What Can Happen if You Don't Wash Your Hair Enough

Sticking to a consistent wash, treatment, and condition regimen is crucial to have the best hair days possible. However, there isn't one clear answer in the great debate of how often you should wash your hair, and, thanks to dry shampoo, it's never been easier to stretch your last shampoo out for an extra day or two. But, just like how washing your strands too often can be damaging, shampooing too little can also have negative effects.

"There isn't one answer when it comes to how often you should be washing your hair," says Dove Hair Expert Dermatologist Dr. Francesca Fusco. "In general, taking all skin types and hair types into consideration, a minimum of once a week is enough. Now, if you tend to have a reallyoily scalp, then it's ok to shampoo every day. You can tailor it to yourself, and with the number of products on the market, you can pick the one that works best for your hair and scalp type."

If you use a lot of styling products, you may find you need to wash your hair more often, which is completely normal and healthy to do.

How Do You Know When to Wash Your Hair?

You'll know when it's time to shampoo by paying attention to your scalp's behavior. If you're experiencing uncommon itchiness, if you experience an unpleasant scent, and if your hair starts to hurt, it's time to wash your hair. "The area where the hair emerges from the scalp can start to feel sore from the buildup of excess dead skin cells, and there's dandruff," Dr. Fusco explains. "If dandruff gets worse and the skin becomes inflamed, the inflammation in the hair follicle can translate to feeling a little tender."

According to Tim Abney, a hairstylist and Neuma global vice president of education, over time, the scalp will become dull and sluggish, which could adversely affect healthy hair growth because the surface of the scalp can become significantly clogged or smothered. "You could also develop quite a bit of buildup which can eventually lead to your hair and scalp having an undesired odor and appearance," he says.

One of the most common mistakes people make figuring out if it's time to lather, rinse, and repeat, is that if their scalp feels itchy and dry, they think they shouldn't shampoo and instead opt for a can of dry shampoo. "What these people are really experiencing is dandruff," says Dr. Fusco. "By not shampooing, you're making the situation worse."

Aside from cosmetic reasons like dandruff, not walking around with a smelly scalp, and hair that's weighed down by oil, not regularly shampooing won't remove bacteria, yeast, and dead skin cells. Dr. Fusco says that this can lead to scalp inflammation, dandruff, excess shedding, and even folliculitis, which are tiny pimples on the scalp.

"When we don’t wash often enough, the hair follicle beneath the surface can be suffocated to a degree leading to less than optimum new hair growth," says Abney. "The strands overall will become heavy, lifeless, dull, and not be willing to hold onto any amount of volume, style or texture for very long."

Can I Use Dry Shampoo to Clean My Hair?

Though it may be tempting to dry shampoo as a quick and easy way to freshen up, especially when there aren't enough hours in the day, spraying too much and too often won't do your hair any favors. "When you're spraying on dry shampoo, it's mixing and building up with the oil that your scalp is producing and dead skin cells, and creating the most delicious milieu for yeast to grow. This is when you get into dandruff," says Dr. Fusco.

Should I Double-Shampoo?

Sometimes, a double wash is necessary. However, Abney recommends it's a good idea to do the first wash with a detoxifying shampoo, like Neuma's Re New Shampoo. "Using this type of product during the first wash will gently exfoliate and detoxify the surface of your hair and scalp without stripping the natural moisture barrier," he says. "Then, you can follow that and use a more texture-specific wash for your targeted needs, whether those be volume, moisture, smoothing, or curl, just to name a few."

If your hair is left feeling a little dry after a double wash, Abney recommends the Neu Moisture Masque, which deeply hydrates and nourishes from the scalp to ends to keep hair at its most flexible.

Can I Reverse the Effects of Not Washing My Hair?

While the situation might seem bleak, there are a few easy ways you can reverse the damage. If you're experiencing dandruff, a dandruff shampoo like Dove Beauty Dermacare Scalp Anti Dandruff Shampoo can help minimize flakes.

Excessive shedding might take a little longer to see results, but taking vitamins and following a healthy diet can help. To calm inflammation and scalp pimples, Dr. Fusco recommends seeing a dermatologist who can prescribe a topical solution equivalent to acne treatment. "If you have long-term effects like pimples or thick buildup of dry skin that can't come up, then see your dermatologist because you might have something else going on like psoriasis or eczema," recommends Dr. Fusco.

While Abney says that it's great to rinse and condition every day, he recommends that shampooing should only happen once or twice per week. "This allows your scalp to self-regulate and get back to a normal sebum production rhythm. This normal cycle will keep your scalp naturally moisturized and allow your hairstyle to last much longer," he says.