How Often Should You Wash Your Hair?

If you have curly hair, daily cleansing with the wrong products can dry and damage your curls.

How Often Should You Wash?

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To wash or not to wash?

It seems simple, right? Take a shower and wash your hair daily. Wrong! Washing your hair may seem like a simple task, but you would be surprised how many curlies are doing it wrong.

Washing your hair incorrectly can lead to scalp irritation, dandruff, lice and other scalp issues. Certain hair types and textures only require washing once a week, where others work well washing 2 – 3 times a week.

MORE: All About the No-Shampoo Method

What makes your hair feel dirty?

Sebaceous glands are to blame! Sebaceous glands are glands in our skin that secrete an oily/waxy matter, called sebum, to lubricate our skin and hair. These glands are connected to an individual hair follicle. They are responsible for secreting sebum, the natural oils that moisturize and waterproof your skin and hair. This is why our hair can feel or look dirty.

Now, let’s talk about how often you should cleanse for each hair type.

Thick hair or tight curls and kinks

Shampooing can be the last thing on your mind, since you only need to wash your hair about once a week (and sometimes less)! Your hair doesn’t feel dirty easily, so you don’t need to cleanse it until it feels dirty. Daily washing is a bad idea because your hair would be way too dry.

You have the luxury of waiting a number of days until you feel like it needs washing again. To refresh in between washes, try a dry shampoo or conditioner. Co-washing is a great option for those with thick, coarse hair.

Medium curls, kinks and waves

You can afford to shampoo every few days. If you skip a day, no need to worry because your curls will look great with a little refreshing! Curls look great and the texture will work well with a small amount of oil in your hair. Low shampoos or a shampoo bar is great for you.

Make sure to pineapple to help you achieve better second day hair. If you work out a lot, you may need to co-wash in between shampoos. You can also water wash between co-washes. Water washing means that you massage your scalp using just water, no shampoo, cleanser or conditioner. Some people do this in between their co-washes/shampoos.

Fine curls and waves

You have a fine hair texture; by the evening your hair seems oily and you use styling products daily.

Your curly locks will look their best if you shampoo every day. Your wave or fine hair will sparkle with daily washed hair. It’s not your style to have oily texture, so it’s best to keep it clean. To avoid drying out your locks, make sure to moisturize with a good conditioner! Think about how much this is going to cut down on your bathroom time!

Although curlies may have one of the hair types listed above we don’t all have the same exact hair types, porosity, water qualities and hair care needs. Wash and condition your hair based on how greasy or dry your hair feels use the above as guidelines.

12 comments for “How Often Should You Wash Your Hair?”

1. proudcurlygirly Says:
   March 5th, 2011 at 9:38 am

   I have fine to medium textured curls and I co-wash my hair every day. I just love the feeling of clean hair and scalp and giving it a good massage in the process. It isn’t a chore, it’s as natural to me as brushing my teeth! Other people prefer not to wash their hair every day. Whatever works for each individual curly head.

2. mzmillion Says:
   March 9th, 2011 at 7:02 pm

   I wash my hair every week, and do a deep conditioner also.

   I use shampoo about once a month, because I am low on silicones and virtually no mineral oil.

   So I definitely agree with that assessment.

3. biiancax3 Says:
   March 15th, 2011 at 3:05 pm

   Hi , i am using an 100 all natural shampoo and conditioners called Beauty 4 Ashes , and i have type 4a hair since it is also natural would it be drying if i washed twice a week and co washed once a week?( i also work out so i like to wash my hair because i hate having the feeling of sweat in my hair)

4. bradleyl00 Says:
   March 15th, 2011 at 4:56 pm

   Shampooing hair incorrectly does NOT cause lice. Lice has nothing to do with personal hygiene.

5. ecco25 Says:
   March 16th, 2011 at 2:21 am

   I just started a low poo routine about a month ago using Miss Jessies. Was very unsure at first, but now I only need to wash every 2-3 days when going curly. If I straighten, I can go even longer. I am currently on day 9 of no washing. Just had to brag to people who will get how awesome that is.

6. DianaCosta Says:
   April 4th, 2011 at 9:20 am

   Hi,
   I have wavy 2c hair and i wash my hair once or twice a week. Maybe it’s because it’s very dry and doesn’t get oily easily. But i tried to wash it day yes day no, and i realised that the more i washed the faster it would get oily…so i returned to the once/twice a week wash. And my hair is much healthier.
   I think that washing to many times only makes your body to produce more oil…at least that’s what happened to me.
   bye

7. ReddishRocks Says:
   June 7th, 2011 at 10:30 pm

   I have 2c hair like DianaCosta, and I too wash my hair pretty infrequently. If I want to wear my hair down, I wash every 3 or 4 days. If I want to go longer between washes (uh, yeah, I’m lazy sometimes!), putting my hair in a ponytail or bun is a great option. I’m about to cut my hair up to my shoulders though, so the pineapple isn’t going to be an option anymore! I wonder how this will affect my lazy routine…

8. imperialdiamond Says:
   June 22nd, 2011 at 7:48 pm

   i have fine hair. it is very, very dense. i have type 4 hair. i counter against this article. i wash my hair every 3-4 days with a sulfate free shampoo and my hair is healthy and styled nicely. generalizations will never define regimens.

9. msjaymichel Says:
   July 14th, 2011 at 3:13 pm

   I cowash about everyday:)

10. isapeloondulado Says:
    November 26th, 2011 at 5:00 am

    yo no me lavo el pelo con champoo todos los dias pero mojarlo si que lo mojo para que la espuma no se quede pegada a el pelo, tengo un pelo muy fino y brillante pero tengo mucho volumen

11. AllyATX Says:
    April 30th, 2012 at 2:32 pm

    I love this question, because I always shout at the computer screen, “NEVER!”

    I have a cross between 4a 4b hair and I rarely use shampoo and if I do, it literally is once every two months, I’ll use clarifying shampoo and that’s only because I was in the pool and I don’t want chlorine eating my hair.

    My hair prefers the oils of my cheap suave conditioner; coconut or the vanilla one, they are very creamy, then I use and olive oil hair gel you can get at Sally’s. I rinse my conditioner well and then, slather on a palm of gel in my dripping hair, smoothing the gel on every strand, finally I give a good hair shake, which helps the curls bounce out.

    I get tons of compliments on my hair on a regular basis, my straight haired friends totally have hair envy.
    I definitely love it.
    ;-D

12. itsnikki Says:
    June 28th, 2012 at 6:05 pm

    Y’all… lice don’t care how you take care of your hair! In fact, I’ve been told it’s easier for them to hang out on a clean head of hair! Just sayin’.