THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU WASH YOUR HAIR ONCE A WEEK
It feels like the discussion on how often you need to wash your hair never ends. Some say twice a day, others say twice a month. We thought we’d take a stab at discussing the pros and cons of washing it too rarely and too often, and also try to find out what would really be ideal for the average person.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I WASH IT TOO RARELY?
If you’re one of those who wash your hair once a day, the thought of washing it every week and a half would sound ridiculous. Not washing the hair daily is often linked to greasy, smelly, and dull hair, but what actually happens to it if you don’t wash it often enough?
If you have fine hair, it is actually prone to look very greasy because the oil secreted from your scalp can more easily travel down the hair strands than if you had curly hair. The oil itself is not a bad thing, however, if you don’t wash away the oil buildup, it’ll end up as a thick, heavy layer on your scalp. This layer will attract dust and other external pollutants and eventually suffocate your scalp. This in turn can lead to inflammation and ingrown hairs on the scalp (yes, ingrown hairs occur on your scalp as well).
Not washing your hair will prevent your hair and scalp from maintaining a healthy environment for your hair to grow and because of it, your hair might actually stop growing. Also, if you stop washing your hair, your scalp will eventually catch on that there’s a lot of oil on your scalp and therefore slow down the production of oil. If you were to begin washing it again, it would take a while for the scalp to realize, which is why you might experience dry scalp and hair. However, eventually the scalp will adjust to the amount of times you wash your hair and produce oil accordingly.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I WASH IT TOO OFTEN?
If you wash it too often, the opposite effect happens to your scalp. If you begin washing it everyday, you’ll strip the hair from natural oils and eventually the scalp will catch on and produce more oil. (This is why, if you start washing it less frequently after that, your scalp will continue to produce the same amount of oil and you’ll find your hair feeling greasier than usual).
However, even though your scalp produces more oil, it’s more likely to feel dry because you’ll just wash it away the next day and your hair won’t be able to benefit from the moisturizing and nourishing effect of the oil, which will also lead to your hair looking less shiny.
If you have curly, coiled, or even wavy hair you might experience extremely dry hair when washing it often. This is because the oil from your scalp already has a hard time to reach the ends of your hair strands because of the curls, and now that you wash it more often, you basically eliminate all possibilities of the oil moisturizing the hair.
HOW MANY TIMES SHOULD I WASH IT?
Our suggestion: once a week. Why? The more you wash it, the more it wears and tears. Of course it’s up to each individual to decide what works best for them, but we think: the fewer times a week, the better.
The reason why we say once a week is because you’re stripping your hair from natural oils by washing it often. The scalp was created to take care of, and clean itself. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t wash is at all. By doing it once a week, your hair and scalp will be able to recover and relax before you wash it again, which is especially important if you do chemical processes on the reg. The hair will be less prone to breakage and split ends, and even more likely to grow faster and better. Not to mention the money you’ll save on shampoo and conditioner!
Like we mentioned before, if your scalp is used to getting washed once a day, it’s likely to produce an excess of oils so it’ll probably take a few weeks for it to get used to the once a week wash. Alternatively, you could begin by washing it three times a week and transition from there.
Co-wash was trending a while ago, which means that you only wash your hair with conditioner. We don’t recommend this at all when doing the once a week wash. You need the shampoo to make sure you cleanse the scalp thoroughly, especially if you only wash it once a week. PHYTO Paris’ Phytoneutre is a great shampoo that deeply cleanses the hair without stripping it from its natural oils. It contains essential eucalyptus oil to stimulate the scalp and eliminate any product buildup.
Phytopolléine is a scalp treatment created to balance, purify, and stimulate the scalp with its natural extracts of rosemary, sage, cypress, eucalyptus, and lemon, a real energy boost to your scalp, which is great to ensure a healthy environment for your hair that’ll last throughout the week!
By the end of the seven days, your hair might feel greasy and all your want to do is clean it. Although your scalp produces its own oil to moisturize the hair strands, you might want to use a mask every now and then to ensure it doesn’t dry out the hair too much.
If you have ultra-dry hair, the Phytoelixir mask will work wonders to envelop the hair in prodigious nourishment with its macadamia oil and narcissus wax. The Phytojoba mask is a great lightweight mask for those with fine hair because it hydrates the hair and restores softness and luster. Finally, those of you with damaged and colored hair, the Phytokératine Extrême mask is regenerative and works to repair the damaged hair by building up the broken protein in the hair strands.
It’s completely up to you how many times you wash your hair, but we wanted to discuss it because in addition to the visible factors, there are many biological factors that weigh in when washing your hair. After a short transitioning period, washing it once a week will be no challenge. Also, imagine all the time you will be saving! Why not give it a shot?
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