Why do we wash our hair often and how to wash our hair less often

Washing your hair daily, in the morning or in the evening, has become a kind of ritual for most women. Naturally, hard water and aggressive detergents have a negative effect on their condition. Hair becomes dull, thinning, splitting. How to wash your hair less often and keep it healthy?

Daily hair washing has been a novelty for the last 20-30 years. Previously, women washed their hair once a week, or even less, depending on their condition. What is the result of such a rare wash - just look at old photographs or portraits of our great-grandmothers. For example, the famous Empress Elizabeth, better known as Sisi, does not wash her luxurious hair down to her heels more often than once every 2 weeks, more often once a month. Remarkably, they looked clean and lush, with volume at the roots.

First, let's look at the causes of severe hair pollution.

Frequent washing

The main reason. Human skin is an organ that adapts to external conditions. If a woman washes her hair daily for more than a month (the adaptation period is considered to be 30-40 days), the sebaceous glands will secrete fat in excess to restore the fat balance and natural microflora. This is a natural reaction of the body to frequent shampooing.

Our great-grandmothers washed their hair less often. Not because they were less clean. They just didn't need to wash their hair every day. The scalp, "accustomed" to the schedule of cleansing every 7-14 days, did not require frequent cleansing, the hair was clean and voluminous.

Using a hair dryer

The hot air blows dry the hair, depriving it of moisture. However, the use of a hair dryer has a stimulating effect on the sebaceous glands. The skin produces more secretion in response to exposure, which contributes to the rapid loss of root volume and hair pollution.

Hairstyles that tighten hair

If the hair is tied all day, be it a ponytail, a bun or other hairstyles, they quickly become covered with a greasy secretion. By the end of the day, this hairstyle looks stale. Additionally, the tension stimulates the production of sebum, which does not add freshness to the hairstyle.

Incorrectly selected care

Very often, improperly selected care can not only cause deterioration of the hair condition and increased fat content, but also lead to hair loss. If you are buying hair products, first determine your hair type, it can be quite difficult to do it yourself, so I advise you to contact your hairdresser. How to choose the right shampoo for hair, depending on the type, you can read in this article:https://myhair.bigbadmole.com/en/uxod-za-volosami/kak-podobrat-shampun-dlya-normalnyx-suxix-i-zhirnyx-volos/.

If you choose a shampoo, then choose it according to the condition of the scalp (for sensitive scalp, for hair prone to oily, etc.), and if you choose a conditioner or mask, then you should start from the condition of your hair (dry, damaged, porous, painted, curly, fatty).

Use of aggressive detergents

To cleanse the scalp, our great-grandmothers used soaps made from animal or vegetable fats, ash, herbal infusions and extracts, bread, baking soda, eggs, fermented milk products and other detergents of natural origin. Such products do not disturb the fat balance of the scalp, nourish the hair, and have a pronounced healing effect. Modern detergents have an aesthetic appearance, pleasant texture, aroma, foam well and cleanse the scalp and hair "to a squeak". These products are sold in beautiful bottles in light-colored stores with promises to make hair.

The flip side of beautiful advertising promises is the more than aggressive composition of even luxury detergents. In order for the shelf life of the shampoo to be a year or more, preservatives are added to it.These preservatives, like the pathogenic microflora in the bottle with the product, destroy the natural microflora of the skin. For a uniform consistency, the addition of stabilizers and emulsifiers is required. An aggressive cleaning agent that causes dry scalp and destroys the hair structure provides copious lather. In response, the sebaceous glands produce excess sebum to protect against the harmful effects of detergents. As a result - oily, lifeless hair and the need for a "stylish" short haircut.

Health status

The scalp reacts strongly to the processes taking place inside the body. This is especially true of the excretory organs and the hormonal system. Any disruptions in the body immediately affect the condition of the scalp and cause a protective reaction.

Metabolic disorders, diseases of the digestive system, secretions, general intoxication of the body, vascular problems, cause a violation of the blood supply to the hair follicles, the growth of pathogenic microflora. The skin takes on the functions of removing toxins from the body, as a result, the scalp quickly becomes oily, the hair becomes covered with a greasy bloom, falls out, and gives off an unpleasant odor.

