Dirt makes my hair grow?!?!

[Aggie]

All I can say is UURGGHH!!! I had a sew-in put in and took it out after 2 weeks because I couldn't stand not being able to get my fingers on my scalp, to scrub and clean it like I'm used to doing. I thought I was gonna go mad so when I took down the sew-in, it was a major relief to finally wash and dc it the way I like to.

 

[onejamifan]

I voted 1x week. My mom (my hair guru) is a firm believer that the more you wash your hair the more damage you do to it. She has MBL relaxed hair that is bleached blonde and has never had issues with shedding or breakage, even with coloring her hair blonde. However, I exercise frequently and can't stand the smell of my hair after a week of heavy sweating... so anything less than once a week is a for me.

The only time I go a while without washing my hair is after a relaxer. I don't exercise or wash for about 2 weeks so that the relaxer "takes". This time around, however, I relaxed with Phyto and after just 6 days I had to wash because it made my hair feel limp, lifeless and weighed down...

Oh, and the other day I was at a Dominican hair salon and a hairstylist was making a comment to one of the other ladies that she hates washing the ladies that come without washing their hair for a few weeks because it reaks and there's dandruff everywhere....erplexed

 

[PeggyFair]

The only time I go a while without washing my hair is after a relaxer. I don't exercise or wash for about 2 weeks so that the relaxer "takes".

What does this mean? I thought the relaxer "took" when the hairdresser applied it?

 

[onejamifan]

What does this mean? I thought the relaxer "took" when the hairdresser applied it?

It's more of an oldwives' tale than anything I guess. The idea of sweating or wetting your hair too soon after you relax makes your hair revert. Since I go about 3 months between relaxers and that's the only time I go to the salon, I make sure I get the most out of my hair for those 2 weeks. After that, I wash every week until my next relaxer.

 

[chebaby]

i think its an old wives tale that dirty hair grows.
with that said i used to get my hair washed every two weeks, then i changed to once a month or longer. sometimes once in 3 months. i think every head is different because my hair NEVER itches like its dirty and my new growth is never unruly. i also have a friend that washes when ever she gets money wich is never before once a month and her hair is mid back legnth and has never been shorter than that. for the last three weeks i have been washing my hair once a week and my hair does not feel any different. to each his own.

 

[tocktick]

a friend of mine made the same comment when i said i washed around once a week. i think a lot black people may be used to going longer than washing once a week because of weaves, braids etc so it isn't a big deal to some to not wash once a week. also, because our hair supposedly produces less oil than others, our hair generally has to be washed less. i've heard every 7-10 days been given out as a recommendation.

personally, i think people should wash their hair based on how their own hair behaves. however, the dirt does not make your hair grow; i think it'd be more likely to inhibit the growth. the friend who told me dirt makes your hair grow has had between chin and collar bone length (although relatively healthy) hair for a while so she's not the best advert for fast-growing hair, imo (she is growing her hair out).

 

[LivingDoll]

All I can say is UURGGHH!!! I had a sew-in put in and took it out after 2 weeks because I couldn't stand not being able to get my fingers on my scalp, to scrub and clean it like I'm used to doing. I thought I was gonna go mad so when I took down the sew-in, it was a major relief to finally wash and dc it the way I like to.

Me too...I had the same experience. I wasted $250 but so what? Washing is priceless.

 

[SoforReal]

I wash with shampoo 2x a week. And CW 2x a week. I am so tired of peoples misconception about black hair, I don't even bother anymore. I have heard of people scratching dandruff out of their hair and then greasing the scalp afterwards, not washing for 2-3 weeks and the list goes on.

You were smart not to disagree while she was cornrowing your hair! ^5

OT but you got me lmao at your siggy pic............

 

[ekomba]

a friend of mine made the same comment when i said i washed around once a week. i think a lot black people may be used to going longer than washing once a week because of weaves, braids etc so it isn't a big deal to some to not wash once a week. also, because our hair supposedly produces less oil than others, our hair generally has to be washed less. i've heard every 7-10 days been given out as a recommendation. personally, i think people should wash their hair based on how their own hair behaves. however, the dirt does not make your hair grow; i think it'd be more likely to inhibit the growth. the friend who told me dirt makes your hair grow has had between chin and collar bone length (although relatively healthy) hair for a while so she's not the best advert for fast-growing hair, imo (she is growing her hair out).

