The care and keeping of long hair

[Green_Fairy]

What the?
What I've been told is that washing it every single day is absolutely mandatory. Can someone clarify this, tell me why I should/shouldn't wash every day like I've been doing for quite some time?
I'm OK with the hair I have the way I do things, but if changing my habits will make things better I'd like to know.

washing your hair every day can dry it out and cause it to break easier. it can also cause your follicles to over-produce oil and make your hair extra greasy.

[AccountingDrone]

Also, try to use sulphate free shampoo and silicone free conditioners.

"Silicones are viscous oily liquids that coat the hair shaft in gloss, giving the illusion of healthy sheen. As most curly hair tends to be dry and often frizzy, silicones seem like the miracle ingredient to combat these complaints. The downside is that most silicones are not water soluble, and can only be removed with harsh detergents. The very detergents needed to remove the silicones strip the hair of all its natural oils, leaving it stripped and straw-like. This causes the user to think she needs more silicones to combat the dryness. Thus, the cycle begins again. If the user is not using these harsh detergents to remove the silicones, they can build up, creating a barrier on the hair shaft. This barrier prevents moisturizing conditioners from penetrating the hair, further drying it out." from http://www.jessicurl.com/

[Antisocial_Worker]

Today I went and bought myself a wide-toothed comb for use when getting out of the shower, plus I ended up buying a 30+ dollar bottle of shampoo from a salon that's supposed to help with this problem. I'm thinking that when I'm done with that, I might just switch to Mane and Tail Shampoo and see what that does.

[JoitheArtist]

washing your hair every day can dry it out and cause it to break easier. it can also cause your follicles to over-produce oil and make your hair extra greasy.

Yeah, it's really not great for your hair. The natural oils your head produces are really good for your hair, and washing it gets rid of those. I wash my hair about twice a week, once every four days or so. It may take a week or two for your hair to get used to being washed at a different rate, though.

[Nurian]

Coming from having long hair, I can recommend this: get it trimmed about once a month. Your hair will grow long enough that a trim won't make it futile, but it will get rid of all the split ends with makes your hair thin and frizzy.

[42_42_42]

How often you need to wash your hair depends on the health of the hair and how much oil your scalp naturally produces.

Now, me, I HAVE to wash at least every other day, but honestly, every day is better, because by the latter half of the 2nd day, my hair is a limp, oily mess.

I naturally produce an insane amount of oil. I don't even have to condition my hair and my hair is very healthy, never any split ends, even if I go over a year without a trim.

I have to use a special shampoo for people w/ oily hair because none of the other shampoos actually clean my hair enough (I'd wash my hair and it would still look dirty).

It's always been annoying to me that most of the hair products out there are for dry and damaged hair and it's almost impossible to find products for people who's hair is too oily.

[AdminAssistant]

Yeah, I can only go every other day. Then again...I can't do the 'just rinse' thing. If I'm going to go through the trouble of getting my hair wet, then drying it, and then fixing it allll over again....I'm just going to wash it.

[Food Lady]

I wash every 2, 3 or sometimes 4 days. Depends on how oily my scalp gets.

[Magpie]

I need to keep consistent schedule for when I wash my hair - if I tried washing every other day I'd have to do it, it takes me a few weeks to switch over. I also can't "just rinse" it, because it gets oily if I do that. The fact that my hair is so oily is why I'm so fanatical about not switching to washing more frequently than every three days. If I switch it takes me a long time to switch back, and given that I take really long showers if I'm washing my hair (water's probably running for 10 minutes or more) I really can't justify a more frequent schedule regularly.

[AccountingDrone]

Today I went and bought myself a wide-toothed comb for use when getting out of the shower, plus I ended up buying a 30+ dollar bottle of shampoo from a salon that's supposed to help with this problem. I'm thinking that when I'm done with that, I might just switch to Mane and Tail Shampoo and see what that does.

your choice, but my roomie uses the stuff and her hair is stringy and mingy and lank looking. I will never tell her but she looks like an oakie from the Grapes of Wrath ... but she insists on not trimming her hair and just washes it, combs it and lets it hang there.

[Antisocial_Worker]

your choice, but my roomie uses the stuff and her hair is stringy and mingy and lank looking. I will never tell her but she looks like an oakie from the Grapes of Wrath ... but she insists on not trimming her hair and just washes it, combs it and lets it hang there.

What would you suggest instead?

[AccountingDrone]

What would you suggest instead?

For deep conditioning, Lush Snake Oil, once a month or so. It is a more or less solid bar. It is moderately expensive, but you don't use much or with frequency.

For regular washing I personally use Dr Bronners wacktastic packaging soap [hey, it is pure castile with a dash of tea tree in it, and amazingly funny writing on the packaging ] but any shampoo without sulphates in it.

For regular conditioning, I use garnier fructis for fine hair, but anything without silicone in it.

I tend to comb it when finally dry with a wide toothed wooden comb, it was a gift a number of years ago - hand carven by a friend in boxwood [some sort of wierd hedgerow shrub oddly enough the stumps get very large diameter.]

[Evil Queen]

A tube of Alberto VO5 Hairdressing works nicely. I have bad split ends and it helps smooth them out. A small little dollop in your palm and work it into your hair. It doesn't seem like it at first, but a lot does go a long way.

[Primer]

A few things nobody has mentioned yet--

Male pattern baldness is inherited from your mother's side. Do/did her brothers/father have full heads of hair?

Make sure your diet contains adequate protein! No innuendo intended! I had extremely thick hair until I went on a stupidly overly strict diet (phen-fen) and wasn't getting enough protein. It's never recovered entirely.

Considering your health issues, well, ask your doctor(s). Your body might need to allocate its resources elsewhere.

Unless it makes you feel too awkward, if you see someone whose hair you admire, ask them what they use.

[Food Lady]

Most people will be flattered if you compliment their hair and ask what they use on it.