Hormonal disorders stimulate the secretion of fat secretion by the sebaceous glands of the scalp. A decrease in estrogen levels and an increase in androgens and testosterone levels not only cause hair loss on the head (male pattern), but also contribute to a change in the chemical composition of sebum. Therefore, in women with hormonal disorders, the hair becomes greasy at the roots, acquires a specific oily sheen and oily.

Lifestyle

Smoking, drinking alcohol and drugs cause disruptions in the activity of all organs and systems. The scalp also suffers. The secretion of poisons through the pores causes the sebaceous glands to produce more secretion to protect the skin from the effects of toxic agents.

Chronic stress, fatigue and lack of sleep, unhealthy diet, extreme diets, coupled with an office lifestyle, have a detrimental effect on the woman's body as a whole. Naturally, the sebaceous glands produce more secretion.

Stress

This factor should be highlighted in a separate paragraph. Some doctors believe that all human diseases are caused by stress. Including - increased fat content of the skin under the hairline. Under stress, the body tries to defend itself. For this, there is an active production of sebum, including. And if we add that stress causes vasospasm, the picture is very bleak. The abundance of fat provokes the development of pathogenic microflora. As a result, the woman has to wash her hair every day. By the evening, the hair loses its root volume, becomes greasy, and gives off an unpleasant odor.

How to wash your hair less often?

In order to find healthy hair, wash your hair less often and have a luxurious root volume, it is enough to analyze the causes of increased sebum secretion and neutralize them. Here are some general tips.

• Wash your hair less often. For starters, if you have a daily hair wash schedule, try to wash your hair every 2 days. Then every 3 days. Gradually increase the frequency of shampooing to 2 times a week. Gradually switch to the regimen once a week.
• Consider your hair type. Dry hair can be washed once every 2 weeks. Mixed hair should be washed once every 7-10 days. If pronounced oily skin prevails, the regimen is suitable once every 4-5 days. For normal hair, “head wash” is optimal once every 7-10 days. It is good to wash oily hair every 3-4 days with a gradual transition to the schedule once a week.
• Do hairstyles with tension hair as little as possible. The best hairstyle is a loose braid or loose hair. Also, minimize the use of styling products.
• Minimize the use of a hair dryer. To create a hairstyle, use the minimum heat regime and the intensity of the air flow.
• Use natural detergents.For shampooing, use natural products with a detergent base in the form of saponified oils or animal fats, and herbal extracts. Perfectly washes hair with egg yolk, kefir, milk whey, soda, laundry soap, rye bread.
• Use a rinse aid. If you use baking soda, laundry soap, ash, rinse your hair with water and vinegar or lemon juice. For other remedies, herbal decoctions are good, suitable for the type of hair. For oily hair, it is good to use oak bark, nettle, burdock, for mixed hair - nettle, burdock, chamomile, coltsfoot. For normal hair, a decoction of any herb that is not allergic is suitable. It is good to lubricate dry hair with chamomile decoction. The string and celandine do an excellent job with skin problems.
• Monitor your health and regularly, if necessary, undergo treatment.
• Avoid extreme diets. The recovery time of hair after restrictive diets or the Kremlin diet is up to six months.
• Proper nutrition with an abundance of vegetables, fruits, berries, cereals and greens in the diet should become the norm of life. For a vegetarian diet, it will be great to eat a lot of legumes, regularly use vegetable oil as a salad dressing. Trichologists recommend eating lean and fatty fish, seafood, poultry (turkey), rabbit meat, veal, offal. Eggs, dairy products (not fat-free), nuts, honey are good.
• Refrain from taking alcohol and drugs, smoking tobacco and narcotic herbs (drape and others).
• Be outdoors more often, lead an active lifestyle.
• Get enough sleep. Chronic sleep deprivation causes a disturbance in fat metabolism. And in addition to the greasy scalp, you run the risk of gaining extra pounds in the abdomen and sides.
• Keep stress to a minimum. Do not be nervous about trifles and change your nervous work to a more relaxed one. The extra money doesn't cost oily hair, or massive hemorrhage and myocardial infarction.
• Temper yourself. Exposure to contrasting temperatures, cold and heat improves the functioning of the skin, stabilizes sebum secretion.

As you can see, the condition of the scalp is 80% dependent on ourselves. To wash your hair less often and be proud of luxurious hair, it is enough to follow these simple recommendations. Be wonderful!