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How often do you wash your hair? Would you wash it less if you knew how much money it could save you?
I used to wash my hair everyday. Now I wash it every three or four days. I slowly began stretching out the days in between washings after my sister told me my body – and the oil it produces – would naturally adjust. Fewer washings = less time spent cleaning and drying my overly thick hair. (Having wet hair for hours in the winter is not fun. If I blow dry it, it gets dry and frizzy. If I air-dry it, I get cold. If I put a hat on, it dries flat.)
Grossed out? You’d be surprised how many compliments I get on day three and four, when my hair lays flat and shines. Here’s how a typical conversation goes.
“Your hair looks great. What did you do to it?”
“Not washed it in three days.”
“Oh.”
Recently I decided to crunch the numbers and see how much my, er, dirty habit, is saving me. (I also save money by getting cheap hair cuts and opting to go gray naturally, even though there are ways to save money on hair coloring.)
One 13 fluid ounce bottle of Garnier Fructis Shampoo costs me $2.99 at Target (less if I use coupons)
One 13 fluid ounce bottle of Garnier Fructis Conditioner costs me $2.99 at Target (less if I use coupons)
I go through conditioner a bit faster than shampoo, as I use the latter sparingly on my roots and scalp only. (A salon stylist once told me that shampoo can dry out hair and that my strands get all the cleaning they need when I rinse. Plus, it’s only the hair on the crown of my head that gets oily.)
I use approximately two teaspoons of shampoo and one tablespoon of conditioner every wash. That means I get 39 washes out of every bottle of shampoo. If I shampoo every 3.5 days, a bottle lasts me 136 days or4.5 months. My conditioner lasts 26 washes, or 91 days (3 months). So I spend roughly $20 on shampoo and conditioner every year by washing my hair every 3.5 days.
If I washed my hair everyday for a year, my shampoo and conditioner costs would add up to $69.23. That’s a saving’s of $49 – or 71 percent. Granted, it took me a very long time to let my hair and scalp slowly adjust, but not only do I save hours every week but I’m saving $49 a year!
How do you extend the life of your beauty products?
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
i never calculated the savings, but i totally noticed how often i needed to buy gel decreased sooo much when i started washing my hair less. i’ve been washing my hair every three days for a LONG time now (5 years)… but i started doing it because I noticed I didn’t need to and i was wasting TIME. love it when a time saver saves you money too (FOR ONCE!).
This is so funny! I did the exact same calculations this AM. I buy Aveeno shampoo for $6 and it lasts 6 months. That is a boatload of cash I don’t have to spend! Also, the time saved is even more valuable!
I read on another frugal blog that the writer doesn’t ever use shampoo or soap on his hair and that it takes about a month of washing only with water for your hair to acclimatize to the new routine and self-regulate so this summer I thought I would give it a go. i didn’t wash my hair with shampoo, water only, for about 5 weeks. I went through some really horrible greasy times, then it got better, then it got oily again. When I started washing again I used MUCH less shampoo than I was, and I cut out conditioner all together. Now I only wash every 2-3 days. My hair is softer than it has ever been. I am going to try the no washing thing again some time, but not sure when.
I don’t like shampoo, it fries/dries/frizzes my hair out and nothing I put back into it helps…I used to use WEN (and LOVE IT) but at 32 bux a 16 oz bottle I just couldn’t justify it with the husband laid-off. Yesterday, I discovered a similar product at Sally Beauty called, “Hair One” I just used it for the first time yesterday, and so I need to try it for a few weeks to see how it compares and if it’s a decent alternative. It costs 1/3 the price and since I’ve been washing my hair every 3-4 days for years, it lasts a long time. But oh how I long to buy that gallon jug of WEN! 🙂
I get made fun of for doing this, but my secret is to wash the front 2-3 inches of my hair (around my face) to get that nice, fresh feeling. I just section off that part and pull the rest of the hair into a bun, then jump in the shower.
I love how it cuts down on dry time (I have pretty long, thick hair) and feels nearly as good as if I had washed it. 🙂
@Elizabeth I’ve never heard of WEN but I’m a big fan of Bumble & Bumble conditioner. I got a bottle for Christmas that I just finished because I only used it every few washes.
@Valerie I’m going to try this! My hair is super thick, too, and a lot of times most of my hair doesn’t seem dirty at all. I hope washing just the front section works!
@Valerie I tried your secret yesterday and IT TOTALLY WORKS! Wow! The crown of my head that was greasy is fresh and clean, and the rest of my hair is not frizzy from being washed. I’m going to try washing my full head every other wash (so about once a week) and wash just the front section as you suggested every 3-4 days. I’m so excited to NOT have to wash all my thick hair this winter! Thanks for your awesome tip!
After 40+ yrs of washing my hair daily, I have cut back to every 2-3 days. My hair feels much nicer, silkier. Glad I made the switch. May try 3-4 days this winter.
I wish i could wash my hair even every other day. I have dry hair, but oily scalp…not a pretty combo. So if I don’t wash it everyday, it literally looks like I have not done so in about 7. Any ideas ladies? I’d love to cut back. The shampoo and conditioner tab is getting pretty pricey.
I have to wash my hair daily. I’ve tried to skip a day but my scalp gets very itchy and loss a handful of hair the next time I washed it. I don’t blow dry daily, though.
Washing your hair less often will also save your hair color from fading. I only use shampoo when I color my hair, to remove the excess dye. Otherwise, I use a little bit of conditioner on my wet scalp to massage away any excess oils or dry skin, then rinse out completely. My color-treated curly hair and scalp are very dry, and really don’t get ‘dirty,’ although I do like to rinse out the conditioning and styling products and start over about twice a week. Does anyone remember dry shampoos? My pop is a hairstylist, and he really liked them. Dry shampoos were mostly powder, so they absorbed excess oils on the scalp. You can use a mild baby powder for this now. Just be sure to brush it all out thoroughly so that you don’t look prematurely gray.
I think you’re young enough not to be worrying about gray hair yet!
@AdventureGirl I wish! I started getting grays hairs in grad school and used to pluck them out. But when they grow back they stick straight out! So now I let them be and try not to look too closely at them.
When I was a kid, my mother washed my hair once a week. Years ago, but an adult then, my hair stylist told me that shampooing too frequently washed away the scalp’s natural oil, so I’ve always washed my hair twice/week. Sometimes, when my 4-5 week haircut is scheduled, I don’t do the second shampoo the week preceding, and it is fine despite having short hair and exercising a lot.
@Rabbi Wendy: Cooler water temp also prolongs hair color. I don’t dye, but this also is true for the semi-permanent color my hairdresser uses which adheres to and highlights (in the color she mixes) that four-letter “g” word.
LoL…I wash my hair every day because it gets so greasy/sticky If I don’t wash it and I just hate the way it looks. About the savings..ye I’m not sure how much money I spent on it so far but I just LOVE my hair more than anything on the earth so obviously I use to buy lots of shampoo,gels and ofcourse sometimes to get it curly and viceversa 🙂 hehe
@Heather: Your hair is what you value MOST in life?
Love all the comments. This is one topic even my good friends don’t dicsuss.
BargainBabe, I’m so glad the secret method works well for you! 🙂