I had issues with my hair knotting horribly after just a day until I:
Found a leave-in that worked for my porosity. Every time I refresh, I add a little more of the leave-in, scrunch, and it usually stays pretty tangle free.
I use a silk bonnet, and pineapple my hair before putting it on.
These two together have helped me make it between wash days without many knots or tangles. I hope it might help you, too!
What, you don’t like curlcicles in the winter and a built-in steam in sauna on your head during the summer?/s
I feel your frustration as I shake out my clumps in the bathroom at work in an attempt to get my hair to dry by 2pm.
My kiddo has low porosity so we had to give her a 2" fade on the nape of her neck, so that the underside of her curls actually dry (we were finding that area would be constantly wet between baths and her sweating. But the fade helped and I've taught myself how to do cool designs so she loves it.
I have thick 2B/C hair and I mean THICC. I got an undercut 7 months ago and I will NEVER GO BACK.
My hair FINALLY doesn’t immediately form gigantic knots along my neckline, and so much less sweat!
I did notice about a few days after I got the undercut that my hair was thinning along my hairline (likely from pulling because I always wore my hair up for the reasons why I am keeping the undercut). I think I’ve gotten some growth back, but I did have a mild crisis about the undercut when I noticed. Luckily the undercut area is still very thick.
my hair is thick as well it takes hours and hours to dry 😭 ive gone to work an 8 hour shift with wet hair and during the winter ill come home with my hair still damp underneath the top layer 💔
I have thick hair too, it also gives me headaches because of the weight, and this is after my hair significantly thinned compared to when I was younger 😭
Same. I remember waking up in the middle of the night with heat rash around my neck from my hair. Shaved off right then and there. This was when Oregon got the unprecedented 115 degree weather and I did not own an AC at the time. It’s horrible at times
that’s so badass i wish i had the spine to do that. i live in the low country, so it’s hot and humid almost all the time but i *cannot* part with my length, so i just do the whole boring diffuse thing once a week and just deal with the rats nest the later half of the week with an updo.
This is not accurate
I have extremely high porosity hair that takes forever to dry because I have so much hair. It literally takes my hair upwards of 3 hours or longer to dry but will also suck up water and oils like a sponge.
The better way to tell is how easily your hair gets wet. The second I get in the shower, my hair is completely saturated. Low porosity hair will literally repel water initially and takes time to saturate.
Now I'm confused. My hair can take half a day to dry. TBF, it's very long and thick. But I have no problem getting it wet in the shower.
It's also more wavy than curly. Is porosity only a big deal for curly hair? I have an ok detangler I'm using but I'd love a cheat code for the perfect leave in!
perhaps you have low porosity, you just have very long and thick hair. any curl type can have any porosity, but on average straighter hair has lower porosity and curly has higher, but not always!
I moved to Albuquerque, it's like 6% humidity, and my hair is mostly dry about 6 hours after I shower lol
ETA: Back in Illinois, I'd come home from work almost 12 hours after I showered and my hair would still be wet in the bottom layers!
The best my hair ever is is in Denver, CO. The air is so dry, my hair curls without frizz. That is heavenly. Where I live in Minnesota (where it is humid in the summer), I have to wash my hair on a day when I can air dry it for 8 to 10 hours.
I just told my husband we need to move to CO. We are in Southern California, and even Summer here is a nightmare for my hair. His family is in Durango- and when we are there, I have my best hair days ever! I go from wanting to chop off my hair here…to flaunting a shiny coiff for days in Durango. 😂
Thank you! I was trying to figure out what mine was and your description of how it gets wet tells me I have low porosity. I feel like I practically have to massage water into my hair layer by layer to get water to my scalp.
Thank you for saying this because this is the only way to actually tell. Things like the float test and dry time don’t work. The only way to tell your porosity is how easy it is to wet your hair
I’d add that that test works best with no product in because product slows drying. And if you can add a lot of product without it getting gunky and weighed down that’s also high porosity.
It also depends on a few other factors like length, thickness, density, air humidity and temperature. When my hair was halfway down my back and at its fullest (it can get extremely dense with crazy volume) it could take 6+ hours to air dry completely. My hair is very fine and high porosity but there was just so much of it and the tropical climate where I used live was unbearably humid and so hot that I found it impossible be anywhere without air conditioning during at least half the year.
Get a clear glass of BARELY warm water. Piss warm is perfect. Take a single strand of hair and drop it in the water, making sure none is sticking out. Set a timer for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes if it's still at the top of the water, you have LOW POROSITY HAIR. if it's in the middle of the cup, half sunk but not all the way to the bottom of the cup, you have MEDIUM POROSITY HAIR. If it sunk all the way to the bottom of the cup, you have quite HIGH POROSITY HAIR. The more porous your hair is, the more water it absorbs and therefore sinks. We do this test in salon on hair that is questionable to perm. If it sinks to the bottom, DON'T DO IT!
