Truth Time: How Often Should You Wash Your Hair?

Bad news. “I can’t tonight, I’ve gotta wash my hair”, is no longer a valid excuse to get out of that blind date.

The truth is we really don’t need to wash our hair every day—and it’s actually better to skip a day or two if you can. Aside from the environmental ramifications of skipping the shower (every little bit of water counts, after all!), your locks themselves might actually be in better shape if you can leave them a little dirty.

When you wash your hair too much, your dried-out scalp rushes to produce more oil to make up for it. And oddly enough, this often makes your hair more oily than if you were just to wait another day to shower.

So how do you know when your oily hair merits a shower, and when it’s just okay to skip the shampoo and conditioner? Luckily, you’re not the first one to have this question—and we’re breaking down how often you should shampoo by hair type.

For fine, straight hair, shampoo daily or as often as you need to keep your hair from getting greasy, and go easy on the conditioner. Too much can make your hair even oilier than it already tends to get.

For thick hair, wait at least a day or two between washes. Use some argan oil on the tips if you want some extra conditioning.

For curly hair, shampoo no more than every other day, or even twice a week, if you can. It takes a while for the oil to travel down the strands of hair from the scalp, so you won’t see any greasy or oily issues. Just make sure when you do wash that you’re using a super moisturizing shampoo.

For colored hair, washing too often can strip the dye right off the strands. Twice a week should be plenty of shampooing, especially if you’re using a shampoo specifically for color-treated hair.

And for those days when you can’t be bothered to hop in the shower, there’s always dry shampoo. This powder absorbs the grease and oil, leaving your hair voluminous and ready to style.

Photo credit: Anna Demianenko via Unsplash