Why Quarantine is the Perfect Time to Retrain Your Hair

Stop washing your hair so dang much! Washing your hair daily is not good for your hair, scalp, or your hair color. I’m a licensed cosmetologist, who owns and operates a studio salon out of my home. And I’m actually surprised this topic hasn’t come up before now. This is my number one advice for EVERYONE! Yes, I mean everyone! I recommend it to all of my clients.You only need to wash your hair after it’s been “dirty,”

In beauty school my class did an experiment one time: see how long one could go without washing their hair. This was to prove a point that you don’t HAVE to wash your hair every single day. I won the contest if you want to call it that. I made it 14 days. I have never washed my hair more than 2 or 3 times in a week for any reason. First of all I have a ton of hair (even if it is short) and I’m too lazy to mess with it that often. 14 days is entirely too long to go without washing your hair, I do not recommend going that long, unless you just happen to be like me and have extremely dry skin (scalp) and dry, thick hair. This is very unusual.

Here is my recommendation to everyone, wash your hair only once a week. Back in the day all women only washed their hair once a week. This is because they went to the salon and got their set done and then just restyled it themselves at home until the time when their next appointment rolled around. This is the generation that my mother grew up in, she was also a stylist during this time; so washing your hair once a week was normal at my house. I never knew that people washed their hair every day growing up.

I currently wash my hair once a week, up to every 10 days (depending on my hair). I wash my hair, this is called wash day. My routine on wash day is to shampoo (two or three times) and condition well. After I get out of the shower I put a mix of Kenra Smoothing Creme and Kenra Silkening Oil, and Kenra Volumizing Mousse. I personally let my hair air dry, but you don’t have to. So, the first day I usually wear my hair how it dries, which for me is straight. If I don’t wear it however it dries, I flat iron it lightly just to get all my ends going all the same direction. I then wear it straight for a couple of days. Once I’m tired of it being straight, I start using dry shampoo, this is my favorite way to get texture and volume at my roots without teasing, or if I end up needing to use a little tease, it stays much better. Then I curl my hair. I like to start off with a smaller, tighter curl on this day. The reason for that is because, I like my curls to loosen and “fall out” over the next couple of days. (*If needed I touch up curls, in the following days.) Once I’ve worn my hair curly/wavy for a couple of days, I then wear it half up and half down. I personally like to wear a messy top bun. I wear this for a couple of days, as well. Now this is the end of my routine now that my hair is short. If your hair is longer than mine and can go into a ponytail or top knot, I suggest to do that for the next day or two. Additionally, if you are a hat person, you could even get away with another day or two by wearing a hat. Then, you are fully ready for your next wash day.

The reason I recommend this is because everyone says they wash their hair because “they can’t go without washing their hair every day, because it gets oily.” Your hair gets oily because your scalp and your hair need oil. Your body makes what you need naturally. Now, the reason your hair might get oily after just a day or two is because you’re telling your body that you need more oil, so it ups the oil production. The way you are telling your body that you need more oil is by washing your natural oils away in the shower. This tells your body to make more. The oil your body makes is good for your scalp, it keeps it from being dry and flaky. You can’t put lotion on your scalp, but lucky for you that’s why your scalp makes it’s own oil. The hair strand itself needs the oil your produce as well. It helps the strand retain moisture, and keeps it from drying out. The part of your hair that needs the oil the most is your ends, and obviously this is the farthest part of your hair away from your scalp. A good way for your natural oils to get to the ends is brushing. Natural oil is what makes the hair strand shiny and pretty. So we need that oil everywhere.

So, how do you stop your scalp from producing so much oil? You have to train it. You simply have to stop washing your hair. You have to let it get “greasy/nasty.” Eventually your scalp will even out with oil production. So quarantine is perfect for this. You’re not going anywhere anyway. You’re stuck at home and you can be ugly in peace! Use this time to retrain your hair. This will keep your hair color brighter longer, save so much product, and save your precious time. These are all great things in my opinion.

There are some factors that mitigate this recommendation. One would be a hormone disorder, and I would recommend speaking to your medical doctor about treatment. Hormones do crazy things in the body. The one week a month I recommend washing your hair more often is during your period, if you feel it is needed. Some people have increased oil production during their period, and you might be one of them, it is natural and normal. If you sweat a lot or often. This will cause excess oil in the hair and scalp and unfortunately it will also smell. No one wants to smell so, if you’re sweaty, go ahead and wash your hair. I’m not saying don’t wash, and practice good hygiene. I am saying “stop letting your hair control you, you need to be in control of your hair.”

Stay home, stay safe, and wash your DANG hands (but not your hair.)