Toronto hairstylist Beni Sicilia remembers blow drying and straightening his client’s frizzy, curly hair so it was smooth and sleek. Twenty one days later, Sicilia’s client returned, seeking his services.
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As he began to shampoo the woman’s hair, she exclaimed that she hadn’t washed her hair since their last appointment together, 21 days ago. She admitted, Sicilia said, that she returned because her husband was complaining about the smell of her unwashed hair.
As unusual as this story may seem, Sicilia’s client isn’t alone.
Many women regularly wait days and even weeks to wash their hair thanks to the popularity of blow outs, the resurgence of dry shampoos and the proliferation of anti-shampoo rhetoric.
From shampooing frequency to managing oiliness, CTVNews.ca attempts to uncover the dirt on this latest trend in women’s haircare.
The ‘blowout’:
Sicilia, owner and hairstylist at Blowdry Lounge, a chain of salons that specialize in blow drying and styling women’s hair in a “blowout” style, said he’s noticed more of his female customers are waiting longer between washes. He said his clients will wait four or five days or even a week before coming in to have their hair washed and styled again.
“It lasts longer. It looks better. The hairstylist can get the hair to do things that people can’t do themselves,” Sicilia explained. “They try to preserve it as much as possible.”
Tanya Dadswell, a manager and hairstylist at Blo Blow Dry Bar in Toronto’s west end, said she’s also noticed a surge in clients not washing their hair as frequently. In fact, she’s one of them herself. Dadswell said she usually washes her hair once a week.
Dry shampoo:
The popularity and renewed availability of dry shampoos have helped women extend the life of their blowouts or go longer without washing their hair. Sicilia described dry shampoos as a fine talcum powder that you can spray into your roots to absorb excess oil. Dry shampoos have been sold commercially since the 1940s but have experienced a resurgence in popularity in recent years, according to Sicilia.
Dadswell said many of her clients use dry shampoo to refresh their locks and keep their hair looking clean when they go longer between washes. She also said if some clients are concerned about their hair smelling after a while, dry shampoo can be useful for masking odours because they are typically laden with fragrances.
Dadswell also cited hair perfumes, texture sprays, leave-in treatments and standard hair sprays as other options for hiding an unwashed hair smell.
“I’ve never found a smell with my hair and nobody has ever complained about it,” she said with a laugh.
No matter how bad the smell, Jie Matar, the owner and a hairstylist at Salon Jie in downtown Toronto, warned against going overboard with dry shampoo. He said using too much of it can be harmful for the scalp because it clogs the pores.
“You have to use it very gently, like a hairspray from far away on the roots to make it bouncy,” he advised.
‘Training’ the scalp:
Besides the obvious benefit of prolonging an expensive ‘do by avoiding washing it away, Dadswell endorses the popular theory that you can “train” your scalp to eventually become less greasy over time. She believes that shampooing strips away the natural oils the scalp produces.
Women who wash their hair every day or every other day end up producing extra oil to compensate for the loss, according to Dadswell.
“That’s why people end up with greasy hair because they wash it too often,” she said.
Matar agrees with Dadswell that shampooing too often can dry out the hair and result in an oily scalp.
“The more you’re going to shampoo, the more you’re harming your scalp and your hair,” Matar said.
To do this, she said they should add on an extra day to wash their hair every few weeks during the transitional period, which she said can take anywhere from four to six weeks.
Despite the widespread popularity of the theory that shampoo strips hair’s natural oils and that it’s possible to “train” the scalp, Toronto dermatologist Dr. Jeff Donovan disagrees. He called it a “common myth” that the scalp will produce more oil if it’s shampooed too often. He also said there isn’t any scientific evidence to support the idea that women can change their oil production.
He explained that oil glands are located three or four millimetres below the surface of the scalp and that shampooing or rinsing doesn’t influence how much oil the glands produce.
Donovan said the hair’s oiliness is dependent on genetics, diet, hormones and even seasonal changes, not on how often someone shampoos.
So what should you do?
Despite dismissing the belief that shampooing will strip your hair of its natural oils, Donovan contends that women, in general, tend to wash their hair more often than they should. He said you should experiment with how often is right for you and that what works for some may not work for you.
“I see a lot of patients who have adopted the “no ‘poo” movement. Many of them are okay,” Donovan said. “There are some people who find that their dandruff worsens, their scalp condition worsens, they’re itchier and they’re scratching more. It really comes down to a personal choice.”
Sicilia agrees with Donovan that the right amount can vary from person to person based on their genetics, activity level and hair texture. He said his rule of thumb for clients is to wait three days before shampooing, however, if they’re trying to preserve their dyed colour, they should wash their mane only once a week.
Matar is more resolute than Donovan and Scalia in his advice. He stressed that you should aim to shampoo your hair only twice a week, three at the very most. Matar also recommended using apple cider vinegar on your scalp in the shower to eliminate buildup and rinsing your hair with cold water instead of hot water.
Dadswell goes one step further and recommends that most people should train themselves to shampoo their hair only once a week like she does. She said if you have a finer hair texture, you probably shouldn’t wait the whole week because your hair tends to become greasy more quickly and will lose its volume.
All of them agreed on one thing, however: that shampooing your hair daily is too often.
“In general, people shouldn’t feel like they’re causing harm to their hair by shampooing a few times a week,” Donovan said. “It’s fine.”
