Washing hair constantly?

Becca_250

I recently upped my exercise to five times a week. As I'm a big sweaty mess afterwards, I like to wash my hair. Mostly it's to wash the sweat from my scalp more so than tbe actual hair! Recently, I've been washing it almost every day and aside from being time consuming, I'm concerned about the overuse of products and heat on it. Is this just a by-product of exercising that I have to live with?

macgurlnet

I'm assuming you're drying your hair, too? What products are you using?

What's your usual routine if you're not taking the extra shower post exercise?

~Lyssa

Pinnacle_IAO

I wash my hair a lot as well, but this give me the opportunity to try different hair styles.
Today, I went with "wavy"

queenliz99

Pinnacle_IAO wrote: »

I wash my hair a lot as well, but this give me the opportunity to try different hair styles.
Today, I went with "wavy"

Show off

Becca_250

Yes I have to dry it most of the time as it's long/straight and takes ages to dry on its own. I use shampoo for the roots, conditioner for the ends and heat spray all over. I also use a hair oil sometimes if it's feeling dry. I use a hairdryer to dry, no straighteners, but due to the length it takes about 15 minutes.

If I had a whole week not exercising I'd just wash every other day in the mornings. During the week I tend to exercise at night and at the weekends, in the morning (I usually have Tuesday and Friday as rest days).

Becca_250

Pinnacle_IAO wrote: »

I wash my hair a lot as well, but this give me the opportunity to try different hair styles.
Today, I went with "wavy"

Hahaha maybe I should go for that look too!

JdoubleJ

I need to wash my hair everyone I workout too (c.5 times a week) I use a gentle shsmpoo/conditioner and I use a hair oil on the ends. I try to towel/air dry it as much as possible before using the hairdryer and I don't use straighteners often. I have fine greasy hair though, perhaps if your hair is a different texture you could use dry shampoo? I've accepted it as an effect of exercise.

arditarose

I dry shampoo and wash my hair only once per week. Sometimes I'll wash just my bangs. My hair color is way too expensive to be washing it out every day-then again, I only lift and don't work up a huge sweat. I think I'd do the same if I did cardio though.

brendak76

I have long hair, a lot of it and sweat a ton. But I wash every 3 days. Day 1 I blow dry. Day 2 I use a wet comb for the ends in the shower just to straighten any weird waves. Day 3 dry shampoo and an updo (braid, bun, etc). Don't be afraid to just let the sweat dry! I do shower every day!!

yesimpson

Often I'll try and exercise in the evening and then first thing before work the next day to avoid washing my hair twice in 12 hours.

If I'm running I have to wash my hair because it just gets soaked, but if I'm rowing/using the elliptical/doing resistance work I try and tie it up, use a headband and touch it as little as possible so I can get away with dry shampoo and maybe just washing my fringe. If I swim, I just rinse my hair and condition the ends. My hair is quite fine so I try to let it dry naturally to offset the frequent washing and straightening. A good conditioning treatment once a fortnight helps too.

earlnabby

Are you familiar with "Conditioner Only washing" (aka co-washing)? You do not use shampoo, you only use a conditioner that has some detergency. The surfactants in shampoos are what strips and dries out your hair so if you wash frequently and don't use shampoo you won't dry out your hair. The most well known cleansing conditioner is Wen but you don't need to use something like that. I know many co-washers who use cheap conditioners like VO5 and Suave. If you use a lot of product or your conditioner had silicone in it (dimethecone, amodimethecone are the most common) you should use shampoo once in a while. Some do once a week, others do once a month depending on how much build up you get. The ingredient you need to look for are cationic conditioners and the most common ones will be:
Behentrimonium chloride
Behentrimonium methosulfate (gentler)
Benzalkonium chloride
Cetrimonium chloride
Cocotrimonium chloride
Quaternium-15
Quaternium-18 Bentonite
Quaternium-18 Hectonite
Quaternium-22
Stearalkonium chloride

I have long hair (almost to waist) and I co-wash only. I do not use other products and I make my own conditioner without silicone so I use shampoo maybe once in a year. I swim 3 x a week so I wash often to get the sweat, salt, and chlorine out of my hair (it gets in there a little even with a swimcap).

Becca_250

Thanks for your responses all!

I'm also sometimes trying to pre-empt the next day. I'm not long in from exercising today, I washed my hair fully yesterday and I'm out running tomorrow night (after work for which it needs to be presentable)! So maybe just dry shampoo today then wash properly tomorrow night?

