Why I Don't Wash My Hair (often) - Sivan
08.09.18

Why I Don’t Wash My Hair (often)

Washing my hair has become one of my least favorite chores. It just takes FOREVER. My hair isn’t very thick–I just have a lot of it. But still, the process of washing it, brushing through the tangles, and then letting it fully air-dry so I can style it literally takes about 4-5 hours. Majority of the time is purely waiting for it to dry but you can imagine how impractical that is. If I want to wash it at night then I’m either sleeping on wet hair (& waking up to some crazy mane that is likely unmanageable), or I have to blow dry it dry, which is damaging. If I wash it during the day then I’m trapped at home for 4-5 hours while it’s drying, which means I better not have things to do outside of the house (bc I don’t leave the house with wet hair). Paul rolls his eyes at my hair washing dilemmas but I’m sure girls everywhere can sympathize, am I right?!

I literally plan my life around my hair washing schedule and for the most part it works. I schedule my workouts on days I plan to wash my hair so I’m maximizing the clean hair days and I leave the days in between workouts for meetings, shoots, social events, etc. And to be clear, no, I don’t NOT go to things if it doesn’t fall perfectly within my hair schedule, but I do my best to work around it so I look well presented (hair-wise).

Most recently I’ve been loving getting my hair blown out at the Drybar after my workouts. It’s a luxury that I’ve allowed myself to indulge in because not only does it last, it’s efficient. I get in and out in one hour and my hair is washed and styled. As mentioned above, my process takes 4-5 hours, which is anything but efficient. It’s also partially because I suck at blow-drying my hair so I usually let it air dry so I can wave it. At the Drybar I just go for a classic blow out, which I will break down shortly. I also truly believe getting a professional-grade hair wash is key to a long-lasting blow-out. A lot of people don’t realize that shampoo is for the scalp– so you really need to focus the product on that area and scrub! It will lift all the product residue and oil build-up and leave you squeaky clean. Also, the less you wash your hair the less oil your scalp will produce, making your hair overall less greasy. Bingo!

If you currently wash your hair often (aka more than twice per week), you’re only allowing your scalp to continue on this grease-making journey. You’re egging it on. If you stop washing your hair as often your scalp will naturally slow down on oil production. You will definitely go through a stinky greasy phase, but you have to power through that. This is when dry shampoo, hats, and buns come in. While you’re “training” your hair, just get creative with your hair styling. I did, and let me tell you it’s well worth it. I’m now down to 2 washes per week and striving for 1 per week. My workouts are what put me over the edge, though. I just can’t handle sleeping on my clean pillow with dirty hair so I wash it on workout days. I realize that other people probably work out more than twice per week, posing a dirty hair problem, but no one said this would be easy! If you need that mid-week workout, just go heavy on the dry shampoo or maybe do a less sweaty workout that day??? Yoga??

I’ve also noticed that my hair is much healthier since washing it less. While this might sound like an oxymoron, water is actually very drying. On skin, hair, & nail. Since I’m hypothyroid I already deal with a lot of dryness to a point where I need to avoid unnecessary water exposure (super weird, I know), so cutting back on hair washes has actually really helped the health of my hair. It grows faster and generally just feels stronger since I’m limiting the amount of heat I’m putting on my hair. It’s pretty crazy how this vicious cycle of hair washing / styling just damages so much…if you can cut back on it all your hair will thank you.

So, to recap, I get a blow-out on Mondays after my workout, use dry shampoo / buns / hats if necessary until the next wash, which is Friday after my workout. At first the dry shampoo was crucial, but I’m definitely using less and less the more I follow this schedule.

What I Get At Drybar:

-Double wash: first regular, then purple shampoo. They condition once after.

-A sleek blow-out with volume.

-No hot tools (curling irons).

-Ask them to pin the top for extra bounce.

-The first time I went I had to explain that I don’t like my ends “curled” to give a better visual. When the pins first come out my hair is very bouncy but it falls within half an hour and ends up having the perfect amount of fullness and curve to it without looking over the top.

Will keep you posted on if / when I make it to one wash per week! Once the baby gets here I kind of feel like I won’t have a choice so….