Is It Bad to Wash Your Hair Every Day?

It’s the age-old dilemma for anyone with locks, tresses, strands, curls or waves: To shampoo or not to shampoo? To condition or not to condition? We all know it’s important to maintain a healthy head of hair, but striking the right balance between over and under-washing your hair can be hard. What is the appropriate way to do so, without drying your scalp or over-oiling your hair? There isn't a “one size fits all” answer. So how often should you be washing your hair? We talked to the experts to set the record straight.

Meet the expert

• Sabrina Porsche is an LA-based hairstylist whose clients include Khloe Kardashian and Shay Mitchell.
• Dr. Shirley Chi is a board-certified dermatologist based in California and Hawaii.
• Anne Juliette is an expert Los Angeles-based hairstylist and the founder and owner of Textured Queens Hair Academy.

When customers ask this question to LA-based hair stylist Sabrina Porsche, she usually tells them this: “It all depends on your hair type,” she says. “It all depends on how your hair holds water. And if you feel like your hair gets drier, or if you feel like you need to add moisture, there's always a difference [of] when you should wash your hair.”

It’s also important to learn about the functions of each product. According to Board Certified Dermatologist Dr. Shirley Chi, “[shampoo] is really just to break down oils, and product, and possibly dirt that you've gotten trapped from your daily whereabouts,” she says. “But it's very drying for the hair because of the detergents that are used in shampoo.”

She also adds that it’s important to use shampoo correctly. “You do want to focus on your scalp to the point as opposed to the ends of your hair.” Since shampoo helps remove excess oil from the hair, overdoing it (which looks like something different for everybody) can leave your hair dry, which can lead to breakage.

Haitstylist Anne Juliette says that when it comes to hair questions, visiting a professional is always key. As a stylist she says, “I need to know, are you high maintenance or low maintenance, I need to know what you're doing,” she says. “So I can recommend the best routine for you for your hair to be healthy and your scalp to be healthy.

She says that focusing on scalp health is an important and key element to taking care of your hair. “When you do wash your hair, focus on the scalp is so much more important. Because you need to get that buildup off your scalp,” she says, adding that every hair creates its own natural oils.

What to Consider While Developing Your Wash Schedule

When considering your hair care routine and wash schedule, multiple things should be taken into account. Knowing what hair type you have is key, and Porsche says that if you don’t know yours, the internet can act as a resource.

Hair porosity, for example, is how well your hair can retain moisture. “It's okay to look it up,” she adds. “You don't have to be a pro. Just try to educate yourself, especially if you're trying to regrow your hair and make it you know, retain the length and the integrity of it.”

“When people have textured hair, how often you wash always depends on the style, because we do a lot of protective styles, we do a lot of braids, we do extensions, we do curly looks and stuff like that,” says Juliette.

Another factor when considering your hair-wash schedule is your lifestyle. If you’re very active and are sweating every day. You might find that you are washing your hair more, because of sweat. Porsche says that if you’re washing more because of this, it’s important to remember rehydration. She says that in this case, conditioning and oil treatments can come in handy.

When it comes to your scalp, Dr. Chi says there might be misconceptions about when to wash. “I think there's a common misunderstanding that if you have dandruff, that you actually have dry scalp, and you actually cannot wash your hair too much,” says Dr. Chi. “But I believe the opposite. I think if you have dandruff that's actually different from having dry hair or dry scalp. You actually would do well with washing your hair every other day or every day.”

If your hair is color-treated, Porsche adds that it’s important to pay attention to the dryness of your hair, as color treatments can dry it out. “When you color your hair, especially if you're using something like bleach, that's going to strip your hair and cause dryness,” she says. She says a co-washing treatment can be helpful here, or hot oil treatments.

Keeping Your Hair Fresh Between Washes

There are other ways to keep hair looking and feeling fresh between washes. “So if you had like braids, or faux locs or anything like those protective styles, you can use a scalp scrub,” says Juliette, discussing Taraji P. Henson’s TPH by Taraji line. Using that kind of product, she says, “you don't have to get the whole braids wet,” she says.

Dr. Chi adds that for straighter hair, If you are someone who regularly brushes your hair, then continuing that on days you don’t wash is important. 

“I do recommend if you don't wash your hair every day to brush your hair out every day,” says Dr. Chi. She adds that this process is important because it helps move naturally produced oils to your full head of hair. “That helps keep your scalp oils dispersed down your hair shaft.”

Porsche says that in between washes, a dry shampoo, or a dry conditioner can be used as quick fixes: A dry shampoo if you’re feeling oily, and a dry conditioner to rehydrate.

She adds that wrapping your hair at night can extend the longevity of the cleanliness of your hair. This can be done with a satin scarf or bonnet, she says.

Just like so many other beauty regimens and routines, hair care is extremely personal, and should be treated as such. It might take some research, but once your method is locked in, you’ll be free to go out and show off your healthy, radiant look.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qrrSrbClnV6YvK57yKxkoqxdl66ledOoZLCZo516urvUq2ShmZmneqbCxKuwnZmpYoV3g5Zrb3I%3D