Hey Tocktick this got me thinking. I use to be frequent washer as a natural, one of the reasons i dont wash like before is i do my hair at the salon every 2 weeks (money wise it s best for me and also i dont want to ruin my style that cost me so i get my money worth lol and hold to it for 2 weeks)

but what i mostly like about that is the fact that usually when i used to wash my hair beforehand my hair was dry. now by the time its wash day, my hair is oily, i think it gives the time for my natural oils to spread all over, it may sound crazy (but the fact that my hair is straight i m just surprised that without applying any grease and just a nutshell of serum daily, after 2 weeks my hair is usually very oily not as greasy but never dry and the ends remain thick. i sometimes feel that too much water dries out my hair but when i was natural i needed the water more, else my hair was always dry, so i needed to cowash all the time ( i don't know if i m making sense lol)

the only setback is because of the vits i take my head itches all the time and i massage it every 5mns but the good part i no longer have dry hair and can go for 2 weeks without feeling the need to wash it. i think i retain more this way and my hair is for the most part always covered as at home it s wrapped and under a scarf plus a satin bonnet till its time to go to the salon.

 

[abbygirl]

when i told a friend that i wash my hair 2wice a week..she went on abt how am not white.and our hair is dry., i kept quite till she finished her speech.. a month later my pastor was preaching abt couples and said the only reason he married his wife is becos she washes her hair regular...and he cant stand women wit dirty, smelly hair...a week later my friend had taken off d weave she had for AGES and washed her hair(finally)..her hair is in terrible shape and at same lengh since i met her, cos she rather waste money on weaves than take care of her hair(said so herself)..

 

[DivaD04]

when i told a friend that i wash my hair 2wice a week..she went on abt how am not white.and our hair is dry., i kept quite till she finished her speech.. a month later my pastor was preaching abt couples and said the only reason he married his wife is becos she washes her hair regular...and he cant stand women wit dirty, smelly hair...a week later my friend had taken off d weave she had for AGES and washed her hair(finally)..her hair is in terrible shape and at same lengh since i met her, cos she rather waste money on weaves than take care of her hair(said so herself)..

did he really say that.... don't get me wrong im a frequent pooer myself, but this just sounded funny tho. but you know alot of folks hold on to sayings that are just a big-o MYTH! I can barely go 2-3 days w/o poo'n my hair b4 i grab my poo and go to work let alone 2 weeks. used to go about a week or 2 when i woul sport my glue in's but heck, even then i was like this hair would have to come out cuz i needed to add some and water to this dome and then a dc. but i knew a lady with t. alopecia and wanted me to put in that dogg on full head net weave which was not doing her any justice...she was a nurse and needed her weave.

 

[Irresistible]

MY HAIR GREW MORE WHEN I STOPPED WASHING IT WITH SHAMPOO AND INSTEAD STARTING JUST RINSING OR CONDITONER WASHING OR OIL RINSING

 

[PrettyBlackHair]

its pretty obvious that actual dirt or dirtiness does not grow hair its the idea of not manipulating your hair while shampooing and not harming your hair with the sulfates that are in MOST not ALL shampoos (CON being one that does not have them) I personally think if you use a QUALITY shampoo without many harmful ingredients then your hair should not have a problem being shampooed every week or every other week. Personally I think a clean scalp is a better environment for hair to grow then one with a whole bunch of dirt clogging pores. At the same time if you never clean your hair shaft then products are just going to sit on top of it and your hair may feel moisturized because its so coated but in reality not enough moisturizer would really be able to penetrate it. I say wash your hair so your hair can actually sprout through your scalp

 

[sunshinebeautiful]

Even if dirt did make hair grow, I couldn't do it.

My sister washes her hair every two weeks. Once I was standing next to her and caught a whiff of her hair... It smelled like funk mixed with sweat mixed with old, stale hair products.

Can you imagine getting up next to someone and your hair smells like straight-up funk? THIS is why I wash my hair AT LEAST once per week.

 

[QT]

My hair seems to respond to clean moisturized hair.

 

[beautifulisaunderstatment]

Depends on my style. It can be every other day for wash n gos, once a week for twist outs/braids outs or every 2 weeks when I wear my hair straight

 

[InnerSoul]

My hair seems to respond to clean moisturized hair.

girl, mine too. I must wash my hair!!