Curlsbot has a pretty decent quiz. I'm not sure if everyone gets reliable results, but mine personally seemed spot on. Once I found my porosity and started using products for it, I knew the quiz was right. You can Google search "Curlsbot Porosity Quiz".
Hair density is a *little* trickier to gauge. The way I've usually seen it done is that you part your hair, or look at your part, and gauge how much scalp is showing there. If it's just a tiny sliver of scalp, you have dense hair. If it's a lot of scalp, you probably have thin hair (low density). If you have somewhere in the middle, it's medium. I've also seen the guidance of pulling your hair up as if you were going to put it in a ponytail, and gauging the thickness depending on how much hair it feels like you're holding (not a lot, a good handful, so thick you can't close your fingers around it). You can also look at any part of your scalp by lifting your hair to see how much scalp you notice.
Hair strand density is pretty easy. Just rub a single strand of hair between two fingers tips. If you can't feel it, it's fine. If you're extremely aware of it, it's probably coarse. If you can feel it but it isn't tickling your fingertips, it's probably medium.
😂 Mine actually are, too!
For anyone interested in another method, I saw this really cool visual guide to strand density:
If it's thin enough to thread a needle with, it's likely fine.
If it's thick enough to be the width of a line drawn by a mechanical pencil, it's likely coarse.
Anything between the two is medium.
For me also I had to clarify more often, I learned that the hard water by me really damaged my hair making it more tangle prone if I don’t clarify with a *hard water shampoo* every few washes (or every wash, if I was 1/wk)
Regular pillowcases were like sandpaper on my hair and I'm a back sleeper so it flattened and roughed up the hair on the back of my head. The silky pillowcase lets the hair slide and not get damaged, less heat, and it feels nicer. I tried a bonnet which is pretty similar but it felt weird on my head.
Do you ever feel like you’re losing more hair with the top buns? When I wear them too frequently I feel like that happens, but it’s my favorite way to wear my hair
I wear mine really loose with a silk scrunchie. It usually is pretty floppy by morning, and sometimes falls out completely, but if it's in most of the night, I find I still get the benefit. But you could also try a scarf or buff instead.
Wearing your hair pulled up (whether it’s during the day or night) can most definitely cause hair loss, especially at your temples. It’s the tension and eventually you’ll start thinning at your temples because of it. Not just older women either. My Mom is permanently thin in her temples because of years and years of wearing her hair in a ponytail as a teenager and young adult. I wore ponytails or top knots using rubber band hair ties for years until I noticed the thinning in my temples (especially my left side) and all over. Eventually I read about it causing hair loss/ thinning- what I read said that if you wear your hair up it shouldn’t be tight and you should clip it Vs wearing a rubber band/ hair tie. When I stopped with the ponytails it helped. I do occasionally sleep in a pineapple style in a loose scrunchy to preserve my curls if they are fresh.
Op, as for washing. I have course hair and it doesn’t get oily until like day 7. I wash my hair once or twice a week.
After a lot of work my very obvious bald spot is growing back in. It’s hilarious. The longer hairs are about an inch long and the rest are between an inch and baby fuzz.
This. I buzzed my head at 21 after lots of wearing my hair up tight when I was a teenager. Have a whole new hairline because my hair was too short to pull back for a few years. Now that it’s long again I’m starting to have to remind myself to wear it down more often and looser so my hairline doesn’t recede back to where it used to be
Curly haircare isn’t one size fits all. You do what’s best for your hair & scalp. I can’t go more than two or three days without washing because my scalp is super sensitive & will riot if I don’t rinse off my wash day products. And then there’s folks who can stretch their wash days to once a week or more. Whatever works for you is best.
For me, silk pillowcase/bonnet never helped with my hair being messy the following morning. So I get it wet and re-apply leave-in and curl custard every morning. I wash my hair twice a week.
My hair just bends to the scrunchie though which is also not the vibe, no matter how loosely I tie it (though you can only tie so loose before it just comes out immediately) and yes I use a silk scrunchie :/
This is me too. It doesn’t matter what I do, my hair, when curled, never looks great the next morning. I only loop my scrunchie twice like I can’t really go any looser lol
I understand. It works similarly with satin/silk pillowcases. I use both the pillowcases and bonnet. I find the bonnet works slightly better, but the pillowcases by themselves work with a pineapple as well.
This is the reason I’m hesitant to try one. I use a silk pillowcase + pineapple and I know it’s better than not using the pillowcase but I am always a mess
Yes, you pull your hair to the top of your head and use a silk/satin hairband to tie it together. Don’t pull it as tight as you would a ponytail. It should be very loose so you don’t have the hair band marks in your hair when you take it out. I wouldn’t use a claw clip. That seems like it would pull on your hair/fall out during your sleep.
What about long hair? I just end up bunching it into the jonnet loose plopping style but I feel that doesn't help much, tossing and trurning withbit bunched up like Christmas lights lol
Yeah everyone keeps talking about silk bonnets and the pineapple method as if its some holy grail and man... it DOES NOT work for me lol.
