Today's horror story: My co-worker's regimen...

[SweetlyBlessed]

I wash and DC my hair every two weeks, and my hair seems to be healthier than a lot of folks who get their hair done more often than that. and plus, one time I went six months without washing my hair; and I really do believe that my hair grew the most it has ever grown during that time. LOL.....I guess it all boils down to whatever works for your hair......

Whatcha do for those 6 months? Was your hair in a particular style? Etc., Etc. You know you better come back up in here!

 

[lashannasmall]

To each his own. A lot of people rarely wash their hair and the hair is long and healthy.

 

[CaribbeanQueen]

When I was a little girl my mom and gran-gran used to do that. They would put the brush inside of a stocking and brush the lint out of my hair between washes. I wouldnt do it today because I believe my hair thrives from frequent washes but I dont see anything wrong with it .

 

[normacyri]

I wash my Beautiful 3yo hair once a week and moisturize and style everyday...but I'll be doggone if she doesn't have all kinds of little "whatnots" in her hair when I pick her up from preschool. I've never seen anything like it.

Shooooot, I might just try that "stockingbrushing" thing to help with the process.

 

[Vshanell]

Well, when I press my hair, I won't wash for 2 weeks. My hair smells fine ( I have a sensitive nose and so does my mom, she'd tell me in 2 seconds if she smelled something funky). I never had any problems with 'gunk' either. I just put some coconut oil on the ends. Before college I'd go even longer without washing (I won't even say how long for fear of being stoned to death ), and my hair flourished. My hair's never been shorter than a bit above bra-strap length.

I don't know where the gunk and lent is coming from though.

Same here.........

 

[Vshanell]

...ok, I'm an editor by profession, and y'all done made me pull out my dictionary cuz I'm now confused! LOL!

According to Webster's: "bimonthly" is twice a month, even though the preferred term is "semi-monthly." LOL! That's how often she gets her hair washed.

In defense of the ladies who are biweekly washers, it's all good. If your hair doesn't smell or look like helmet--or if it does--and you're cool with that, it's cool with me.

My co-worker swears I wash my hair too much. She says I'll strip it. But I also work out 5 days a week, take spinning classes 3x a week and am a chronic head sweat-ter. My head will sweat if I walk down the block in 30-degree weather... so constant poos and co-washes are my reality and necessity.

Ok, I was so confused on that. I was sure that bimonthly was every other month......that makes more sense to me. I was thinking biweekly was every other week....still confused.

 

[SherryLove]

i always try to go longer without washing but my scalp is dry and i get flakes, thats the only reason i end up washing it. the longest i got to was a month.
how did u wear it when u didn't wash for 6 months?

daephae and sweetlyblessed, you girls are crazy....smile....

sylver2 and sweetlyblessed, I either wore my hair in a ponytail or a french roll. I would occasionally run a warm comb through my hair to tame the new growth. I kept it well oiled and did not comb it much. and when i finally decided to get a touch up (and wash that is), the stylist was in awe when she saw how much new growth I had... She started asking everyone in the salon to come over and look, and most folks were saying that they were surprised I still had hair and that is was still fairly healthy....LOL...

 

[Sui Topi]

My mom used to use a brush and stocking cap on our hair when we were little, in between washing. She called it a "dry shampoo". I haven't done it since elementary school though.

Me too!

well, it seems we just come here to discuss other people's issues and how gross they are, and that kind of talk will not help my hair get any longer

Exactly!

lol before some of you became daily washer snobs y'all was washing once a week or every 2 weeks too.

Seriously though.

There is nothing wrong with waiting 2 or 3 weeks, but it's different when you are doing a 2 or 3 weeks wash stretch than waiting 2 or 3 weeks to go to the salon to get your hair done......IMO, it's just a waste of money, and what's wrong with washing your own hair? I mean I'm sure they are not doing what the other ladies on broad are doing, it's not horrible, but different.....

That is my only issue with this situation. We're in a recession darn it lol. Buy some $3.99 conditioner and take care of business.

me too. there are probably millions of black women only washing their hair 2x a month.

joining a hair board hasn't made me a snob.

Pretty much

I wash my Beautiful 3yo hair once a week and moisturize and style everyday...but I'll be doggone if she doesn't have all kinds of little "whatnots" in her hair when I pick her up from preschool. I've never seen anything like it.