ScreeField

I am also a co-washer (just conditioner). I started using a suave naturals (coconut) conditioner based on rec's and haven't changed since. I also mostly air dry wirh a little initial blow drying and am picky about styling products. My hairdresser found a great wash & wear cut for my chin-length curly bob. About 1x per week I use a mild shampoo.

Becca_250

A fortnightly conditioning treatment is a good idea too, I'll need to Google some good hair masks!

zoeysasha37

arditarose wrote: »

I dry shampoo and wash my hair only once per week. Sometimes I'll wash just my bangs. My hair color is way too expensive to be washing it out every day-then again, I only lift and don't work up a huge sweat. I think I'd do the same if I did cardio though.

I do the same. I refuse to spend 1.5 hrs per day washing and drying my hair. I wrap it up in a bandana for workouts then let it down afterwards. I only wash it once per week , I use a shower cap in the shower to keep it dry.

macgurlnet

ScreeField wrote: »

I am also a co-washer (just conditioner). I started using a suave naturals (coconut) conditioner based on rec's and haven't changed since. I also mostly air dry wirh a little initial blow drying and am picky about styling products. My hairdresser found a great wash & wear cut for my chin-length curly bob. About 1x per week I use a mild shampoo.

I'm curious about co-washing...did you find your hair looking/feeling greasier as you switched from daily shampoo to just conditioning? I kinda wanna give it a try myself!

~Lyssa

Becca_250

earlnabby wrote: »

Are you familiar with "Conditioner Only washing" (aka co-washing)? You do not use shampoo, you only use a conditioner that has some detergency. The surfactants in shampoos are what strips and dries out your hair so if you wash frequently and don't use shampoo you won't dry out your hair. The most well known cleansing conditioner is Wen but you don't need to use something like that. I know many co-washers who use cheap conditioners like VO5 and Suave. If you use a lot of product or your conditioner had silicone in it (dimethecone, amodimethecone are the most common) you should use shampoo once in a while. Some do once a week, others do once a month depending on how much build up you get. The ingredient you need to look for are cationic conditioners and the most common ones will be:
Behentrimonium chloride
Behentrimonium methosulfate (gentler)
Benzalkonium chloride
Cetrimonium chloride
Cocotrimonium chloride
Quaternium-15
Quaternium-18 Bentonite
Quaternium-18 Hectonite
Quaternium-22
Stearalkonium chloride

I have long hair (almost to waist) and I co-wash only. I do not use other products and I make my own conditioner without silicone so I use shampoo maybe once in a year. I swim 3 x a week so I wash often to get the sweat, salt, and chlorine out of my hair (it gets in there a little even with a swimcap).

I'll have a look at the ingredients on my bottles. I'm in the UK so may be slightly different brands. Do you use product on the whole head or just the ends? Does your hair also need time to adjust? I'm at work Mon-fri so may struggle to let it get worse before it gets better if that was the case

MonkeyMel21

If mine gets extra sweaty and I don't want to wash it, I just use a dry shampoo. If I don't sweat a lot I can go three days (sometimes 4 days but that's stretching it) without washing it.

earlnabby

macgurlnet wrote: »

ScreeField wrote: »

I am also a co-washer (just conditioner). I started using a suave naturals (coconut) conditioner based on rec's and haven't changed since. I also mostly air dry wirh a little initial blow drying and am picky about styling products. My hairdresser found a great wash & wear cut for my chin-length curly bob. About 1x per week I use a mild shampoo.

I'm curious about co-washing...did you find your hair looking/feeling greasier as you switched from daily shampoo to just conditioning? I kinda wanna give it a try myself!

~Lyssa

Just the opposite. Since I started co-washing my hair has been in better shape than it had been for a long time and my waves became bouncier and more pronounced. I never had any kind of transition period.

ScreeField

macgurlnet wrote: »

ScreeField wrote: »

I am also a co-washer (just conditioner). I started using a suave naturals (coconut) conditioner based on rec's and haven't changed since. I also mostly air dry wirh a little initial blow drying and am picky about styling products. My hairdresser found a great wash & wear cut for my chin-length curly bob. About 1x per week I use a mild shampoo.

I'm curious about co-washing...did you find your hair looking/feeling greasier as you switched from daily shampoo to just conditioning? I kinda wanna give it a try myself!

