Search the question and you will find every answer. Wash daily. Never wash daily. Train your hair. Go a week. It is no wonder people feel they are doing it wrong.
The honest answer is that there is no universal number. There is your hair, your scalp and your week, and a few clear signs worth listening to.
What decides it
- How much oil your scalp makes. This varies a great deal from person to person.
- Your hair's texture. Oil travels quickly down fine, straight hair, so it looks oily sooner. Curly and coily hair often goes longer.
- Your week. Exercise, heat, humidity and styling products all add up at the roots.
Signs it is time to wash
- Your scalp feels itchy, heavy or coated.
- Your roots stay flat even after refreshing them.
- You have used dry shampoo for a day or two already.
- You have been sweating a lot.
About training your hair
You may have read that washing less teaches your scalp to make less oil. There is little good evidence for it. How much oil your scalp makes depends largely on you, not on your washing schedule. Wash as often as your hair needs, and stop feeling guilty about it.
Wash as often as your hair needs. For the days in between, refresh the roots.
How to stretch wash day kindly
- Wash the right places. Shampoo on your roots and scalp, conditioner on your ends. Roots stay fresh longer when they are not coated in conditioner.
- Refresh only your roots. On day two, a little dry shampoo mist along your part, the front and the crown, massaged in.
- Keep your hands out of it. Touching your hair moves oil down from the roots.
- Know when to stop. One or two days of dry shampoo, then wash.
For wash day, Clean Wash is our gloss shampoo made for roots and scalp. For the days in between, Between-Wash Hair Reset is our dry shampoo mist. Together they are the simplest version of our routine.
Quick answers
Is it bad to wash your hair every day?
Not if your hair needs it. Focus the shampoo on your roots and scalp and keep conditioner on your ends.
How many days can you use dry shampoo in a row?
Use it to stretch one or two days, then wash, so it does not build up on your scalp.
Can you train your scalp to be less oily?
There is little good evidence for it. How much oil your scalp makes depends largely on you.
Find the rhythm that suits your hair: Find your routine in five questions.