I Didn’t Wash My Hair for a Week—Here’s What Happened

Beauty advice is a dime a dozen.

For example, I've always heard washing your hair everyday is bad for your scalp. I also heard that too much shampooing can actually cause your hair to turn extra greasy—yuck. Nevertheless, for every piece of advice, there is sure to be a contradicting tip.

(The Little Mermaid via Walt Disney Pictures)

I decided to take matters into my own hands and investigate what should be the optimal shampoo sessions per week. After reading countless beauty articles and trolling hairstylists' Instagram accounts, I was surprised to learn that more frequent washing can be counterproductive and cause extra oily hair. My clean-hair intuition had been wrong all along!

I decided that I needed to change my habits immediately if I wanted to achieve the best hair. This is actually called "hair training," where you teach your hair how to produce less oil by washing it less regularly.

I set out to not shampoo for a week and I'm happy to report that I lived to tell you about my experience!

Day 1

I love working out and knew that sweat sessions would totally get in the way of my experiment. I made sure to put in a good workout before I set out on my one week adventure. After my spin class, I washed my hair like I regularly would any morning. By the end of this typical day my hair was a bit greasy, but manageable.
 

Day 2 -3

(via Amazon)

I fought the urge to shampoo for the next two days by sprinkling baby powder on my roots before I went to bed. Baby powder is a very inexpensive alternative to store-bought dry shampoo. In theory, the powder absorbs oil overnight and lets you wake up with fresh locks. It worked perfectly for day two, but come day three, I was very worried about how I would finish out the week!
 

Day 4

(via Joico)

By day four my hair had gotten to a place that required extra TLC and I luckily got my hands on Joico's Instant Refresh dry shampoo. This was the perfect potion for my third day blues! I applied this fast-drying aerosol to my roots and discovered an instant lift. It went on with no white residue and allowed my hair to be manageable again.
 

Day 5

Day five was really rough and I seriously worried about having to end my hair training early. I threw on a hat and prayed for the best. I only felt comfortable hanging out with my dog, I knew Kingston wouldn't judge! That night, I set out to research dry shampoo formulas people were raving about online. I prayed that I wouldn't have to spend the weekend under a hat.
 

Day 6

(via Sephora)

My research paid off and I decided to splurge on Elizabeth and James' Nirvana Black Dry Shampoo. After a couple of shakes, the formula sprayed out of the can and into my roots. It instantly gave my hair this amazing texture. I couldn't believe my eyes! I combed the formula through and realized that this dry shampoo was just what the doctor ordered!
 

Day 7

The challenge was complete and I couldn't believe the condition of my hair! The Elizabeth and James formula was so powerful it could've let me carry out my experiment for a day or two more. My hair had great texture and no residue. I shampooed my hair that morning and took note of how less greasy it was by end of day. Just one week of hair training was already showing results.

 

If you are considering switching up your hair routine, try personalized shampoo and see how it can change your life!