~Lyssa

Nope. Not greasy at all. But I have light textured (but thick) hair that's tended to be on the dry side.

Sometimes a styling product will make it feel a little greasy--if I run into that problem, I ditch the product and look for another.

And, if I am around smoke (bbq, campfire, smokers), I always want to wash with shampoo.

I ran across the "Curly Girl" method website -- sorry, can't remember url. Total lifesaver.

earlnabby

Becca_250 wrote: »

earlnabby wrote: »

Are you familiar with "Conditioner Only washing" (aka co-washing)? You do not use shampoo, you only use a conditioner that has some detergency. The surfactants in shampoos are what strips and dries out your hair so if you wash frequently and don't use shampoo you won't dry out your hair. The most well known cleansing conditioner is Wen but you don't need to use something like that. I know many co-washers who use cheap conditioners like VO5 and Suave. If you use a lot of product or your conditioner had silicone in it (dimethecone, amodimethecone are the most common) you should use shampoo once in a while. Some do once a week, others do once a month depending on how much build up you get. The ingredient you need to look for are cationic conditioners and the most common ones will be:
Behentrimonium chloride
Behentrimonium methosulfate (gentler)
Benzalkonium chloride
Cetrimonium chloride
Cocotrimonium chloride
Quaternium-15
Quaternium-18 Bentonite
Quaternium-18 Hectonite
Quaternium-22
Stearalkonium chloride

I have long hair (almost to waist) and I co-wash only. I do not use other products and I make my own conditioner without silicone so I use shampoo maybe once in a year. I swim 3 x a week so I wash often to get the sweat, salt, and chlorine out of my hair (it gets in there a little even with a swimcap).

I'll have a look at the ingredients on my bottles. I'm in the UK so may be slightly different brands. Do you use product on the whole head or just the ends? Does your hair also need time to adjust? I'm at work Mon-fri so may struggle to let it get worse before it gets better if that was the case

My routine at the gym shower is:

1. rinse the swimcap and remove
2. wet the hair
3. slather on the conditioner,especially close to the scalp and clip the hair up out of the way
4. take off the swimsuit and rinse under the shower
5. soap up and rinse the body
6. get more water on the hair and lather up
7. rinse
8. dry off and get dressed
9. comb and finish off hair (dry, put up, whatever)

Some use a small amount of extra conditioner on their ends. I don't bother.

CurlyCockney

@Becca_250 I'm in the UK too, and you can get lots of products like that on Amazon. If you have a Caribbean hairdresser near you, they're even cheaper. I use Sof'N Free clarifying shampoo once a month, and co-wash every other day. Loads of advice on the curly hair forums.

earthnut

I co wash. If you've been using a harsh shampoo your scalp may have a transition period because harsh shampoo can make your scalp over produce oil (making you think you have oily hair when really you are over drying your hair) and it takes a little while for your scalp to realize it doesn't have to produce so much oil. If you've been using a mild shampoo it shouldn't be a problem.

I have long hair down to my butt and wash once a week. Except after swimming. Regular shampoo and conditioner don't remove chlorine. And chlorine can hang around for weeks, damaging your hair. Sometimes i use a swimmers shampoo but it's pretty harsh so I've switched to using an aquarium dechlorination solution, diluted. You can also use an acidic rinse like vinegar or soda. Just rinse well afterwards.

jemhh

I wash with Suave Naturals conditioner most days, deep conditioner one day, and Giovanni sulfate free shampoo one day per week. I have super thick, coarse, and curly hair. It's never greasy. Very rarely does it look good enough for me to skip wetting it and if it's wet it at least needs the conditioner for detanglng.

I dry it with a diffuser each day. No problems with the daily drying.

tomatoey

You could wash every other day. Days you don't wash, braid your hair and wear a bandana (or sweatband if they still have those lol) to absorb at least some stuff during your workout, + dry shampoo or just blow it dry after your workout, & wear it in an updo after that.

But yeah I have seen lots of women just start going for shorter styles bc it's easier.

MarziPanda95

Washing your hair every day is generally bad for it. It'll strip it of its natural oils. I usually wash mine every other day except when I'm not allowed to wash it for three days because of my alopecia treatment. I agree with tomatoey that on days you don't wash it you could braid it or wear a bandana/sweatband

MKEgal

I have curly hair & it's recommended to wash (with shampoo) as little as possible and condition lots.

I ran across the "Curly Girl" method website ... Total lifesaver.

