We are on our way home from a weekend at Bald Head Island. We had such a great time! I’ll be uploading my photos and writing posts to share over the next few days. With Mazen off on spring break, my posting schedule might be a bit unpredictable. But until then, here’s a post about my hair!!
There are certain things that are better the next day:
// Overnight oats.
// Chili.
// Writing that you’ve allowed to sink in and then edited.
….My hair has never been one of them.
For most of my life, I never went a day without washing my hair. When I was in high school my hair was finer and looked greasy after half a day. It’s thicker now (better diet?), and I am just now (at age 34!) starting to skip washing it a few days a week. I had always heard that this was good for hair, but in the past, I just couldn’t stand how it looked and felt the next day.
But recently, even without the help of dry shampoo, I have started to like the day after. When it’s washed, it’s silky smooth, but the next day, after being in a bun at night, it seems to have more texture and volume. I kinda like it!
I’ve been washing it on my harder, sweatier workout days (usually M/W/F) and skipping a wash on T/Th. If it does start to feel dirty, dry shampoo does the trick. This brand from Birchbox is my absolute favorite, but I haven’t tried a ton of them. Julie wrote a post reviewing a lot of different brands. I bought her favorite Living Proof kind from Ulta, but the nozzle doesn’t work, so I have to return it and get another one to truly give it a try. I also love not having to have wet hair after a shower in the winter. I imagine I’ll be washing it more often in the summer. Note: I do still shower every day!
// Tuna salad with relish and yogurt plus Red, Hot, Blues! //
Tomato sauce = another great day-old food! This one was made with ground turkey and served over spaghetti squash – an old favorite!
Tell me: how often do you wash your hair?
Eileen says
I have very thick hair, and it almost always looks better on the second day. But I like the feel and smell of it freshly washed, so I probably wash it too much.
FYI, there’s an ad up today that makes your blog pretty hard to read … it takes up most of the screen and is hard to X out of.
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
I wash my hair every 3-4 days. I don’t even use dry shampoo. It may sound like a long time, but my hair is more suited to this schedule. When I washed it every day, it was frizzy all the time. Now, it’s perfect!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Christina @ montessoriishmom.com says
Your hair looks great! I’ve stopped washing my hair every day, but I still get it wet and use conditioner pretty much every day. My hair is really curly and I can only brush it when it’s wet in the shower – if I skip this, it starts to resemble a bird’s nest 🙂 If I ever wake up and my hair looks good from the day before though, I get super excited lol. It’s the little things….
Annie says
I used to be the exact same, washing my hair every single day but now I can go 3 days between washes and still love it!
Rachel says
When I was younger I was a swimmer so I washed my hair every day, now that I am older and don’t swim I wash it every other day. It doesn’t seem to be as oily as it was back then.
Cameron says
I have super fine (but thick!) hair and wash my hair 2x’s per week- the rest of the week I rely on dry shampoo (currently living proof!). I will admit, it took me awhile to ‘train’ my hair to not washing it every day, but now I think it actually looks better the 2nd or 3rd day out.
Doro says
For a long time, I also washed my hair everyday. But two weeks ago, I started washing my hair only every other say (and planning to make the time span between hair washs even longer). My hair responded really well and after only one week, there was so much less grease already! And my hair feels really soft and strong. Definetly a good thing for me!
Carrie this fit chick says
I used to wash mine everyday, until I hear dit wasnt good for it! Now I wash it every other day. Also pizza is better a day old 😉
Amanda says
Yes to day old pizza!
KathEats says
I have never liked day old pizza! Am I crazy?
Denise says
Day old cold pizza lol! And Living Proof smells wonderful.
Danielle says
I don’t like day old pizza either. Something about the cheese just doesn’t re-melt correctly.
Flo says
I love day old cold pizza. Yum! I have short thick hair. I get a blowout once a week. Luckily, my hair is not oily. It stays set for the week with hairspray. Makes life so easy! Set it ..and forget it. 😉
Chelsea says
I wash my hair about four or five days a week. Similarly, closer to four or so in the winter but more in the summer or when it’s warmer and I’m self-conscious about being sweaty making it worse. I think I ought to be closer to three but sometimes I still do just out of habit.
The Birchbox link to the dry shampoo doesn’t work. :-/ Even when I log in to my Birchbox account and try again, it’s forwarding to the home page before I can see the shampoo.
KathEats says
That’s weird – it works for me! are you in the USA? That might be why. It’s the amika brand so you can search elsewhere – I love it!
Chelsea says
Might just be me then! I am in the USA but I’ll look for Amika. Thanks!
Sam @ Hygge Wellness says
Your hair looks fantastic! I am lucky I have such thick hair — I can go several days without washing if I want to. Of course, workouts always change that!
