There's no one right answer to how many days you can get by without washing your hair. This comes down to your lifestyle, hair texture, and hair type. For many, two to three days is the most. However, by day five you should definitely give your strands a good wash.
If you don't wash your hair for more than a week, several things can occur: Oil Buildup: The scalp produces sebum, an oily substance that can accumulate, making your hair greasy and heavy. Dandruff: Lack of washing can lead to a buildup of dead skin cells and oil, potentially causing dandruff or scalp irritation.
How long you go in between is really up to you. Some people go a week without washing (Which seems a bit crazy) but even if you can manage every other day, it'll make a difference. Now it's important to remember that this process takes time, especially if you're used to washing your hair everyday.
If you have straight and oily hair, you might do well to wash it every day or every other day. But, if your hair is long, dry, or curly, it is healthiest to wash it once in 2 or 3 weeks to prevent damage to it. The same can be said if you regularly blow-dry your hair, use hot curling irons, or color it.
Prolonged periods of not washing can cause cause buildup on the scalp, damaging hair and even impeding its ability to grow, Lamb said... Those with coarse or curly hair can buy a bit more time, she said, as many as 10 days. If itchy dandruff or a scaly scalp occurs, it may feel tempting to scratch.
Not washing your hair regularly won't make you lose it, but a build-up of oils and products can block growth and affect scalp health.
Going a long time without washing your hair can cause a buildup of a yeast-like fungus called Malassezia on your scalp. Over time, this leads to a layer of dead skin cells that shed from your head in the form of oily, yellow-ish dandruff flakes. Dandruff can also make your scalp red, scaly, and itchy.
If your hair tends to be oily, you'll want to make sure your wash window is within 24 hours of your upcoming permanent or semi-permanent dye job. For normal-to-dry hair, that window can stretch up to three days between washing your hair and applying at-home dye.
For people with thinning hair, however, frequently washing your hair maintains a healthy scalp. "When you are going through hair loss and you have thinning hair, it is recommended that you wash every single day and or every other third day," Buechner explained.
Despite the rave reviews of some vloggers, most hair professionals do not recommend the water only hair washing method. “Sebum is naturally quite waxy (and smelly), and water alone may not be able to remove the buildup which can be problematic for people with scalp conditions or a predisposition to scalp conditions.
“There are too many variables to set one rule,” Jessica J. Krant, a cosmetic and medical dermatologist at the Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York said in an interview. “I believe hair can be washed anywhere from daily to once every two weeks, depending on hair and skin type, hairstyle and lifestyle.”
Assuming you shower once a day, at the bare minimum, and depending on your use, a travel-sized bottle should last you anywhere from a week to two weeks.
If you don't wash your body, it makes it easier for germs that cause actual skin infections to flourish. If you didn't wash at all, dirt, sweat, dead skin cells and oil would start to accumulate, and infections or ongoing skin conditions can become more serious, more difficult to manage, and harder to undo.
If you have very fine, straight hair that gets oily fast, day four or five may be your cutoff point. If you have a thick, coily mane that's on the drier side, you might find that two weeks or more sans wash makes your hair feel its healthiest.
Hair unfortunately doesn't “self-clean” in aconventional sense; just produces oils over a slower period of time.
Though there's some debate among haircare experts on this one, the overwhelming opinion is that, for most people, washing your hair every day is unnecessary. In fact, particularly for people with tight curls, over-washing your hair can dry your hair out, causing damage, split ends and breakage over time.
You might be able to reverse hair loss, or at least slow it. With some conditions, such as patchy hair loss (alopecia areata), hair may regrow without treatment within a year. Treatments for hair loss include medications and surgery.
**Stylist Preference**: Stylists prefer working with clean hair because it allows them to better assess the natural color and condition of your hair.
"Semi-permanent and demi-permanent hair color can be applied to wet or dry hair, but wet hair application in not recommended for permanent hair color." Meanwhile, permanent color changes require a dry hair application. This could mean going lighter, or darker.
Post-color washing is essential for maintaining the structural integrity of your hair. By cleansing and conditioning, salons help in closing the hair cuticles, locking in moisture, and preserving the smoothness of your locks.
The consequences of pollution (and not enough washing)
According to Fernandez, when hair is washed less than twice a week, the follicles become clogged and this can cause a range of problems: scalp flaking, itching, sensitivity, dandruff, and even hair loss.
While some experts say that washing your hair once a week is fine as long as you use a good shampoo and your hair responds well to that frequency, there's another side to the argument. If your hair is extremely dry and not washed often enough, it can lose its natural moisture with age.