How Often Should I Wash My Hair?

Much as we’d love to give you a one-size-fits all answer, the reality is a little more complex. How often you can leave between washes essentially depends on two things: how fine your hair is and how oily your scalp is.

If your locks are on the fine side, they’re going to benefit from more frequent washing because, besides cleanliness, it adds volume and body. For best results, we diagnose a wash every couple of days. Whereas if your hair is afro or coarse it’ll get fluffy and unruly when washed too often, so to keep it looking its best you’ll probably want to wash weekly or so.

The thing to remember is that washing strips your strands of their natural oils, and it’s easy to quickly find yourself in a vicious cycle: you wash it, you strip the oils, the oils overproduce… so you wash it again.

Hacks to avoid hair washing

We’re all familiar with the miracle that is dry shampoo – a few spritzes into past-its-best hair can extend tired styles for at least 24 hours. We particularly love Klorane’s new non-aerosol with its environmentally friendly dispenser - just spritz evenly onto your roots, let it sit for a couple of minutes to soak up any oil, then massage through with your fingers.

If dry shampoo isn’t your thing, you do have other options. Shampoo just your hairline or fringe and then quickly blow-dry to refresh your hair without washing it all. Or alternatively, if your hair is looking lank between washes, rinse it in lukewarm water without shampoo (add conditioner to the ends if needed) and then air dry.

Still want to wash daily?

We’ll level with you, it is okay to wash hair daily - as long as you use the right shampoo. Formulas with benefits (volumise, moisturise, texturise, etc.) have ingredients that stay behind on the hair and scalp – and if you wash your hair daily, this can quickly build up to clog hair follicles. So, opt for a gentle shampoo that just cleans hair and scalp, then work in benefits with your styler instead. Plus, gentle shampoos won’t strip the scalp, causing excess oil to be produced, allowing you to take a day off washing if you do want to. Suspect you have product build-up on your scalp? Experiment with a bi-monthly clarifying shampoo or weekly scalp exfoliator to help lift away the residue.

One last tip: only work conditioner through the mid lengths and ends of your hair - the roots are where all your natural oils are anyway, so there’s no need to add conditioner!