Noelle says
I’ve found that it took a little time for my hair to get used to not being washed daily, but now I only wash every third day or so and the amount of oil is far less than when I used to go just a day. Another trick that really helps is to shampoo twice, then condition.
Poly M says
I agree! I have thick wavy/frizzy hair and usually flat-iron it, so I only wash every third day, then shampoo twice and condition (but leave it in for a few minutes). Dry shampoo allows me to wear it down without cringing on day 3, which has been awesooome! I too have noticed that if I shampoo more often, my hair gets oily quicker, and if I wait longer, my scalp seems to adjust. I have also felt a variance between whether my hair is left wavy or straightened. I have tried a couple dry shampoo brands – Amika, Oribe, Redken, Batiste and Not Your Mothers. Batiste has been the best performance and price-wise, Amika, Oribe, and Redken seemed to provide less powder and were fragranced heavier (but still smelled great), and Not Your Mother’s felt the worst as far as texture so I ended up returning that one. I don’t think I’ve gotten to try Living Proof yet, but the price is keeping me away there, haha x_x
Kori says
With my pixie haircut, I have to wash mine daily because I use a paste to style it. I wake up with some pretty crazy hair, and there isn’t anything that can be done except to wash it. When it was really long, there were days I wore it in a bun unwashed, but usually by the end of the day, it felt gross. Thankfully, I have always had thicker hair, so it didn’t particularly look greasy, but it would be feel like it. Looking forward to your weekend recap!
Savannah Thaler says
I just discovered dry shampoo a few years ago but it has been a game changer! I love Dove’s brand but some friends encouraged me to try Batiste’s colored option to avoid the white streaks that sometimes result from dry shampoo but the Batiste one leaves such a tangible powder in my roots that if I scratch my scalp it comes off under my fingernails which just weirds me out a bit. Unfortunately, I’m the opposite of you and my high school hair was much thicker than my hair now, so I really struggle with my next-day hair unless I dry shampoo and tease it a bit, but oh well! I think it might be a result of college disordered eating days but on the bright side, it’s a good reminder of where I’ve come from and how much happier life is now!
P.S. red hot blues are my absolute fav chip! Your post has me craving them something fierce.
Stacey says
I always “had” to wash my hair every day and then on maternity leave (after years of my stylist telling me to stop the madness) I started letting my hair go longer… mostly out of sleep deprivation but also because I wasn’t doing anything to dirty it! It took a bit to “train” my hair and get past the gross stage, but now I go at least 2-days in-between. Current routine is wash S, Tu, F at night so I don’t have to mess around except with the straightener in the morning. Now I think, what was I doing wasting all that time the past __ years washing and blow-drying my hair!? 🙂
Stacey says
Oh and I’m a Living Proof girl too – THE best! Nordstrom sells it too and they ship everything for free.
Miriam says
I usually wash my hair 2-3 times a week… My hair do not get greasy quickly, they are long, dry, naturally a little wavy and medium thick. Typically I wait for after the biggest workouts of the week to wash them, just like you do. But every morning my hair are all over the place (think like punk/rock style) and I cannot always tame them using a brush. So most of the time when I shower in the morning, I have to put water in them and comb, sometimes I put conditioner to help the combing, sometimes I can only use water. It’s REALLY annoying believe me, especially when I style them perfect the day before and I have to do it ALL OVER AGAIN the morning after.
Laura says
I generally wash my hair every other day. Sometimes I go two days between washing on the weekend and some dry shampoo makes it alright! Showers are so much faster on the days I don’t wash my hair and skip shaving!
Chelsea says
I condition every time I get in the shower but I wash once a week. It’s a holdover from my curly hair days.
Keri says
As I have gotten older, I have also started to wash my hair less, but it doesn’t look better. I’m just lazy!
Jessica says
Haha! Same here.
A says
Every day! I think I’m the only one, ha. I do try to use a natural shampoo some of the time, but with the exercise I do it’s really got to be washed every day.
Linda @ The Fitty says
OMG SUNFLOWSEED BUTTER! Have ou tried it roasted? I guess it’d be hard to find roasted but I think you could potentially make it yourself.