Yes. This.

http://thecurlyhairproblems.tumblr.com/cgmethod
http://www.naturallycurly.com/

So when I sweat a lot I shampoo the scalp, try to avoid the hair, and condition for several minutes.
Maybe once a week in winter, could be nearly every day in summer.
Otherwise I scrub my scalp with my fingers in the shower, to get the dirt off, then condition it heavily & long.

And I don't blow dry. If I want it to look decent, I braid it. Otherwise it gets put into a ponytail.
(It's mid-back length.)
No other fussing with it - no hairspray, gel, anything other than coloring once or twice a year when I get
bored with it being too brown and not red enough.

.

did you find your hair looking/feeling greasier as you switched from daily shampoo to just conditioning

Do it gradually.
If you currently shampoo every day, do every other day for a few weeks, then every third day, etc.
But in between you're still rinsing the grime out, just not using soap.

tillthefitladysings

I'm trying to train my hair not to get oily as quickly, so while I shower after workouts, I usually throw my hair in a bun and try not to get it wet. It took a while, but now I can go a few days without washing it and it doesn't look or feel bad, even with workouts and this summer weather. I lose less hair this way, and it's been thicker and healthier since I stopped washing on the daily.

Becca_250

Just wanted to thank everyone that posted, I now only wash my hair every second or third day depending on what's happening. I've learnt to just put my hair in a bun when showering after workouts and let the sweat dry then add some dry shampoo if it's needed. My hair hasn't actually been that greasy, I think before I was just too scared to see what would happen if I left it! I also got 3 inches cut off so it's still long but a bit more manageable! Not tried co-washing yet but will definitely do some more reading of those websites soon.

Machka9

Becca_250 wrote: »

I recently upped my exercise to five times a week. As I'm a big sweaty mess afterwards, I like to wash my hair. Mostly it's to wash the sweat from my scalp more so than tbe actual hair! Recently, I've been washing it almost every day and aside from being time consuming, I'm concerned about the overuse of products and heat on it. Is this just a by-product of exercising that I have to live with?

I have thick, slightly curly waist-length hair, and I wash it almost every day. I thought that was a normal thing to do. Almost every morning, I hop in the shower, wash my hair, wash the rest of me, condition the ends, rinse everything ... and done. Quick and easy.

Sometimes I blow dry it for maybe 5 min just to get the drying process started ... other times I just comb it out and let it dry on its own. And sometimes I use a spray-on leave-in conditioner. Dry days + synthetic clothing = wicked static. The spray-on leave-in conditioner helps a lot.

I'll often skip washing it on a Saturday or Sunday, or sometimes both. But if I skip washing my hair both Saturday and Sunday, by Sunday afternoon, it's horrible and I can hardly wait to wash it on Monday.

And I have accidentally used conditioner instead of shampoo ... and that was just awful. I did that for about a week right after we moved here about a year ago. Everything was chaos, I was exhausted, I thought I'd unpacked the shampoo ... I couldn't figure out what was wrong with it and why it was leaving my hair an absolute mess. Then on the weekend when I got my head together, I realised it was conditioner. Well, no wonder!

msf74

earlnabby wrote: »

Are you familiar with "Conditioner Only washing" (aka co-washing)? You do not use shampoo, you only use a conditioner that has some detergency. The surfactants in shampoos are what strips and dries out your hair so if you wash frequently and don't use shampoo you won't dry out your hair. The most well known cleansing conditioner is Wen but you don't need to use something like that. I know many co-washers who use cheap conditioners like VO5 and Suave. If you use a lot of product or your conditioner had silicone in it (dimethecone, amodimethecone are the most common) you should use shampoo once in a while. Some do once a week, others do once a month depending on how much build up you get. The ingredient you need to look for are cationic conditioners and the most common ones will be:
Behentrimonium chloride
Behentrimonium methosulfate (gentler)
Benzalkonium chloride
Cetrimonium chloride
Cocotrimonium chloride
Quaternium-15
Quaternium-18 Bentonite
Quaternium-18 Hectonite
Quaternium-22
Stearalkonium chloride

I have long hair (almost to waist) and I co-wash only. I do not use other products and I make my own conditioner without silicone so I use shampoo maybe once in a year. I swim 3 x a week so I wash often to get the sweat, salt, and chlorine out of my hair (it gets in there a little even with a swimcap).

All of this.

It is excellent advice.