My hair goes down to my lower back so its pretty long and doing the pineapple method like... doesnt do anything. I just manually twist it and put it underneath the cap. It does help frizz and keep curls. But no scrunchie.
Feels like a lot of people are blissfully unaware of the benefits of washing less but using conditioner or another hair product on the daily. It actually works really well.
I plop it on top of my head when I sleep and just spritz with water or use my steamer to refresh in the mornings. I wash my hair twice a week.
Eta: you don't mention what products you're currently using, that would be helpful.
I just use a cheap handheld clothing steamer. I don't usually put anymore product in my hair when I use it. I just spray water on my hair, scrunch it and then use the steamer. It helps the water soak in and the curls that have been stretched out curl back up. I also use it when I deep condition since I have low porosity fine hair, it helps it penetrate.
Wow. I just got a handheld steamer for my clothes, I’m going to have to experiment!! Though steam usually just makes me hair a poofy mess, I’ve noticed…
I have high porosity hair and can’t use a steamer because it just makes it poofier/frizzier. It takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what will work for you.
My hair is kinda long, I just lean to the side and hold the steamer down below my hair and let the steam rise up. I don't get close enough to it for it to burn me and it doesnt get that hot. I sit on the toilet and set it on the ground, then flip my head over it to do the top.
Omg is this the secret to having fine, high density, low porosity hair!? I’m having so much trouble moisturizing the length without adding weight and looking greasy, been getting a lot of breakage bc my ends are dry but I have to shampoo every few days.
Fine hair tends to need protien too so I always use a deep conditioner with protein. I really like Mielles babassu mint deep conditioner. I don't use curl creme anymore, just a light weight leave-in, aunt Jackie's quench, a strong hold gel, eco styler Krystal, I brush style then finish with Tresemme extra hold hair spray. This blog really helped me figure out my hair.
https://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2014/07/moisturizing-low-porosity-hair.html?m=1
1) use leave in
2) silk pillowcases.
3) loose pineapple buns
4) spray hair with water and apply some light oil(almond smells divine) on day 4
5) day 6 or 7 hair wash again
I have to be careful about what I use for sure, I have PCOS, so am prone to cystic acne. Fragrance is a big one, anything that doesn't get rinsed out has to be low/no fragrance. I give my face, chest and upper back a really good rinse after rinsing out my conditioner as well.
I wash my hair, add product, wrap it all up in a microfibre turban, then get back in the shower and rinse my face and back. Then get dressed and then unwrap my hair
Some of us did break out while testing, after a while we find products that work which do not give us acne. It is highly individual, I broke out from tresemme, so that got tossed (sample size for testing), then got lucky with some brands and went higher end. For gel I decided to go as simple as I could get, and it worked wonders. So trial and error.
I absolutely do not have that kind of time in my life, so honestly, I just stopped caring.
If my curls were kinda frizzy so be it. I don’t think these curls we see on the internet are possible to keep perfect, so I just remind myself it’s the internet don’t compare yourself to this impossible standard. Plus, it’s humid out now anyways, they’d get that way no matter what. I look at other curly haired people on the metro and realize no one but me cares if there’s some “frizz”.
Lots of top buns and clips.
Sorry I don’t have actual curl advice, but lowering my expectations had helped a lot.
I have extremely fine, thin hair. I can’t not wash every night anymore. My hair every morning I don’t shower looks greasy and stringy due to the products I use. Sometimes you just have to wash daily, I think.
Same here. Mine is more 2aish and after sleeping on it, even if I reapply product to it damp, still looks bad lol. It really only looks good the day I wash and style it. If I wear it up, it takes the curl out and turns a mix of waves and curls with straight hair at the roots. Ugh.
2b/c here, I had the same problem until I started doing a mist refresh. Don't put more product in, just lightly dampen your hair with water in a mister spray bottle. It should not be dripping. Then dry with a hair dryer. That's enough to reset my styling products and tame grease. I might put a lil dry shampoo on my bangs.
Yeah my hair is a combo of 2c on top and 3a on the bottom and while thick in terms of amount of strands, my hairs are very very fine. I never realized how fine they were until I compared it to some other friends with curls who have way thicker hairs. If I don’t wash it every other day it’s oily, loses volume and stinks. It’s already hard for me to get lots of volume and I have been trying a ton of curl defining products, but it’s fairly low porosity for curly hair too so it tends to get too weighed down by product and gets matted. I can try more new products but I only have so much time to experiment, and usually after a good wash it just looks better so I wash either every other day or every day.
Scalp rinses and scalp scrubs. Nature lab Tokyo has really great ones. There are some you can get in the store too. Not Wash your hair every day doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t get it wet. Or at least, not for me…
I struggle with my waves/curls being a complete mess after I sleep too. I don’t know if it’s actually recommended, but I usually ‘refresh’ them by getting them at least a little wet every morning. If I protect them while I sleep (bonnet works best, high ponytail or bun is okay) then I usually only slightly have to touch up. If not, I will get them close to soaked. Usually don’t put more product in, just depends.