Kelli @ Hungry Hobby says
I literally wash my hair once or twice a week if lucky. However, my whole body both skin and hair runs dry not oily so it’s definitely easier to get away with. I’ve always been jealous of people that could wash their hair and have it dry nice without doing anything to it. However, now that my hair is pretty long and I curl it I’ve gotten more longevity out of it ha ha
Amanda says
I’m generally really low maintenance with “girly” to do’s, but my hair is definitely something I care about, especially now that my my hair length has grown past my waist and requires more care. I generally wash my hair twice a week unless I’ve had a really dirty and sweaty day like when I’ve been in the garden or hiking (daily showers, of course). My hair gets really oily if I wash too often. I also don’t use shampoo or conditioner with silicones because it causes my hair to dry out in the long run which, in turn, causes it to produce more oil trying to compensate for the lack of moisture. I also try to avoid products with alcohols in them. That all being said, I’ll wash my hair and put a drying oil in it from mid shaft to the end, then whatever is left I’ll do a quick shuffle through my roots (usually 100% argan oil without the silicones, additives, etc.) to protect it and moisturize without making it greasy. Then I’ll dry my hair in a top knot bun to take advantage of natural volume and wave, wear it down and natural until it is too oily to look nice, and then I’ll wear it up a day or two to avoid washing it an extra day because, just as you stated, over washing is very rough on hair. 🙂
Maggie says
On your non-washing days – what do you do with your in the shower? Do you wet your hair or style it again or do you just keep it a bun and keep it dry while you shower?
KathEats says
I put it in a bun on top of my head
heather says
Shower caps work too!
polly says
I love your hair, Kath, so pretty!!!
I wash everyday, sometimes twice! But I have super oily hair and super short hair, so that’s prob why. I dont use conditioner ever, only on my legs to shave. LOL
I also don’t use product, just me and my simple hair! (once in a while Abbi gets me to try something fun in my hair, but i usually use it for a day or two and go back to naked hair) 🙂
have fun with M on his break! XOXO
Chamyli says
With 3 kids now, I have adopted the every other day schedule. Something’s got to give and it is showeting everyday. I do use dry hair shampoo on the non-washed days if my hair isn’t in a ponytail. I could not have imagined not washing my hair if you asked this question 10yrs ago cause my hair was so greasy the day after.
Laura says
Its taken years of training my hair– (I use to wash my hair every time I showered– sometimes 2x a day) — and now I only wash my hair 2x a week! (sometimes I wash it out with just water, sometimes I use dry shampoo). I have to say its never been healthier!
Kelli H says
Your hair is gorgeous. I have very curly hair so I usually only wash my hair once or twice a week, though it gets wet with water every day.
Jeanie says
Your hair looks wonderful! I also had to wash my hair every day due to an oil problem. I think after a while it just became a habit. I washed my hair every single day of my life until I retired. Now I find I can go about three days before washing. Many times, it even looks better on day two and three.
Mallory says
I have always had to wash my hair every day because I have SO MUCH oil production (ugh). Hoping that I will learn to love it later in life for my skin’s sake?
HEAB says
Kath, your hair looks so pretty. Love the length.
KathEats says
Thanks and HI!
Katie @ Live Half Full says
I do the same as you, every other day washing! The Amika is the best- I like it better than Living Proof and every other one I tried.
Cindy DuBose says
Kath I love your dress! Will you tell me where you got it?
KathEats says
Thanks it’s from Stitch Fix!
Charise says
I wash every 4-7 days, usually more frequently in the summer and less in the winter. It really probably needs washed every 4-5 days, with dry shampoo on day 4, but I work from home a couple days a week and am lazy so just stretch it those extra days so that I’m washing it less. Partly because I have red highlights that would fade quickly with too much washing and partly because I am so lazy. 😉 I have also found that blow drying and styling the day I wash it makes it last longer – air drying or not curling leads to greasier hair faster for some reason!
Kim says
Hi Kath,
When you say you shower everyday, are you wetting your hair and only using conditioner or are you keeping your hair dry in the shower? Thanks.
KathEats says
Hair dry! Wet hair is what I am avoiding most. If I’m going to wet it I might as well wash it.
Melanie Gilbert says
Your hair does look fantastic and you are just beautiful in general, so glowy and healthy. You’re proof that treating your body well shows on the outside!! 🙂
I wash my hair every 3-4 days unless I’ve gotten really sweaty (which. err, I should be doing way more of) or I’ve been “handling” it a lot. That’s one thing I’m pretty adamant about in order to make a wash last longer – do not brush it or touch it a lot, it makes a big difference. I love that Living Proof dry shampoo but unfortunately don’t like the way it smells 🙁 Someone told me about their Dry Volume spray which is also supposed to be good. I need to find another good one, though. I use that Batiste brand and while it does an ok job and smells good – it’s really white and powdery. Not a good look.
Cheers!
melanie
Breanne says
I really like the Amika dry shampoo – my mom got it for me at the beauty supply store last time she went. It was the most recommended from the hair stylists. I also really like Batiste dry shampoo. I haven’t tried Living Proof, but I have heard good things.
If I straighten my hair, I can usually squeeze four days out. Not always as long with my natural curls. Typically, I wash about every three days/twice a week. I don’t shower every day, but I do shower more often than I wash my hair. 😉