Washing your hair is an integral part of everybody's grooming. Consult a guide to know How Often Should You Wash Your Hair, Based on Your Hair Type.

Washing Your Hair: A Guide to Everyday Personal Grooming

It's a common belief that washing your hair every day is a medical requirement. Some say it keeps your scalp cool, while others still say that it helps you have a better temper. In truth, however, there's rarely a medical requirement to wash your hair every day. You can get by ideally by rinsing your hair with water a few times a week. Hair Care depends on personal choice and what factors you consider when deciding if you want to wash your hair.

Before you stride ahead to take that hour-long shower and use your new hair oil, take a second to understand the proper categories you should think about when deciding if you need to wash your hair. Personal preference and how oily your hair always gets changes depending on the person, but a few factors are solid criteria to help you decide, like:

• Whether you need to wash your hair depends a lot on your hair type. Oily hair needs to be cleaned regularly, while fine, thin strands only need to be washed a maximum of four days a week.
• Scalp texture plays an important role as well. It decides how fast your hair gets oily, and the general rule of thumb is that the more oily your hair, the more you need to wash it.

Washing Your Hair: Do You Even Really Need to?

Why Should You Wash Your Hair?

As long as you've been alive, you must have heard people telling you about the dangers of regularly shampooing your hair. From hair fall to 'stripping your natural oils, the risks of shampooing seem to be rampant devils. The truth, however, is far from it. Regular hair care is a requirement for a lot of people, and if you fit one of these criteria, you need to pay attention to your hair:

1.     You Have Extremely Straight Hair

An essential factor in deciding when you need to shampoo your hair is, well….your hair! Mainly, there are six to seven types that hair can be categorized into, but the bottom line stays the same: the more oily your hair, the more times it needs to be washed per week.

People with highly straight hair have a distinct disadvantage in this category. The thing is, when you have straight hair, it's much easier for oil from your scalp to travel down your hair in a straight path. This gives your hair a greasy, dirty look that's just unpleasant to look at and horrible to feel in your hands. Of course, there's an advised limit to how much people with straight hair should shampoo their hair: if you like your hair weighed down, 4-5 times a week is optimal. Or, if you prefer your hair light and fluffy, you can wash it 2-3 times a week.

2.     Your Scalp is Much Too Oily

And now we come to the treasured 'natural oils' of your hair. What are these Oils that everybody's obsessed about? Well, in simple words, these are oils secreted by your scalp, and yes, they're healthy for you...to a degree. Just like everything, hair oil is good in moderation, as a too oily scalp can cause conditions like seborrhea (itchy scalp). When you touch your hair, and it feels greasy, that's probably one of the best signs that you need a shampoo the very next time you shower.

This point also stands for women who work out a lot or have jobs that require a lot of physical exertion. Excess sweating causes your hair to have a massive buildup of oil. To get rid of it, wash your hair every other day or after every gym day if you alternate gym days or go 3-4 times a week.

3.     You're Looking for Healthy Hair Growth

Unlike what most people say, washing your hair can be helpful if you're trying to grow your hair. While shampooing does make your hair a little brittle, it also removes dead hair follicles from your scalp. In turn, this stimulates healthy hair growth. You should remember to keep your hair type in mind when making this decision. 1-2 times more per week is perfectly acceptable, but washing it every day might not be the best option if you have thick hair.

4.     It's...Just Good Hygiene

One of the most significant reasons to wash your hair is that, in the end, it's honestly just good hygiene. Greasy hair not only makes you an unappealing person but can easily prove to be harmful to your health if you let microfauna build up in your hair. Washing your hair daily is a natural thing to do in today's world of pollution, fumes, and contaminants in the air, where everything from your skin to your hair can be damaged from even a short walk in the city air!

5.     Your Preference

When everything's said and done, it's not the professionals on the Internet that have to live with your hair. It's you. If you like to wash your hair every day, you should, since the point of it all is your convenience. Given that we clean our bodies and teeth with specific products every day, washing your hair every day is just as natural a thing to do.

The Various Benefits of Washing Your Hair

You might say that the reasons to wash your hair frequently are beneficial enough. After all, if shampooing your hair removes oil from your scalp, keeps your hair refined and straight, and stimulates healthy hair growth, that's reason enough to take the time to shampoo your hair. But, believe it or not, that isn't it.