Shooooot, I might just try that "stockingbrushing" thing to help with the process.

Honestly that is what it was about when I was a kid. I had this one blanket and it gave of soo much lint but it was so cozy. Every so often in the winter when I would be using it, my mom would have to bust that stocking brush out. I think my mom would wash my hair once a week in the summer and once every other week in the winter and just braid it up until it started getting fuzzy and then she would take it down and braid it up into a different style. She would hardly blow dry it too so by the time I was a pre teen and got my hair into my own hands it was quite long and healthy. No heat damage or anything. The only issue was I wanted a perm after a while, but didn't understand how fragile my hair would be after (moisture/protein) and it slowly broke off

 

[msa]

daephae and sweetlyblessed, you girls are crazy....smile....

sylver2 and sweetlyblessed, I either wore my hair in a ponytail or a french roll. I would occasionally run a warm comb through my hair to tame the new growth. I kept it well oiled and did not comb it much. and when i finally decided to get a touch up (and wash that is), the stylist was in awe when she saw how much new growth I had... She started asking everyone in the salon to come over and look, and most folks were saying that they were surprised I still had hair and that is was still fairly healthy....LOL...

Proof positive that skipping a relaxer (or 3) will not make your hair fall out.

 

[Hairsofab]

When I was going to the salon, I would go every two weeks and not wash in between. My hair was never smelly or funky looking. During that time that is the best my relaxed hair ever looked. I don't go to the salon anymore though.

 

[msdeevee]

This doesn't sound bad at all to me. I guess most of yall are too young to remember that this was fairly common back in the day.

I grew up during the time of press & curl and afros and I think that most black women back in the day did not wash their hair every day like some do around here. They went to the salon or they did it themselves every 2 weeks.

Another thing too is before relaxers became the rage , a lot of women that did that had long , thick hair.

They shampooed, press'd and curl'd wore it to church or wherever and then roller set for the next 2 weeks or so until they went back and did it over again.

The brush thing I don't know about but I think I have heard of it before. I don't think their hair would stink either.

Bottom line to each his own.

 

[itismehmmkay]

I'm thinking about going back to the 2-weeker method.

A few years ago, my hair was texlaxed and I would only wash every 3-4weeks. Mostly because wash day took so long w/ rollersetting and flatironing that I dreaded doing it. I would just oil my scalp every other day and roll it at night. My hair was definitely the healthiest ever.

 

[msdeevee]

Ok, I was so confused on that. I was sure that bimonthly was every other month......that makes more sense to me. I was thinking biweekly was every other week....still confused.

You're right!! ^^ Bi-monthly does mean once every 2 months. Bi-weekly is every 2 weeks.

 

[prospurr4]

I wash once per week but would love to be an every-other-week girl. I have been looking for ways, including alternate hair styles that will allow me to squeak out an extra week before washing. But, since I exercise 3 times a week, my hair just looks unkempt if I don't wash it (get the sweat out ) every week.

 

[pink gator]

I think it is strange that you think this is funny. Most shampoos have harsh sulfates that will strip your hair. That is why ladies on this site cowash and seek out mild, moisturizing shampoos. But we only do these things because we are knowledgeable about hair product ingredients and their effect on our hair.

For someone who doesn't know much about hair not washing infrequently is a way to avoid that stripping effect that comes with harsh shampoos.

It's funny to me because I use sulfate-free shampoos...I've told her such.

 

[Solitude]

I'm thinking about going back to the 2-weeker method.

A few years ago, my hair was texlaxed and I would only wash every 3-4weeks. Mostly because wash day took so long w/ rollersetting and flatironing that I dreaded doing it. I would just oil my scalp every other day and roll it at night. My hair was definitely the healthiest ever.

Same here.

Pretty much my whole life I only washed every 1-2 weeks. When I was a kid and my hair was natural, I went longer than that - especially if my mom had paid to get my hair done.

I wash every week now, but as hectic as my schedule is, I am going to try to go back to every 2 weeks and just moisturize less. I just need to figure out a way to take care of my scalp. Glad to hear I'm not the only one who didn't see anything wrong with the co-workers regi .

ETA: I was reading Victoria Rowell's book and she mentioned only getting her hair washed once per month when she was a kid. That's the way it used to be.