So, I sleep in a bonnet. I also spray my hair with water and I will comb it if it's knotty, then apply some mousse or gel and blow it dry. I only wash my hair 2-3X week.
After going back and forth on this, I finally got a sleep bonnet. It's made a really big difference. This is my first week with one. I'm on my fourth day since wash and I just did a little refresh this morning and I'm super pleased. Each night I've put on my bonnet I wonder what I'm going to wake up too and think to myself "this is it, I will have to shampoo in the morning" but no, it's been workable.
A couple of things in tangent have worked for me
1) sleeping with a bonnet. Clean the bonnet pretty often so you don't have build up on the bonnet
2) finger comb the knots in the morning and/or before you go to bed. Now I have very few knots and by finger combing I only disrupt the curl pattern of the ones that are messed up. I then refresh them with water and maybe a little product by making them soaking wet and finger coiling or brush styling if it's a big section.
3) I steam my hair with a shower bonnet (e.g. a bonnet I keep aside for showering) in the morning by just putting it in the bonnet when I take my shower. Others have suggested a facial steamer or clothes steamer as alternatives.
4) Making sure my product isn't too oily, isn't too heavily applied, and/or hasn't been building up on my hair. There were a few brands of curl creams that made my hair way more oily than others, so I switched them out (try samples if you can). Sometimes I add too much product, which limits how long I can go without a wash. However sometimes I can wash my hair and not put any product after this, and it will still curl from the build up 🙃 so although this is low maintainence, I also suggest using a scalp rub or clarifying shampoo every so often
5) Push it past your limit! I don't know how true this is, but I had read that when we keep stripping our hair of oils, our bodies will over produce as a response. I personally found that if I initially started with 3 days of no wash, day 3 was unbearable, but I kept preserving and washing on day 4... until my body got used to it. After a while day 3 was fine, then I pushed myself through day 4. Now my hair doesn't look as greasy or start to itch up to day 5 (which I'm currently on today and I was at a professional conference all week). But this also depends on how much product I apply, what shampoo/conditioner/product combo I use, and if I've dealt with build up recently. Sometimes dry shampoo is necessary, but more likely I rinse out the build up.
6) optionally, I've found the curls last longer if I partially diffuse. It takes over an hr to fully diffuse my hair from soaked, so I scrunch with a cotton t-shirt then plump, then when I'm done getting ready, diffuse for 10-20 min. Even 10 min is a lot of help! I focus on the roots, the ends usually dry faster because of my hair cut.
Hair type: 2a-3ish, low porosity, super thick, long
I don't wash mine daily but I do rinse it in the shower and add conditioner for this same reason. I was once or twice a week, depending on the week. I can't do the refresh thing, I've tried. I've done the pineapple, satin pillow case, etc - it's just more work for me and I can't get it to look nice. On weekends or if I'm not going to work, I'll leave it in a pony or messy bun.
Also just chiming in to say that if washing your hair more frequently works for you, that’s okay too. I tried for a long time to get to multiple no wash days, but the reality is I need to wash every other day. Our hair is unique; it is what it is!
Short answer: I don't.
I have fine, low porosity, medium density hair that hates buildup and gets extremely touchy about protein moisture balance. I've been washing daily or every other day for over 25 years and it works for me whether I straighten or wear or natural. It hasn't made me hair weaker or my scalp less healthy, either - despite highlighting my hair (only a few times a year but still) every stylist I've had has said I have some of the healthiest hair they've seen, and my dermatologist and I are very happy with the condition of my scalp.
TLDR - everyone's different.
It’s not possible to have great hair for all of the time- i usually have to put my hair up after 2 days. it would probably look better if i washed it more of but wash day is super draining bc i’m autistic, so i don’t. i wear I loosely put my hair up when i sleep, then wear a silk bonnet. To combat frizz i use a deep condition and curl gel on my wash day.
In addition to a satin bonnet and pillowcase, I’ve found the single biggest thing was working out my styling routine. Figuring out what gel my hair likes (a cheap Garnier one, in a ridiculous amount), how it likes to be styled (in the shower, gel finger combed through), and dried (plopped in a tshirt, air dry or diffuser) has honestly made it last like nothing else.
I used to be the same, needing to wash it every day and thinking it just couldn’t last. I can now wash it on a Wednesday, bike to and from the office on Thursday, and with a quick refresh have it look good on Friday. Your method/products will probably be different, but I encourage you to keep experimenting - your hair might surprise you.
Haha I don’t.. I use suave daily clarifying either every other or every day. CGM does not work on my very fine hair. I use some of the techniques, but none of the products.
Honestly, I’ve accepted that it’s easiest for me to just wash my hair every day or every other day. Usually for 2nd day hair I can just head bang a bit and my hair will come back to life, at least partially. After that I gotta wash or at least get it wet in the shower.