For example, if you're a modern woman, style begins with your hair. For most people, it's their most noticeable feature, and how their hair frames their face is an essential part of their overall look. Healthy, glossy hair can turn you into a beauty that draws glances from all over the room, whereas greasy and, yes, even smelly hair draws judging stares and muted comments. On top of general aesthetics, there are also other reasons, like:

• Washing your hair removes dead skin cell buildup, giving you a healthy scalp.
• Shampooing your hair often also reduces cortisol levels. Cortisol is the stress hormone and can even cause hair thinning.
• Cleaning your hair with shampoo removes a substance called Sebum from your hair. While initially helpful, the buildup of Sebum can draw bacteria and even fungi!
• If you like coloring your hair, washing oil and other debris out of your hair will make the color seem more vibrant. This keeps your color fresher in the long run.
• Heat treatments like straightening or blow-drying cause massive breakage of hair. If you choose the proper cleaning product for your hair, you can avoid heat treatments and keep your hair naturally strengthened for longer.

Signs You're Washing Your Hair Too Much

Moderation, moderation, moderation! Everything on Earth is only beneficial when it's in moderation. Excess in anything, no matter how good it might seem, is always harmful in the long run, and the same goes for washing your hair. Depending on your hair type, you might need that everyday shower with shampoo, but if you don't, or your hair type isn't compatible with it, you could quickly be causing irreparable damage to your hair. Overwashing your hair can altogether remove Sebum from your strands, leaving them dry, brittle, and lifeless.

If your hair looks like it has lost its shine, that's a clear indicator that you're stripping away too much oil from your scalp. While oil can be harmful in buildups, they're generally beneficial to the health and strength of your hair. Weak, lusterless strands mean that you've got to cut down on the shampooing, and instead consult an excellent guide to know how many times a week you should be washing your hair.

Dandruff is another clear indicator that you're way too free with the shampoo. Dandruff is dead skin cells from your scalp that fall out when it gets too dry. If you start noticing the irritating white powder on your shoulders, you need to allow your scalp to soothe naturally for a while. For a fix, it might be a good idea to switch to a dandruff shampoo, which goes more manageable on your scalp.

A Deeper Dive Into Washing Your Hair Daily: Conditions, Rules and General Criteria to Decide

Finding the right balance isn't easy when deciding how often you need to wash your hair. Even if you read a professional guide, sometimes it can be hard to understand what category your hair comes under. Is it fine and thin, or is that your imagination? The best way to find the right balance is by experimenting with the guidelines instead of treating an online guide as ironclad rules.

However, proper hair care begins with understanding that the most significant factor in hair care is your hair. Depending on its type, you might only need to shampoo once a week or even every single day if you want to keep it free of oil and grease. Consult the list below to learn how often you should wash your hair every week:

●      Oily Hair: Every Day

A lot of things should be considered before deciding how often you should wash your hair, but none so important as how oily your scalp is. No matter your other circumstances, if your hair gets very oily, it's vital to wash it every day to prevent the buildup of Sebum and bacteria. An exception will be if you have very long hair, which can become impossibly brittle if shampooed too often.

●      Fine/Thin Hair: Every Other Day

Fine or thin hair needs unique hair to promote healthy hair growth. It requires daily moisture to keep the hair light and glossy. Shampooing fine hair every other day keeps it free of oil that quickly runs down the thin strands, giving the hair better color and cleaning oils and dead skin cells that weigh the hair down.

●      Wavy or Curly Hair: Every 3-4 Days

Wavy or curly hair usually doesn't need to be washed that often since the curly shape of the strands makes it very hard for oil from your scalp to come down them. You can get by simply washing your hair out with water for most days, with a thorough cleaning with shampoo every 3-4 days.

●      Coily Hair: Once Every Week

Coily hair needs the least amount of hair product use. If you want to keep your hair healthy, you should shampoo it once a week, but ensure that you always remove the dead skin cells when shampooing. It's essential to get rid of hair follicles and scalp oil buildup without damaging your hair.

●      Thick Hair: Once Every Week

Just like coily hair, thick hair doesn't need to be washed so often. Thicker strands are better at holding on to moisture and usually deal with oil from your scalp better, too, staying fresh and glossy longer. Washing once a week should be sufficient if you also use a good-quality conditioner.

●      Damaged or Dry Hair: Every 5 Days

If you find yourself with suddenly dry or damaged hair, the best course is to let it naturally soothe. Natural oils from your hair do wonders at revitalizing lusterless hair. Usually, you'll want to use as little product as possible for damaged hair, with a single wash every five days to remove dead skin cells and excess hair oil. However, it would help if you were extra careful not to pull too hard, or you could tear hair out instantly.

Keeping Your Hair Healthy: A Conclusion to How Often You Should Wash Your Hair

To all of this, the bottom line is that you need to maintain a healthy balance for your hair. Various things can significantly affect the quality of your hair, like the texture of your hair, the styling methods you use, the strength of your products and conditioner, and even how much physical exertion you're exposed to everyday. As long as you ensure you're washing your hair according to its specific needs and circumstances, you can be confident knowing that your hair will look it's very best.