 

[ebonylocs]

at least once a week

i had braid once and only once and i had no idea how to care for them so i thought i could just wash my hair normally so i did and a couple of them came out

ummm. you can wash your hair when its in braid extensions. I usually do so once a week. Unless your real hair is really short, they shouldn't come out if they were put in properly.

 

[spacetygrss]

My hair seems to respond to clean moisturized hair.

Yeah, that.

 

[lila_baby]

I voted 1x week. My mom (my hair guru) is a firm believer that the more you wash your hair the more damage you do to it. She has MBL relaxed hair that is bleached blonde and has never had issues with shedding or breakage, even with coloring her hair blonde.

Can we get a pic of her hair PLEASE ! It's still my dream/fantasy to go completely blonde!

 

[lila_baby]

onejamifan

Can we get a pic of ur mom's hair PLEASE ! It's still my dream/fantasy to go completely blonde!

 

[ebonylocs]

Anyway, i think its pretty accurate for black people who know nothing about hair to say that water is bad for your hair.....IMO water & washing can absolutly be bad for our hair if you dont know what to do after.
If you get your hair wet or wash it, its going to remove the oils from your hair, then its going to most likely leave your cuticles alittle open--which will leave your hair dry and porous (and our hair is already naturally porous, chances are if you dont know anything about hair, their hair is going to be even worse).---Then to the women who wear relaxers or presses, the water/wash is going to leave you with airdryed hair that should not be combed---or as we know it will break rather easily.
All they know is that their hair is now dull, dry, and brittle--and then their going to try and comb/brush it, and its going to break.....thats nothing but bad.---plus if its damaged you can now see that very good.

But we know to use the right shampoos and conditoners that will moisturize hair and close the cuticles, and to afterwards apply oil, leaveins, or moisturizers....and if we airdry not to comb our hair ect.

For people who dont know anything, non washing is probally the best thing for them---it is helping their hair probally better than anything they've ever tried, they just have the wrong name for it (dirt)......their not manipulating their hair, and it at least has some of its natural oil to help it out. That probally a thousand times better than someone who would use the wrong shampoos and conditoners daily, then think they have to use heat daily....or just shampoo and airdry and rip the come through...all sorts of terrible things.

See, there is a whole lot of truth in that. Of course dirt doesn't make the hair grow, but the problem with washing for us can be MANIPULATION, DRYING out the hair with HARSH shampoos, POROSITY and TANGLING.

I remember when I was child with a big head of natural hair, we used to wash our hair every two weeks. That's because washing would shrink it up and dry it out so much (hell to comb through), and after washing, it would take at least a week and a half of oiling and plaiting and replaiting, for it to get moisturised, stretched out and elastic again. Yeah man, those shampoos we used to use were detergents for real.

My hair loves water, I love getting it wet, I love clean hair, hate greasy hair with build up, my scalp itches and flakes a lot nowadays, so I would much prefer to wash / rinse several times a week or every day. But it is always a dilemma for me because I don't like all manipulation and tangling (which = breakage) that comes about when I wash my hair. Dryness/ harsh shampoos isn't so much of an issue since I use the correct prods for me.

Right now, I tend to wash once a week, with a midweek wash or rinse thrown in sometimes if my scalp is acting up or my hair has gone all dried out.

 

[carcajada]

2-3 times a week! Wow. At least it's working for yall, but I can't see my hair or my nerves benefitting from that.

 

[napgurl]

I guess her head is a plant then huh?

Yup

 

[Hairsofab]

My hair has been tree braided for the past year. I only wash my hair when I take out my braids every few weeks and my hair has grown more and I have retained more length than I ever have before. I really don't put any product on my hair or scalp so there is no build up to get rid of. But the washing does help get rid of the natural oils.

 

[Luscious850]

i wash my hair just about everyday since the weather is so much warmer. my hair loves it!​

 

[danigurl18]

I have to wash my hair at least once a week or I start to feel dirty lol

 

[Rapunzel*]

a friend of mine didnt wash her hair for 2 months 3 years ago. she said her hair grew so much.....but she HAD to cut 2 inches off because she had breakage


i wouldnt try it

 

[Rapunzel*]

I have to wash my hair at least once a week or I start to feel dirty lol

mee too.... all that dirt and sweat

 

[YvonneL]

My co worker wears weaves four moths at a time and her hairis wiastlength. She is a darkskinned non mixed girl and had earlength less than eighteen months ago. she says she only oils it.