I wash every other day because otherwise my scalp dries out (no matter what shampoo I use) but i wet it every day. Mine is not a strong curl, so no matter what it goes 'flat' overnight
I wash every day because if I just get my hair wet in the shower, there’s no getting anything through it - comb, fingers, whatever. If I only condition, my scalp starts itching on day two. I have to really wash out product every day or it’s just a mess.
As a curly girl, the 2-3 day hair is my best hair. Curly hair dries out very fast, and we usually need a lot of product. I only wash my hair once a week bc curly hair is so dry. If you wash it every day, it will always seem dry without product. And it will only continue to dry out. - former stylist
You should buy a silk bonnet they are cheap you can get them online if you don’t like the thought of wearing one of those use a silk pillowcase works wonders!
I got a silk bonnet to keep my kitten from chewing on my hair as I slept and I’d say a good portion of my day 2 curl problems went away. I rewet with a spray bottle if I need more oomph but it generally looks pretty good
My hair loves water so I usually use some conditioner and then detangle my hair a few times a week under the shower but I fully wash my hair once to twice a week depending on product buildup. Seems to work well :)
I used to be able to go 2-3 days and then I bought a ShowerStick water softener (for scalp itchiness/seb derm) and no one warned me that my hair would get greasier faster when I wash with soft water 😩 So now I would ideally wash every day, though that dries out my ends
Different styles. French braids, half braids/half curly puffs, buns, buns with braids, twists, ponytails. Basically everything but wash & go cus that leaves my hair soooo tangled, dry, and knotted.
When I was in my 50s, my hair went from oily to straw dry. Then about 4 years ago I switched to the curly girl method and started washing my hair every 7 days. It takes 6-8 hours to dry on its own. And 3-4 hours to completely dry after using a hair dryer. I put it up in a ball on top of my head to sleep. I comb it every morning to get knots out. My hair is caucasian, dry, and 2b/2c mix with one or two clumps of 3a. I aim for healthy hair not how much curl I can squeeze out of it. I shower with a turban in between washes.
I have shorter hair so it doesn’t tangle a lot but gets messy and frizzy. What I’ve found is using a good leave in conditioner and light gel holds my hair to day 2 no problem. Maybe it flattens a bit in back because I sleep on my back but some wet hands raking and fluffing the curls the next day works great. After some dry shampoo at the roots. On the third day I don’t have to touch up much (the dry shampoo is still working!) and the fourth day I do a bit of a pulled back look (top knot, side comb, etc). I can’t go much past 4 days.
https://preview.redd.it/twhn67qin89d1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=148cebaeb1a0745ee3aabe5b04500bb4bd85dbdb
My hair is technically curly but it behaves like it’s not. It doesn’t grow up from my head. It’s flat like straight hair. It’s actually straight sh when it’s wet. I have to air dry it with a small banaba clip to get any teeny amount of volume. My scalp is oily and iIf I do anything to it, it loses its shape.
It’s always been ridiculously extra baby fine but I used to have a lot more of it. Between being older, stress from being unemployed for a year and Ozempic it’s thinning. It’s also low porosity and it hates protein. It oddly finds cowash more drying than shampoo. If I use Carols Daughter, I have to use conditioner as well. If I use Aunt Jackie’s it feels like I washed it with Dawn.
Everyone’s hair is different. There is no right or wrong number of washes per week or month. It’s whatever works. Unfortunately what worked when I had more hair no longer does.
Bonnet for sleep, nonnegotiable. Refresh with hydrating products in the morning. Routine matters on wash day. I need something with enough hold to last through my next wash day!
I have 3b low porosity hair that's prone to buildup and looking ridiculous in the morning so I rinse it every day and put in a little curling cream. Basically, I get it sopping wet, pat it down, then add the cream and air dry. This washes away most of the buildup and lets me restyle as needed. I only wash my hair every 5 to 8 days depending on how it feels and how hot it was.
For me, it really depends on how well my wash day goes. I use a denman brush to twirl and sort my curls into small sections and heavy amount of leave in conditioner and gel. I have really thick, coarse, frizzy hair and live in a hot, humid area. If I really want it to set, I don’t touch the curls at all after twirling and let it air dry (my hair ends up looking like coils, rather than curls. To get curls, I comb with my fingers after twirling with the brush, but it wont hold as well the following days). Then I use a silk bonnet to sleep. I avoid using any hair ties (I use only large claw clips or the puff cuff to put hair up when needed). My hair is definitely frizzier the second / third day but I only need to apply a little water or product to freshen it up. The third day, I usually have my hair half up/ half down.
Honestly, it’s tough. I have to time my wash days around when I want my hair to look its best. If there’s 2 days in a row that I really want my hair to look great—I’m in a pickle.
For me, it helps that every night I scrunch with a Twist Curl Reign Multi Use Miracle Oil. Also, I sleep wearing a satin hair cap.
