This is one of the most common questions people ask when it comes to forming a hair care routine. It sounds simple enough, wash your hair when it becomes dirty, but what if your hair type is very dry and it’s harder to tell when it becomes dirty?

I’m going to go over how often you should wash your hair and how to tell when it is time to wash it.

There are experts today that say, “there is no such thing as dry hair” and I have to argue with that. There is such a thing as drier hair, hair that does not produce as much oil as other hair types. To me, it is very similar to skincare. You have oily skin, combo, dry skin, and sensitive skin. Why wouldn’t the skin on your head be similar to the skin on your face?

Although it is possible to have an oily skin type on your face and a chronic dry scalp on your head. Because well, genetics! But also the products you’re using and understanding what works for you and what doesn’t.

If you’ve been using the same shampoo for weeks and you notice that your scalp is always itchy and dry, maybe it is time to switch it up and try a different more gentle shampoo that isn’t so stripping/drying.

For example: some people swear that sulfates are the devil and ever since they cut them out of their routine their scalp isn’t dry, their skin doesn’t flake, and they don’t get rashes anymore! This can be true because everyone is unique and what may work for someone else can’t be guaranteed to work for you.

If you would like to know more about sulfates and why they are misunderstood, click here!

How Often Should I Wash My Hair?

Let’s start with the process of elimination. If you currently only wash your hair 2-3 times a week and you notice that your scalp is inflamed, dry, and or itchy dial it back. See how your hair reacts to washing it twice a week and if you’re still having these symptoms you can even reduce it to once a week.

I would also like to add it is possible it could be the shampoo you are using. Some people are more sensitive to astringent shampoos (aka: shampoos that have strong sulfates) and don’t even realize that they are using a shampoo that is incompatible with their hair type! Opt for a sulfate-free shampoo and see how your hair reacts! If you notice that it balances out your scalp, it may be worth sticking with it.

Mind you, there are not any cut-throat rules to hair washing, some people find that their hair is the healthiest when they go 14 days or longer without washing it!

How is this possible? Genetics. Some people find that the less they wash it the healthier their hair is while others find that they have to wash it much more frequently in order for them to have happy, healthy hair.

I Have Oily Hair, How Often Should I Wash It?

If you have oilier hair read this list below for common causes:

• You’re using a shampoo that doesn’t throughly cleanse the scalp. Ex: You wash your hair and its oily the next day.
• You’re using a moisturizing, hydrating, or conditioning shampoo that has oils, humectants, and many deeply moisturizing ingredients. These will weigh down your hair thus causing it to become oilier much quicker!
• Look for shampoos that advertise: volume, volumizing, deep cleaning, clarifying, purifying, and or that have sulfates in them. Sulfate-free can more often than not be cleansing enough for oilier hair types.
• You may need to invest in a shower filter, hard water can cause hair to become greasier if you have very hard water in your area. It can also cause you to have dry hair because of the harsh chemicals such as chlorine and flouride often found in tap water.
• You’re putting your conditioner on your scalp and not the ends of your hair! Conditioner does not need to go on your scalp, your hair will produce more than enough oil to condition the roots.
• Do not apply leave-in conditioner, detangling sprays, anything extra to your roots! This will make your roots oilier quicker and they are made for the ends of your hair not for the scalp.
• You can try dry shampoos, but be warned many of them contain harmful ingredients and may cause hair loss or possibly cancer down the road. (benzene, butane, propane, and isobutane)
• Hair mousse can cause your hair to become greasier on your roots! Be mindful of what you’re applying to your scalp
• Consider that the weathering elements outside can have an effect on your hair and how oily it is; if you’re not wearing protective styles when venturing outside, now is the time to start!
• Wearing a protective style to protect your hair is the best way to protect it against the weather, the wind, pollution, knots and tangles, and prevents more split ends.

If you have oily hair you will need to wash it more often than someone with a drier hair type.

You will likely need a more astringent shampoo (aka: a shampoo that has sulfates) as well to be able to remove all of the sebum and oil your scalp has produced.

It is a personal choice whether or not you are comfortable using sulfates, personally, I use them on my scalp because I have oily hair and it is the only ingredient that truly deep cleans my scalp and removes all of the built dirt, grime, and oils. They are not evil, I promise you! The only reason I have long hair now is because I’ve learned how and when to use sulfates in my routine without overusing them!

