How Many Times You Should Wash Your Hair in a Week?

When I was attending Paul Mitchell Cosmetology College studying for my hair license we were told that the scalp and hair had to be washed every single day.

At the time I attended Paul Mitchell my hair was below my waist and super healthy. I was the exception in the school and many of my classmates tried to convince me to let them cut my hair, which I absolutely refused.

I only wet washed my hair once every 4–5 days depending on whether I felt it needed it or not.

Furthermore, I only washed my hair with a diluted shampoo blend I had been using since the late 1980s when I got serious about growing my hair as long as possible.

My teachers in cosmetology school were split about my wet washing schedule but they told me since my scalp and hair were super healthy, then I should continue doing what worked for me and my hair.

A Dilute Shampoo Blend Is One Of My Long Time Beautiful Hair Secrets

My diluted shampoo blend, which I used to current times in 2020, is to mix approximately 1/8th to 1/4th teaspoon of super hydrating shampoo in a clean quart sized bottle prefilled with lukewarm water and shaken to a sudsy mix.

I also pre-fill a few clean gallon bottles of lukewarm water before I step into the shower. When I get into the shower I douse my hair with the lukewarm water to make sure my scalp and hair is very wet.

Then I drizzle the shampoo formula over the top of the scalp. I pat the formula through the scalp using only the pads of my fingertips to lightly massage the suds throughout.

After I have drizzled the formula through my scalp, I allow the suds to flow down through the entire length of my hair. I very gently pat the suds through the areas I feel might need them the most.

I never rub, scrub or massage my scalp or hair excessively. I also don’t pile it up on top of my head.

It’s Very Important To Rinse Well To Remove Shampoo Formulas

After I apply the diluted shampoo formula, I douse my hair again with the lukewarm water to remove all the suds.

Then I do a very gentle accordion style squeeze with my fingers from the top of my roots down to the ends to remove excess water. Afterwards I apply a super hydrating rinse-out conditioner from a few inches below the roots to the ends of my hair. I apply extra to any sections of my hair which might benefit most.

After allowing the conditioner to remain on my hair for a few minutes, I again rinse with lukewarm water, accordion squeeze and then finish with a cool/cold water rinse followed by a final accordion squeeze.

Then I blot (never rub) my hair to remove the excess moisture before I apply my leave-in styling conditioner and roll my hair on rag rollers, traditional rollers, in braids or similar before I air dry or sit under a hood or bonnet dryer.

Attending A Natural Hair Academy To Learn Braiding

After I finished at Paul Mitchell I also attended Velma B’s Natural Hair Academy which specialized in African American and natural hair treatments including braids. I received a special hair license, at the time, for braiding and natural hair styling.

My favorite instructor at Velma B’s had extremely coily hair. She told me she only washed her hair once every 10 days with a diluted formula like mine. However, she used a hydrating conditioner diluted with water to cleanse her scalp every 4 days or so.

At one point my hair was corn row braided (yes, it hurt) and I was instructed to wash my scalp every few days with a diluted hydrating conditioner, which worked great. Unfortunately I didn’t get my hair braids for an extended period of time since they were difficult to sleep with.

Every Person Regardless If They’re A Licensed Hair Professional Or Not Must Decide For Themselves The Best Plan For Wet Washing Their Strands

The bottom line when it comes to knowing how many times you should wash your hair in a week is how it feels to you.

Every head of hair is different. Every person who still has hair lives a different lifestyle. Some hair, depending on its type or texture requires that the scalp and the hair be washed on a daily basis.

My own life partner has baby fine hair which is stick straight and grows extremely fast. It tends to be oily. He has to wash his scalp and hair every single day because he would be a walking oil slick if he didn’t. It freaks him out how lovely my hair looks with me only wet washing it once every 4–5 days.

During certain times of the year when my hair tends to be more dry due to the weather (it gets very hot and dry in Texas) I may only wet wash with diluted shampoo once a week. I do always rinse off my scalp even when I don’t wash my hair because it keeps it healthy.

My Life Has Been Dedicated To The Study Of Hair

I’ve devoted my life to the study of hair since the late 1980s. Not only have I attended two cosmetology colleges and have been licensed to do hair for years, I’ve also have been a consumer hair editor for a series of hair publications for close to 20 years. Yes, I also attended a ton of other hair schools including hair extension, hair color and chemical hair treatment courses over the years.

Since the mid-1990s I’ve operated Hairboutique, which was the first consumer based hair and beauty website on the Internet. During that time I’ve chatted with literally hundreds of hair and beauty professionals about their opinions of how frequently hair should be wet washed.

Guess what? No matter how many hair professionals I’ve talked to over the past 25+ years, they’ve all had different opinions of what works best in terms of frequency of scalp and hair wet washing. When in doubt talk to your own hair professional.

Ultimately how frequently you wet wash your scalp and hair as well as with whatever products you feel are best should be yours. It also should be based upon what feels right based upon the history, health and condition of your hair.

Best wishes to all.