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Everybody does it . . . some people wash their hair every day, some people wash their hair once a week and there are lots of people in between but how much do we really know about hair washing? How often should you wash your hair? Why do we have bad hair days and good hair days?
Let’s take a look at a few of the facts:
• Your body is extremely busy secreting fats and debris from the cells – aka sebum. This sebum is removed through the hair follicles. Okay, it sounds gross and that’s why we need to use shampoo but sebum does play a very important role – it is the body’s method of waterproofing and moisturizing the hair and the skin and without it the skin and the hair would be extremely dry and flaky. Okay, too much sebum leads to oily hair which is thought to be dirty, at least in the western world. We seem to be obsessed with removing any trace of sebum from our hair to leave it shiny, clean and healthy . . . or is it?
• So sebum might be gross but we do need it, it’s crucial to the health of our skin and hair.
• Washing your hair too frequently can be counterproductive at best. You can try so hard to get rid of all the sebum in your hair that the body simply goes into overdrive and makes even more of the darned stuff. It’s all about creating the perfect balance. The frequency of the hair wash really is a case of personal preference – if you wash your hair too often your body just creates an excessive amount of sebum but washing is necessary to remove bacteria – if you don’t keep your pores clean it can create other problems like acne.
• In the days prior to hand held dryers and natural styles many women used to book a weekly hair appointment for a shampoo and set leaving their hair for a full week between washes. As styles have become more casual and bathing more convenient (hot tub in front of the fire anyone) we have begun to wash our hair with increasing frequency, many people wash their hair in the shower every morning as a matter of routine and feel dirty and unkempt for the entire day if they don’t get their morning shampoo.
• In the days preceding the 20th century women used to wash their hair only once a month or so, but did they all look greasy, did they smell? Not to my knowledge.
• There was a hair washing study which ran for six weeks via an Australian radio show back in 2007 after one caller happened to mention that he hadn’t washed his hair for a decade – 500 listeners participated in a 6 week challenge – 6 weeks without washing their hair. At the end of the “experiment” more than 85% of the listeners said that there was no difference in the condition of their hair at all.
There are some great products and equipment at thesalonoutlet.com for when you do decide that it’s time to treat your hair to a shampoo. The problem is that appearance is extremely important these days – cleanliness is next to godliness as they say – and lots of people just could not imagine going through the day without washing their hair. Leaving your hair for a few days between washes on your “off days” might be the answer- just to see how you get on.
Check out http://thesalonoutlet.com for some great hair washing products
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