I use a wide tooth comb and brush it through under lukewarm/cold water to de tangle it, shake the excess water off my hair and I'm good on no wash days.
I don't wash it everyday but I get it damp with a spray bottle to get all the knots out and apply product, sometimes with a brush but mostly with my fingers. Looks good as washed when it's dry.
Sleep on an 100% mulberry silk pillowcase, comb your hair in the morning with a rake comb, and use a misting water bottle to add humidity (but not soaking wet) to your hair and refresh your curls. If your scalp is oily, you might be someone who has to wash your hair every day. I wash my hair once or twice a week and my hair stays fresh but my husband can't miss even one day or he'd look like a greaseball. 😂 Different requirements for different bodies and hair types.
I wash my hair about 2x per week. Every third or fourth wash I use a sulfate shampoo to remove buildup because I am buildup prone with low porosity hair.
In between washes I use a shower cap in the shower and refresh my hair with water, leave in (spray) and gel as necessary. When I wash, I do it at night because I prefer a night shower. I plop with a long sleeve tshirt after I put in all my products on my soaking wet hair and leave in the plop until I’m done with my other bathroom activities (lotion, skincare, brushing teeth, etc). Then I diffuse until 85-95% dry. I then usually put it into a hair net!
for sleeping, I use a satin bonnet or a hairnet with a satin pillowcase. The hairnet has recently been a game changer as my satin bonnet can get a little warm.
For me wearing a bonnet/some kind of cap and not towel-drying my hair eliminated a lot of the frizz and matting issues that I used to have. If it's particularly rough one day, I just get it about half wet and comb some oil through it with my fingers.
When I used to wash my hair every day it was a dry, shapeless mess. Everyone's hair is just so different, which can make it really annoying to try and figure out what works lol.
I'll wet my hair down but only wash it once a week. If you are washing it everyday you are stripping it so it's going to tangle easier. Leave in conditioner and a bonnet will help. Also deep condition it and just wet it down or use a spray bottle.
I often keep my hair in styles that won’t tangle it like buns and braids because I have the same problem. At night, I apply some leave-in conditioner and detangle (if tangled) braid it, and put a silk bonnet on. In the morning, I wet my hair and put moisturizing products in to reshape my hair for the day.
I wear a bonnet for sleep and wear a loose clip for workouts then diffuse the roots and style the rest w a refresh. I go like a week in between this way w a little dry shampoo. Very humid climate and outdoor workouts
If you don't live in a humid climate, overwashing may be why your hair knots up so easily. You probably need to add moisture and wash it less and pineapple it at night and wear a headband or bonnet and use a silk pillow case.
You can use a spray bottle and a little leave-in conditioner on the days you want to refresh your curls without a full shower! I only wash with shampoo once a week or so, but I use conditioner and detangle for my in between showers. My hair turns to straw with little coils at the ends if I don’t maintain haha
I do my hair every few days. The first sign of oily roots is when I clean. I typically sleep with a bonnet on the first night of wash day and sleep with a silk pillowcase every night with my hair in a low loose ponytail when I'm not in my bonnet! As always all hair is different but if it's just the mess that makes you wash every day try some different methods for your hair when you sleep ❤️
Also for products I put in a curl cream after my shower, frizz spray and a little hair oil on my ends!
Try a satin pillowcase or bonnet ,maybe? Washing my hair too frequently is what makes mine knot! It strips out all the oils that keep it from frizzing. I slather it with leave-in condish & mostly air-dry it. Then it's good for 4 or 5 days.
I don’t. I can go one day between washes if I’m lucky, and I only do it if I know I’m not going out or I really don’t care how I look.
Not everyone can “refresh.” Even if I can get it looking halfway decent, my scalp feels like it’s crawling. So I’ve accepted that this is how it is for me.
Get better shampoo and conditioner? If I washed my hair every day I might as well just live in the shower.
Specifically with oils in them if your hair is drying out.
I had issues with my hair knotting horribly after just a day until I: Found a leave-in that worked for my porosity. Every time I refresh, I add a little more of the leave-in, scrunch, and it usually stays pretty tangle free. I use a silk bonnet, and pineapple my hair before putting it on. These two together have helped me make it between wash days without many knots or tangles. I hope it might help you, too!
How you find your porosity?
does your hair dry fast? high porosity does your hair dry slow? low porosity most people with very curly hair have high porosity.
i have curly and low porosity and it’s the absolute worse combination ever.
What, you don’t like curlcicles in the winter and a built-in steam in sauna on your head during the summer?/s I feel your frustration as I shake out my clumps in the bathroom at work in an attempt to get my hair to dry by 2pm.
My kiddo has low porosity so we had to give her a 2" fade on the nape of her neck, so that the underside of her curls actually dry (we were finding that area would be constantly wet between baths and her sweating. But the fade helped and I've taught myself how to do cool designs so she loves it.
