Washing my natural hair is a labor of love. At a minimum, I need an hour to wash, conditions, and detangle my natural hair. That is in addition to styling time.
I delay washday as much as possible because it can be so time consuming. In order to maintain the health of my hair and scalp, I try not to go longer than 2 weeks between washes. After two weeks my scalp itches and product has built up on my hair.
Generally people with natural hair will need to wash their hair every 7 to 14. The amount of oil your hair naturally makes, the types of products you use, and the styles you wear will determine how often you need to wash your natural hair.
Looser Natural Curls may Need to Wash more often
The looser the curl, the easier it is for natural scalp oils to travel down a strand of hair. This helps to keep the hair moisturized. It also means that oils on looser curl types build up more quickly and may require more frequent washing as a result.
Tighter Kinks and Curls often require more moisture to be added to the hair because natural scalp oils have a difficult time making it down the strand.
Everytime you wash your natural hair, you strip moisture from your strands. Tighter Kinks and Curls are more difficult to moisturize, delaying wash day helps maintain the moisture.
Don’t delay washday too long, if there is buildup on your hair or scalp you may wash sooner than planned.
If You Use these Products you need to Wash More Often
Gels can make hair stiff or sticky and you may find yourself washing more frequently. I try to take it easy on gel, until I get closer to wash day
I style my hair about once per week, and quick styles. I don’t use gel when I plan to re-estyle my hair before wash day. This makes my hair flexible enough to change that styles.
Products containing Silicones create a thin protective film around the hair. Initially this is great, it helps lock in moisture. As time passes ,if your hair is starting to look full and feel dry, it is probably time for a wash.
Many hair products have silicone in them. Silicones help to make the hair look shiny and feel soft. However applying them frequently can lead to build upand requires more frequent wash days.
I sometimes use conditioners with silicones because they have a lot of slip and add a nice sheen to my hair. To prevent buildup after my initial application of leave in condotioner I try to avoid silicones.
I choose natural products, that have little or no silicones in them. This lets me get the benefits of silicone, without too much product build up on my hair.
Removing product buildup is important to maintaining healthy hair. Product buildup prevents the hair from absorbing moisture.
Well Moisturized Protective Styles can go longer Between Washes
When I wear my hair in protective styles like Jumbo Box Braids, I can go longer Between washes. I wore my Jumbo Box Braids for 3 weeks. When I took the style down, it was very moisturized and there was minimal build up around the scalp.
If you have a prospective style without a lot of buildup, there is no reason to take it down to wash it. If your scalp does not feel itchy and your hair does not smell it is okay to keep the style in longer.
Active Naturals Need to Wash more Frequently
If you sweat a lot, and chances are you need to wash your hair at least once a week. In my pre-baby and pre-husband days. I used to work out four to five times a week.
All the sweat in my hair definitely meant washing more often. Luckily since I was young, single, and childless it wasn’t a big deal to sneak in a wash day once a week.
I don’t have nearly as much time to work out or wash my hair these days. For quick and easy wash days, I wash, condition and apply leave in while in the shower.
Once out of the shower, I apply an oil and styling butter to my hair. Follow the LOC method. Then I throw about 8 to 12 braids in my hair and allow it to air dry.
If you’re an active natural who likes to rock protect your styling, you can wash your hair while it is in the protective style.
How often Should I CoWash
I experimented with co-washing and decided I prefer moisturizing conditioners. If you co-wash you probably need or want to Wash more frequently.
Even naturals who CoWash regularly opt to shampoo monthly. Even products with all natural ingredients build up on the hair. Periodically washing with shampoo helps to remove build and make the products more effective.
People choose to co-wash their hair because it does not strip the hair of it’s natural oils as much as washing natural hair with shampoo.
Since conditioner does not cleanse the hair as well as shampoo you need to co-wash more frequently to prevent product buildup. When I cowashed I would do so every 3 to 7 days.