Okay, so I know that the millennial generation(myself included) got hooked on a dry shampoo trend back around 2011ish where we heard that washing hair daily was bad for the hair and therefore we equated that to seeing how long we could go in-between washes. So, y'all this is outdated advice. Let's just take a deep breath, tell ourselves that washing 2x/month is good for our hair.
Many things contribute to healthy hair. I like to look at the health of hair from a holistic standpoint. This means that I want to know what someone is consuming; or in other words, what is their diet? Are they getting enough filtered and remineralized water into their diets? How much processed food etc? I did write a blog post awhile back about what foods to eat for hair health, check out below. https://nopoodryshampoo.com/blogs/news/easy-whole-food-recipes-to-help-with-hairand-nail-growth-and-vitality
Once the internal is addressed, let's talk about sleep habits, haircare routine(what shampoo and conditioners are being used, any aerosol hair spray use happening?) and anything else that can be contributing to the overall health of the hair.
The next step, which I guess can be used interchangeably, is that we HAVE to hair train our hair. Have you heard of it? If you have, it is where you 'train' your hair to be able to go a certain amount of days in-between washes. I started hair training in 2010 while in college with starting to wash every other day and using baby powder in the meantime. Thank the good Lord I have learned a lot since then because baby powder was NOT IT. I won't even go into detail about the many law suits that have been filed regarding cancer and baby powder use.
Let's get into the nitty gritty of what a proper hair washing routine should look like. HEAR ME OUT!! Don't stop reading yet because there are important things to consider. Regardless of hair type, straight, wavy, or kinky/coily it comes down to scalp health. If you are starting from the point of washing daily, start washing every other day. Gradually you will get to twice a week washes with relying on my No Poo Dry Shampoo in the meantime.
So, I mentioned above about scalp health. Living our daily lives means that dirt, dust, debris, and hair products, sweat, grease etc gets on our scalps. It is important to wash twice a week because it is important to unclog those clogged follicles. When we don't wash once or twice a week, our scalps become a breeding ground for bacteria, unhealthy follicles which results in hair breakage and just an unhealthy scalp. So you could be eating fantastically, but your hair is still struggling, and this is why. Also, using a scalp massager in the shower during the shampoo stage really helps to work the shampoo into a nice lather and promotes circulation.
Hopefully this helps! I have a free pdf on my website going over what shampoos and conditioners I use to help my scalp and hair out. Check it out here : https://nopoodryshampoo.com/pages/quick-list-of-lower-toxin-swaps
Cheers to healthy hair and scalps, email me with any questions at nopoodryshampoo@gmail.com
xoxo,
Erin Davis