About a month ago I started washing my hair twice a week. No, not shampoo on Sunday and co-wash on Thursday. I actually started to clarify twice a week. I know the common wisdom is to minimize your wash days, and if that has helped you achieve your hair goals then by all means continue! After battling sebborheic dermatitis and settling on my preferred wash and go style, this is the routine that works for me, and if you have similar hair goals then it may work for you too.
When I first started my hair care journey, my focus was on maintaining stretched styles and avoiding detangling sessions. Most curlies love third and fourth day hair, so I opted to stick to the standard weekly wash in order to combat shrinkage and avoid detangling. Now that I have retired my flat twisting sessions in exchange for a wash and go, my hair was made great improvements from my frequent washing.
1. No Itching
After years of trying to manage my sebborheic dermatitis, it was not until a month a go that I realized that my itching ceased and my flakes are non-existent when I clarify twice a week. Some people avoid clarifying altogether out of the fear of stripping their hair, but your scalp needs to breathe and your hair adsorbs and absorbs products better when buildup is thoroughly removed. With an array of cleansers to select from, the issue is probably the product and not the cleansing itself. My current Holy Grail shampoos are the SheaMoisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Shampoo and the Alikay Naturals Caribbean Coconut Milk Shampoo. A little application of product creates a rich lather that does not leave your hair stripped and tangled after rinsing. A clean scalp is the foundation for healthy hair, so do not rid your regimen of clarifying.
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2. Soft Hair
People do not associate softness with shampoo but my hair has never been as soft as it is today. Now that I cleanse my hair more frequently, it allows for my deep conditioner to be more effective. Cleansing regularly also creates a great foundation for trying new products. A great shampoo will leave your hair feeling clean and supple, not stripped and weighty. Also, my ends are less dry since I have been cleansing regularly. I never focus shampoo on my ends but after scrubbing my scalp I then stroke the lather down the length of my hair to smooth the cuticle. The lather will naturally graze my ends to remove product buildup.
Read more: 20 Clarifying Shampoos Gentle Enough for Damaged Hair
3. Fewer Tangles
Washing my hair twice a week has decreased the amount of tangles. Removing my shed hair more than once a week helps to decrease the potential for breakage during the detangling process, as less hair has an opportunity to become entwine with hair that has not shed. Since my hair naturally rises and shrinks throughout the week, detangling my hair more than once a week reduces my wash time by half.
If your scalp is always itching, your hair seems to be excessively dry, and you want to spend less time detangling, then washing more frequently might be the solution. Your hair and scalp will thrive when they are clean and moisturized, so do not think you have to compromise one for the other.
Do you wash your hair more than once a week?
