Hygiene Matters / Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
Bargain Babe recently shared her dirty little secret about washing her hair every three to four days and asked if we would change our habits to save money. I did. Not washing my hair for one day makes me look like a greasy mess. Jealous of Bargain Babe and the readers who commented on how they can go for days without a washing, I sought solutions. Here’s what I found:
1. Dry shampoo – I am obsessed with dry shampoo. At the drug store I found Pssst, an aerosol dry shampoo. On the can was a bright red sticker that read: try me for free. With that in mind, I couldn’t pass it up and bought it. I’m now waiting for my full refund of $6.49 to arrive in the mail. The spray is simple and convenient to use. It doesn’t have a fragrance and if done correctly, it won’t leave any white residue in your hair. I’ve heard it’s hard to find in some places, but I easily found it online. On that same trip, I noticed another dry shampoo product from Tresemme. The product has a fragrance and claims to neutralize odor while leaving your hair fresh and oil-free. I haven’t tried their spray, but will as soon as I run out of Pssst. A bottle will set you back $5.99.
2. Cornstarch and Baby power – These products are relatively inexpensive and can easily be purchased at the grocery store. I’ve tried using baby power in my hair but since I’m a brunette I have a hard time working in the white powder into my hair without making it look ashy. Also, the combination of loose powder and rushing in the morning to get out the door can be disastrous, especially if you are wearing black. The powder will get on the floor, and your clothes too.
3. Bumble and Bumble – Like Bargain Babe, I also like Bumble and Bumble products, but I am not a fan of their price tag. I’ve heard friends rave about their hair powder because it conveniently comes in different colors. The powder comes in a spray 4.4 ounce bottle that costs $35. Ouch. That’s the only drawback I’ve heard about this product. I won’t be buying this any time soon, but do look forward to trying it out as soon as a friend stocks up.
So I’m washing my hair every other day and not only is it helping me maintain my inexpensive hair color, but I’ve also managed to cut back on shampoo, but I’ll be spending money on dry shampoo. Is it worth it? What do you do to tame your hair when you skip a wash?
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October 26th, 2010 at 7:00 am
I used to be a greaseball who had to wash my hair every day. But I was lucky enough to develop skin allergies that led me away from drugstore brand shampoos. I can only use 2 brands now: Lush and Carol’s Daughter. Both are much pricier than a drugstore shampoo (about 10-12 per smaller bottle), but I can now easily go 4 days without washing my hair and you STILL can’t tell.
There must be something in the standard shampoos that builds up terribly, but these natural brands are amazing. Plus, the shampoos are less harsh, so I only need a small dab of the corresponding conditioner. My husband even started sharing my shampoo because he was jealous of my “short” showers without washing my hair. We save water, time and everything!
October 26th, 2010 at 9:01 am
I have a trick I use if I’m in a hurry and my hair looks dirty. I wet just the top of my head and use a small amount of shampoo on it, then rinse in the sink. Dry and style and it’s a great fake-out. It’s that part of your hair that really makes it look fresh or grungy, and it takes so little extra time!
October 26th, 2010 at 9:05 am
Seems to me that washing one’s hair is part of a daily shower or bath, but maybe there are more “unwashed” people than I realize… I don’t go without either one.
October 26th, 2010 at 9:08 am
John, we’re not saying we don’t shower or bathe, just that we don’t wash the hair every day. Hair stylists recommend no more than every other day because it dries out your hair too much if you wash it every day.
October 26th, 2010 at 10:40 am
You should try washing with baking soda and rinsing with apple cider vinegar and water (I add essential orange oil so it smells yummy). It’s a little odd to wash with baking soda but my hair has NEVER looked better. I used to use Fekkai shampoo, conditioner and smoother because it was the only thing that kept my hair from being a fly away, tangled mess but I read about this natural solution and I’m hooked. I now have bouncy, shiny hair and I use zero product. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to work for everyone. My husband didn’t like it at all. They say to give it a month to remove years of chemical build up but he couldn’t go past 2 washes.
October 26th, 2010 at 10:48 am
I’ll have to try that Camilla. I’ve used baking soda mixed with Cetaphil as a facial scrub and it makes my skin silky smooth.
October 26th, 2010 at 11:05 am
Going without washing your hair for 3-4 days is way way beyond frugal, it’s bad hygiene!
A teaspoon of shampoo/conditioner only costs pennies! I use Paul Mitchell (large bottle costs $13- $20); at $17 it only costs 6 cents per day (for 2 shampoos)!
If your hair is dry (and not really dirty), skip the shampoo and wash it with conditioner every other day! But dont go without washing daily grime out of your hair!
Want a cheap healthy shampoo (great if you’re allergic to additives/sodium laurel sulfate):
Buy pure castile soap (Dr Bronners at all health food stores)
1 measure castile soap,
1 measure oil (Olive, almond, etc)
8 measures water
*Turn & rotate the bottle to mix it before each; do not shake vigorously
*Add a few drops of essentil oil for additional health/aroma benefits; lavender, eculyptus)
Do not shake, save the suds for lathering!
October 26th, 2010 at 11:43 am
I feel the need to clarify…I SHOWER DAILY. I still RINSE my hair daily. I soap and lather all the rest of my body daily. Sometimes twice daily if I’ve been to the gym.
Please differentiate: the choice to not shampoo your hair is not the equivalent of not brushing your teeth or washing your armpits or other “poor hygiene”. To be fair, I suppose it could be poor hygiene if you use a lot of product in your hair that builds up. But that’s not what most people are saying here. Believe me, I’m a cute girl with cute hair and perfectly good hygiene. = )
October 26th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
I think people need to give up the stigma of not washing your hair every day as being “unclean”! Trust me, more people than you think (and plenty of hot women) don’t wash their hair every day, and you’d never know it. I see magazine articles in popular beauty magazines about how to extend your shampoo/blowout for a week! (Although I wouldn’t go that long!)
I shower every day, but my hair looks better when I don’t wash it every day! Maybe it’s different if you have short hair like a man (which only takes a second to shampoo) or have excessively greasy scalp/skin, but that’s not the case for most people. I have long, thick hair, and that combined with dry skin in general makes for little grease. It’s not a matter of frugalness for me – there’s just no need to wash it every day! It would just dry it out and damage it even more (especially using a blow dryer, flat iron, etc). I wash it every other day, or more rarely every third day, and sometimes I just wash my bangs if the rest of my hair looks fine.
I generally don’t need to use a dry shampoo product the second day, because it looks fine without it. If needed, I use a touch of baby powder (the corn starch, not talc version, because talc is bad) to soak up the grease at my roots. I have the Tresseme dry shampoo, but in my opinion, the mousse stuff isn’t worth using. I think it makes my hair look worse, but I do have the refresher spray, which smells nice.