I have thick 2B/C hair and I mean THICC. I got an undercut 7 months ago and I will NEVER GO BACK. My hair FINALLY doesn’t immediately form gigantic knots along my neckline, and so much less sweat! I did notice about a few days after I got the undercut that my hair was thinning along my hairline (likely from pulling because I always wore my hair up for the reasons why I am keeping the undercut). I think I’ve gotten some growth back, but I did have a mild crisis about the undercut when I noticed. Luckily the undercut area is still very thick.
Same. It takes an entire day for my hair to air dry.
My hair is pretty sparse these days, but if I twist it up wet, It. Never. Dries. Like, ever.
my hair is thick as well it takes hours and hours to dry 😭 ive gone to work an 8 hour shift with wet hair and during the winter ill come home with my hair still damp underneath the top layer 💔
I have thick hair too, it also gives me headaches because of the weight, and this is after my hair significantly thinned compared to when I was younger 😭
I think I do as well, I can take a shower at 7:00 towel dry it go to bed and it still be wet
Same. I remember waking up in the middle of the night with heat rash around my neck from my hair. Shaved off right then and there. This was when Oregon got the unprecedented 115 degree weather and I did not own an AC at the time. It’s horrible at times
that’s so badass i wish i had the spine to do that. i live in the low country, so it’s hot and humid almost all the time but i *cannot* part with my length, so i just do the whole boring diffuse thing once a week and just deal with the rats nest the later half of the week with an updo.
This is not accurate I have extremely high porosity hair that takes forever to dry because I have so much hair. It literally takes my hair upwards of 3 hours or longer to dry but will also suck up water and oils like a sponge. The better way to tell is how easily your hair gets wet. The second I get in the shower, my hair is completely saturated. Low porosity hair will literally repel water initially and takes time to saturate.
I wish my hair dried in 3 hours :/
Now I'm confused. My hair can take half a day to dry. TBF, it's very long and thick. But I have no problem getting it wet in the shower. It's also more wavy than curly. Is porosity only a big deal for curly hair? I have an ok detangler I'm using but I'd love a cheat code for the perfect leave in!
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perhaps you have low porosity, you just have very long and thick hair. any curl type can have any porosity, but on average straighter hair has lower porosity and curly has higher, but not always!
Three hours is fast, though? Mine is like 8-16 hours depending on weather.
I moved to Albuquerque, it's like 6% humidity, and my hair is mostly dry about 6 hours after I shower lol ETA: Back in Illinois, I'd come home from work almost 12 hours after I showered and my hair would still be wet in the bottom layers!
The best my hair ever is is in Denver, CO. The air is so dry, my hair curls without frizz. That is heavenly. Where I live in Minnesota (where it is humid in the summer), I have to wash my hair on a day when I can air dry it for 8 to 10 hours.
I just told my husband we need to move to CO. We are in Southern California, and even Summer here is a nightmare for my hair. His family is in Durango- and when we are there, I have my best hair days ever! I go from wanting to chop off my hair here…to flaunting a shiny coiff for days in Durango. 😂
Thank you! I was trying to figure out what mine was and your description of how it gets wet tells me I have low porosity. I feel like I practically have to massage water into my hair layer by layer to get water to my scalp.
Thank you for saying this because this is the only way to actually tell. Things like the float test and dry time don’t work. The only way to tell your porosity is how easy it is to wet your hair
I’d add that that test works best with no product in because product slows drying. And if you can add a lot of product without it getting gunky and weighed down that’s also high porosity.
What is considered fast/slow? I let mine air dry and it takes a few hours, no clue if that's standard or not.
i’d say over 3 hours is quite slow
*cries in 6+ hour dry time*
*sobs in 12+ hour dry time*
It also depends on a few other factors like length, thickness, density, air humidity and temperature. When my hair was halfway down my back and at its fullest (it can get extremely dense with crazy volume) it could take 6+ hours to air dry completely. My hair is very fine and high porosity but there was just so much of it and the tropical climate where I used live was unbearably humid and so hot that I found it impossible be anywhere without air conditioning during at least half the year.
omg, trying to dry your hair in a super humid atmosphere i would go crazy 😂
Take one strand and put in a glass of water. After 1 minute, if it floats =less porous, if it sinks all or half way= porous
I tried that. Left it until the next day and that hair was still on the top of the water. 😳
This isn't a great test as any oil or product will interfere with it
Hmm, I did do it right after I washed my hair, with no product added, but who knows!
Get a clear glass of BARELY warm water. Piss warm is perfect. Take a single strand of hair and drop it in the water, making sure none is sticking out. Set a timer for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes if it's still at the top of the water, you have LOW POROSITY HAIR. if it's in the middle of the cup, half sunk but not all the way to the bottom of the cup, you have MEDIUM POROSITY HAIR. If it sunk all the way to the bottom of the cup, you have quite HIGH POROSITY HAIR. The more porous your hair is, the more water it absorbs and therefore sinks. We do this test in salon on hair that is questionable to perm. If it sinks to the bottom, DON'T DO IT!
