldn’t be seen as a substitute for washing the hair—regardless of the name—because it does nothing to actually remove dirt or build up from the hair. However, it provides a suitable tool in between washes in efforts to maintain the look and feel of clean hair. 

All and all, this will always be a topic of debate. Whether your hair washing schedule has been instilled to create clean feeling hair, or clean-looking hair, it is important to take into account both. While at first creating gaps between washes may feel troubling, I can guarantee that in the long run, your hair will thank you.