We know brushing our teeth daily is key to good oral health, and many of us feel best when we shower each morning. But if you’re someone who washes your hair every day, experts say you’re overdoing it.
According to Nhi Tran, the creative director at Toronto’s Sassoon Academy, washing your hair every single day is excessive, and not good for your locks.
WATCH BELOW: Are you overwashing your face?
So how often should you wash your hair? There’s no one rule to follow, and it largely depends on your hair texture and lifestyle, Tran said.
What influences how often you wash your hair?
- What is a halal mortgage? How interest-free home financing works in Canada
- Ontario doctors offer solutions to help address shortage of family physicians
- Capital gains changes are ‘really fair,’ Freeland says, as doctors cry foul
- ‘Dangerous message’: Experts slam anti-sunscreen claims circulating online
READ MORE: Sore after hitting the gym? How to tell if you’re exercising too much
Tran said for someone who works in a hot kitchen or a sweaty gym, their scalps may get oilier faster, meaning they’d likely want to wash their hair more often. But if you work in an office and don’t spend much time outside, you can get away with shampooing less regularly.
Hair texture is another determining factor. Finer hair gets greasier faster, whereas thicker or curly hair can last longer in between washes. Tran said that thick curls or heavier, fuller locks typically respond differently to shampooing than thinner hair does.
“When you first wash the hair — especially with curlier hair — you’re obviously cleansing, so you’re removing any residue and buildup from the environment,” she said. “And what happens is the hair becomes very light. And oftentimes, people feel it’s quite expansive, so washing it less frequently will actually enable the hair to be shiner and more controlled.”
Trudie Mulalu, the owner of Curl Bar in Toronto, said that people with curly hair tend to know when their hair needs to be washed. She agreed that lifestyle influences how often one washes their hair, and said that it’s fine to rinse your hair every day, but you don’t need to shampoo it daily.
What happens when you overwash?
While it may seem counterintuitive, washing your hair too much may actually make it greasier. When you overwash, you are at risk of drying out your scalp, which can cause your skin to produce more oil.
READ MORE: Choosing your own family members can be life-saving. Here’s why these Canadians did it.
Plus, shampoo can strip your hair of its natural oils, leaving your hair dry or brittle. It can also discolour colour-treated hair, or cause the colour to fade faster.
“Some people who wash their hair on a regular basis, like every day, or twice or three times a day … they find that their scalp is oilier because their bodies are trying to produce as much oil as possible and as fast as possible to protect their scalp,” Tran explained.
Laura.Hensley@globalnews.ca
Comments