 

[hopeful]

I wash and DC my hair every two weeks, and my hair seems to be healthier than a lot of folks who get their hair done more often than that. and plus, one time I went six months without washing my hair; and I really do believe that my hair grew the most it has ever grown during that time. LOL.....I guess it all boils down to whatever works for your hair......

:notworthy Yep see I'm listening to you and Sylver2.

 

[MissNina]

For a good chunk of my life I got my hair done every 2-3 weeks (press and wrap) and didn't do anything between time. My hair was long and it looked good.

I don't know anything about dust and lint. I didn't have any of that when I was pressing every two weeks and wrapping every night. In fact, my hair collects more lint now that I wear my hair natural because it gets stuck in the coils.

Anyway, their regimen isn't that bad, and definitely not a horror story IMO. In fact, there are people here who only wash every two weeks. Works for some people and not for others.

I used to get my hair done every 2 weeks and nothing in between and my hair was fine, nearly BSL and healthy.

I used to take my brush and do the same thing (with the pantyhouse) but that was bc it helped my hair from getting caught up in the bristles as much.

 

[brucebettye]

When I wore a relaxer I would only wash my hair every two weeks and my hair never smelled or was not clean. However since my hair is now texlaxed and I wear my hair curly 100% of the time I have to wash my hair at least once a week because of the product build up!! If I did not have this problem I would be still washing my hair every two weeks.

 

[Butterfly08]

Hmmm, I didn't realize that the every 2 week regimen was so common. Even pre-LHCF I have always washed at least once a week. After about 4 - 5 days my hair gets build up and my scalp begins itching. Granted I use a lot of product and I work out consistently but 2 weeks I just couldn't do.

Post LHCF I don't go any more than 4 days without a wash or cowash and my hair is thriving. Frequent washes absolutely TURNED MY DD'S HAIR AROUND! It was dry and breaking off and she had to get a lot cut but now it is so lush and healthy.

However, I don't think the 2 week routine nasty. It's just not for me. Clearly it works for several long haired ladies on this board. I just don't understand how your scalp doesn't itch after several days????

 

[ChocalateDiva]

I love my co-worker dearly.

We've worked together several years and are pretty close.

She's old-school glam like a 50-something Diahann Carroll.

She and her teenage daughter visit their stylist maybe once every 2-3 weeks.

They literally do NO maintenance at home. But somehow they manage to look pretty flyy.

Today we started talking our hair and she said she needed a retouch and was going to get one next week...and we started talking about her daughter's hot new bob.

So I asked how her daughter maintans the style. She replied that her daughter wraps her hair every night. She doesn't wash it at all, they both just wait to go to the shop during their bimonthly visit and get shampooed and DC'd.

I'm like, "You don't wash in between visits AT ALL?"

She replied, "Not at all. We just do what the folks where I come from do--it's kinda old school, Pink Gator--but we take an old stocking, wrap it over a bristle brush and BRUSH the dust and lint out of our hair...take off the stocking and discard the gook off it."

I was TOO done! Now I've heard of--and I've done it, too--to remove lint off clothes before lint brushes/rollers came along, but not for hair!

Still in shock...

There seems to be some discreptancies in the OP's post maybe?? Did you mean biweekly?? At one point it say every 2-3 weeks and in another place it say bimonthly.

Please advice.

 

[gorgeous86]

DELETED............................

 

[Barbara]

Twice a month in the salon is enough for me.

 

[DanaDane]

Hmmm, I didn't realize that the every 2 week regimen was so common. Even pre-LHCF I have always washed at least once a week. After about 4 - 5 days my hair gets build up and my scalp begins itching. Granted I use a lot of product and I work out consistently but 2 weeks I just couldn't do.

Same here (and for women in my family). Everybody is different .

 

[Ivonnovi]

I stumbled upon this thread, and couldn't help but realize that this logic probably registers the same to white people as their not washing their legs registers to us!

 

[yaya24]

I wash my hair every 3 weeks.

Weekly/ Daily washing is unnecessary for my scalp & the health of my hair.

I do spritz my scalp multiple times a week with my DIY Clove/Fenugreek tonic.

Everyone just has to do what works for them.

 

[SmilingElephant]

I was like this when I was relaxed, before I found the hair boards. I was brought up to wash my hair every month...but my head would ITCH SO BAD!!!

When I found the boards, I started washing weekly and my hair grew long so fast! I couldn't believe it! Especially when I discovered co-washing

Now, I wash a few times throughout the week and my hair loves it!