Sulfates were created to deeply clean and remove oil from the skin, so yes, they can be stripping that is why you cannot use them often because your hair could get dried out. The trick is figuring out how often is too often and when to dial it back with your usage.

Experiment and have fun discovering if your hair needs to be washed every other day, every two days, every 3 days, twice a week, once a week, or heck! Maybe your hair would be happy with a wash once a month!

That being said please continue to bathe and wash your body daily! Personal hygiene is very important.

I would recommend for oilier hair types to try: Head & Shoulders Sulfate Free Shampoos, Garnier Fructis Clean Purifying Shampoo & Garnier Shampoos are my favorite, Aveeno Fresh Greens Blend Natural Volumizing Shampoo, Herbal Essences White Grapefruit & Mosa Mint Naked Volume Shampoo, Herbal Essences Argan Oil Shampoo, L’Oreal Paris Clarify Sulfate Free Shampoo with Antioxidants, OGX Clarifying Strength + Rosemary Mint Shampoo, Redken Detox Hair Cleansing Cream Clarifying Shampoo, to name a few! You do not have to buy these drugstore shampoos I just prefer them to name-brand/high-end products from my own experience. They’re the same thing only a name brand has a signature scent normally incorporated in the formula.

I Have Dryer Hair, How Often Should I Wash It?

If you have drier hair read this list below for common causes:

• The shampoo you are using is incompatible with your hair, aka: too astringent and cleansing
• You may be washing your hair too frequently
• You’re using very hot water when you shower which in turn irritates the scalp and causes it to dry out
• You may have hard water in your area and should invest in a shower filter
• When you’re outside, do you wrap your hair in a hair clip and or protective style like a braid? Or do you let it whip behind you freely? Protective styles as the name implies, they’re styles that protect the hair from weathering elements such as humidity, arid dry climates, dust/grime, pollen and or pollution in the air.
• You may need to invest in a shower filter, hard water can cause hair to become greasier if you have very hard water in your area. It can also cause you to have dry hair because of the harsh chemicals such as chlorine and flouride often found in tap water.
• Pollen in your area can irritate your scalp and cause all sorts of issues if you do have allergens consider this to be one of many causes
• Pollution can be the culprit as well, if you live in the city or an area with a lot of pollution, this could be the cause and you may want to consider getting a silk hair wrap when you go outside!
• Humid climates suck out all the moisture from your hair and may be the cause of your dry hair
• Blow-drying your hair on very hot settings can also dry out your scalp. You can still blow dry, but please consider going on a cooler setting, if you’re not trying to do a blowout or a specific style, give your hair a breather and blow dry it on a cooler setting.
• Do not apply leave-in conditioning products, detangling sprays, etc to the roots! It will cause more irritation and dry out your hair further.
• Avoid dry shampoos like the plague! Your hair is dry you do not need to make it drier by adding a drying product to your roots. Dry shampoos have very irritating ingredients and even cancer-causing ones such as harmful ingredients and may cause hair loss or possibly cancer down the road. (benzene, butane, propane, and isobutane)
• Avoid volumizing, deep cleansing, volume express, etc. labels! This will dry out your hair even more!
• Go for moisturizing, hydrating, gentle, sulfate-free, or shampoos that have oat extracts in them

If you have dryer hair you will need to wash it less often than someone with an oilier hair type.

You will likely need a less astringent shampoo aka: a sulfate-free or gentle shampoo. This is because your scalp is having a much harder time producing essential sebum to moisturize your hair and would benefit from a less stripping cleanse.

Remember, just getting your hair wet is considered to be drying to your hair, so imagine what using a really deep cleansing shampoo is going to do to your already dried-out scalp? You guessed it! Make it even more dry!

It is a personal choice whether or not you’re comfortable using a shampoo that has sulfate in it. I always recommend for dryer hair types to avoid it, but if you find the shampoo that you’re using benefits your hair do not throw it away! Keep using it.

Let’s do a process of elimination, if you don’t think it is the shampoo that is causing your hair to be dryer, maybe it could be how often you are washing it. I recommend dryer hair types cut back on how often they wash their hair.

Experiment and have fun discovering if your hair needs to be washed every other day, every two days, every 3 days, twice a week, once a week, or heck! Maybe your hair would be happy with a wash once a month!

That being said please continue to bathe and wash your body daily! Personal hygiene is very important.