But if that regimen works for her, then so be it.

 

[Lylddlebit]

I only wash my hair weekly if it is in a natural style (as my natural hair actively coils and I like to get ahead of knots, natural locing, etc). If it is stretched or straight then monthly washes work just fine. The caveat is that I have a teflon scalp that never has irritation and rarely itches. If I scratch my scalp that hasn't been washed in a month, there will be little to no residue under my fingernails. If I apply heavy castor oil to my strands, the oil will absorb into my hair to leave it soft with a light sheen after about 3 days.

I don't expect my routine to work well for anyone whose hair gives them cues that it needs to be washed much sooner. It is normal to respond to those cues, but it isn't impossible to understand that some folks bypass that concern based on the features of their hair and scalp. Since my hair absorbs products very well, without buildup, and my scalp remains free of residue and irritation, this works for me. I consider one less issue to offset a good thing. I can wash my hair once a month without my hair drying out or having product buildup. I can wash my hair once a month with my scalp remaining in good condition. I don't have to use a bunch of tricks to counteract cues that I should wash sooner. Tailoring my hair care regimen to what my hair can handle and paying attention to the trends and cues that indicate what works is a good fit. I don't find once-a-month washing an automatic issue, but I also respond to cues my hair and scalp give to let me know what it needs.

 

[Angel of the North]

I stumbled upon this thread, and couldn't help but realize that this logic probably registers the same to white people as their not washing their legs registers to us!

I was wondering how this thread got revived, I was expecting a new horror story

Over the years I've done everything from cowashing daily, weekly, biweekly and monthly. My hair has never smelt, I actually have had many compliments on how my hair smells, even when I would class my hair as dirty or in need of a wash. I wouldn't wash my hair with a weave or braids.

My hair and I prefer frequent washing, but longer periods between washes doesn't harm it. I've found that the amount of dirt I see when washing my hair depends on the type products I have been using. I've seen clear water cowashing after two weeks, I've seen brown water after a week when using shampoo.

What ever floats your boat I suppose.... As for the stocking and bristle brush, I've never heard of that, I'm even struggling to visualise how that would work, it sounds complicated.

 

[Angel of the North]

I was wondering how this thread got revived, I was expecting a new horror story

Over the years I've done everything from cowashing daily, weekly, biweekly and monthly. My hair has never smelt, I actually have had many compliments on how my hair smells, even when I would class my hair as dirty or in need of a wash. I wouldn't wash my hair with a weave or braids.

My hair and I prefer frequent washing, but longer periods between washes doesn't harm it. I've found that the amount of dirt I see when washing my hair depends on the type products I have been using. I've seen clear water cowashing after two weeks, I've seen brown water after a week when using shampoo.

What ever floats your boat I suppose.... As for the stocking and bristle brush, I've never heard of that, I'm even struggling to visualise how that would work, it sounds complicated.

I only wash my hair weekly if it is in a natural style (as my natural hair actively coils and I like to get ahead of knots, natural locing, etc). If it is stretched or straight then monthly washes work just fine. The caveat is that I have a teflon scalp that never has irritation and rarely itches. If I scratch my scalp that hasn't been washed in a month, there will be little to no residue under my fingernails. If I apply heavy castor oil to my strands, the oil will absorb into my hair to leave it soft with a light sheen after about 3 days.

I don't expect my routine to work well for anyone whose hair gives them cues that it needs to be washed much sooner. It is normal to respond to those cues, but it isn't impossible to understand that some folks bypass that concern based on the features of their hair and scalp. Since my hair absorbs products very well, without buildup, and my scalp remains free of residue and irritation, this works for me. I consider one less issue to offset a good thing. I can wash my hair once a month without my hair drying out or having product buildup. I can wash my hair once a month with my scalp remaining in good condition. I don't have to use a bunch of tricks to counteract cues that I should wash sooner. Tailoring my hair care regimen to what my hair can handle and paying attention to the trends and cues that indicate what works is a good fit. I don't find once-a-month washing an automatic issue, but I also respond to cues my hair and scalp give to let me know what it needs.

That's exactly how I see it, I think most people know if their hair needs to be washed. I've only had a flakey scalp once, it lasted a couple of weeks, I think it was a reaction to a product I used. I don't see dirt or residue on my scalp/under nails, and if I did, I'd be heading to the bathroom.