I would recommend dryer hair types Head & Shoulders sulfate-free line, because it is cleansing without being stripping! Not to mention if you’re having trouble with dandruff, it’s a two-for-one special! Herbal Essences Hello Hydration, Herbal Essences Sulfate Free Shampoo with Honey for Daily Moisture, Aveeno Rose Water & Chamomile Shampoo for Dry Hair, Hydrating, Garnier Fructis Shampoo Dry to Very Dry Hair, Triple Nutrition, Garnier Whole Blends Coconut Oil & Cocoa Butter Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner Set, OGX Nourishing + Coconut Milk Moisturizing Shampoo, L’Oreal Paris Shampoo, Sulfate Free, Triple Action Hydration for Dry Hair, EverPure, to name a few! You do not have to buy these drugstore shampoos I just prefer them to name-brand products from my own experience. They’re the same only a name brand has a signature scent normally incorporated in the formula.

I Have a Sensitive Scalp, How Often Should I Wash it?

• The shampoo you are using is incompatible with your hair, aka: too astringent and cleansing
• You may be washing your hair too frequently or not enough! Try washing once to twice a week and see how your hair reacts
• You’re using very hot water when you shower which in turn irritates the scalp causing inflammation/rashes/dandruff-like build-up
• You may have hard water in your area and should invest in a shower filter
• When you’re outside, do you wrap your hair in a hair clip and or protective style like a braid? Or do you let it whip behind you freely? Protective styles as the name implies, they’re styles that protect the hair from weathering elements such as humidity, arid dry climates, dust/grime, pollen and pollution in the air.
• You may need to invest in a shower filter, hard water can cause hair to become more sensitive if you have very hard water in your area. It can also cause you to have a sensitive scalp because of the harsh chemicals such as chlorine and flouride often found in tap water.
• Pollen in your area can irritate your scalp and cause all sorts of issues if you do have allergens consider this to be one of the causes
• Pollution can be the culprit as well, if you live in the city or an area with a lot of pollution, this could be the cause and you may want to consider getting a silk hair wrap when you go outside!
• Humid climates suck out all the moisture from your hair and may be the cause of your irritated scalp
• Blow-drying your hair on very hot settings can also irritate your scalp. You can still blow dry, but please consider going on a cooler setting, if you’re not trying to do a blowout or a specific style, give your hair a breather and blow dry it on a cooler setting.
• Do not apply leave-in conditioning products, detangling sprays, etc to the roots! It will cause more irritation and dry out your hair further.
• Avoid dry shampoos like the plague! Your hair is already very sensitive, many dry shampoos have very irritating ingredients and even cancer-causing ones such as harmful ingredients may cause hair loss or possibly cancer down the road. (benzene, butane, propane, and isobutane)
• Avoid volumizing, deep cleansing, volume express, etc. labels! This will dry out your hair even more!
• Go for moisturizing, hydrating, gentle, sulfate-free, or shampoos that have oat extracts in them!

If you find that your scalp is more on the sensitive side and not too oily or not too dry but more prone to becoming itchy or inflamed I have a solution for you.

Less is more, you do not have to wash it as much as an oilier hair type but you shouldn’t go as long as a drier hair type without washing it either. Opt for once to twice and week to see how your hair reacts.

As for the actual washing, avoid sulfates, perfumes, denatured or drying alcohols (not to be confused with moisturizing fatty alcohols such as cetearyl alcohol) any other ingredients that you know irritate your scalp!

As silly as this may sound, gentle shampoos advertised for babys may be exactly what your scalp is craving! They are made up of very mild astringents that do not strip the skin but aid in retaining the moisture all the while giving your skin a good cleaning.

Experiment and have fun discovering if your hair needs to be washed every other day, every two days, every 3 days, twice a week, once a week, or heck! Maybe your hair would be happy with a wash once a month!

That being said please continue to bathe and wash your body daily! Personal hygiene is very important.

If you’re unsure but know that your current shampoo isn’t working for your scalp, refer to the list below of recommended shampoo’s for sensitive scalps: L’Oreal Paris EverPure Sulfate Free Simply Clean Shampoo, Hydrating Hair Care, Aveeno Farm-Fresh Oat Milk Sulfate-Free Shampoo with Colloidal Oatmeal & Almond Milk, Moisturizing Shampoo, Vanicream Hair Shampoo, Johnson’s Baby Shampoo with Tear-Free Formula, Shampoo for Baby’s Delicate Scalp & Skin, Cetaphil Baby Wash & Shampoo, 13.5oz Pack of 2, Hypoallergenic,