And density/thickness and all that
Curlsbot has a pretty decent quiz. I'm not sure if everyone gets reliable results, but mine personally seemed spot on. Once I found my porosity and started using products for it, I knew the quiz was right. You can Google search "Curlsbot Porosity Quiz". Hair density is a *little* trickier to gauge. The way I've usually seen it done is that you part your hair, or look at your part, and gauge how much scalp is showing there. If it's just a tiny sliver of scalp, you have dense hair. If it's a lot of scalp, you probably have thin hair (low density). If you have somewhere in the middle, it's medium. I've also seen the guidance of pulling your hair up as if you were going to put it in a ponytail, and gauging the thickness depending on how much hair it feels like you're holding (not a lot, a good handful, so thick you can't close your fingers around it). You can also look at any part of your scalp by lifting your hair to see how much scalp you notice. Hair strand density is pretty easy. Just rub a single strand of hair between two fingers tips. If you can't feel it, it's fine. If you're extremely aware of it, it's probably coarse. If you can feel it but it isn't tickling your fingertips, it's probably medium.
Hah, I have really calloused fingers, my hair would need to be made of chopsticks for me to feel it.
😂 Mine actually are, too! For anyone interested in another method, I saw this really cool visual guide to strand density: If it's thin enough to thread a needle with, it's likely fine. If it's thick enough to be the width of a line drawn by a mechanical pencil, it's likely coarse. Anything between the two is medium.
Fine, low porosity, medium..I'm so lost on what to do with my shit lol
This has a lot of answers: https://youtu.be/xwMFG4lT4jY?si=nqYukAHMeWbNNEWM
I've also found that when my hair starts tangling a lot more, it means I'm due for a trim. Unhealthy ends will tangle halfway up my head.
For me also I had to clarify more often, I learned that the hard water by me really damaged my hair making it more tangle prone if I don’t clarify with a *hard water shampoo* every few washes (or every wash, if I was 1/wk)
Is there a specific brand of leave-in that works well for you?
What do you mean by "pineapple"? 🤔
I put my hair in a loose bun on top of my head at night and have a silky pillowcase.
Silky pillowcase are the best! It also helped me with my acne
What does the silk do that is beneficial?
Regular pillowcases were like sandpaper on my hair and I'm a back sleeper so it flattened and roughed up the hair on the back of my head. The silky pillowcase lets the hair slide and not get damaged, less heat, and it feels nicer. I tried a bonnet which is pretty similar but it felt weird on my head.
Less friction-less frizz and fewer knots. Kinda like using a microfiber towel instead of terrycloth for drying after the shower
It's supposed to take less moisture from your hair and skin (vs cotton) and less friction, so less frizz on her and less wrinkles on skin
Silk is naturally anti microbial
Damn. I have to get a silk pillowcase it seems!
Do you ever feel like you’re losing more hair with the top buns? When I wear them too frequently I feel like that happens, but it’s my favorite way to wear my hair
I wear mine really loose with a silk scrunchie. It usually is pretty floppy by morning, and sometimes falls out completely, but if it's in most of the night, I find I still get the benefit. But you could also try a scarf or buff instead.
Wearing your hair pulled up (whether it’s during the day or night) can most definitely cause hair loss, especially at your temples. It’s the tension and eventually you’ll start thinning at your temples because of it. Not just older women either. My Mom is permanently thin in her temples because of years and years of wearing her hair in a ponytail as a teenager and young adult. I wore ponytails or top knots using rubber band hair ties for years until I noticed the thinning in my temples (especially my left side) and all over. Eventually I read about it causing hair loss/ thinning- what I read said that if you wear your hair up it shouldn’t be tight and you should clip it Vs wearing a rubber band/ hair tie. When I stopped with the ponytails it helped. I do occasionally sleep in a pineapple style in a loose scrunchy to preserve my curls if they are fresh. Op, as for washing. I have course hair and it doesn’t get oily until like day 7. I wash my hair once or twice a week.
After a lot of work my very obvious bald spot is growing back in. It’s hilarious. The longer hairs are about an inch long and the rest are between an inch and baby fuzz.
This. I buzzed my head at 21 after lots of wearing my hair up tight when I was a teenager. Have a whole new hairline because my hair was too short to pull back for a few years. Now that it’s long again I’m starting to have to remind myself to wear it down more often and looser so my hairline doesn’t recede back to where it used to be
My sensory issues could not handle a silky pillowcase 😭
Even just a better quality of cotton can make a difference, a long staple percale or sateen.
Or even just a really high thread count. Good sheets are the one think I never skimp on. High quality is worth every penny.
What about a satin bonnet?
Curly haircare isn’t one size fits all. You do what’s best for your hair & scalp. I can’t go more than two or three days without washing because my scalp is super sensitive & will riot if I don’t rinse off my wash day products. And then there’s folks who can stretch their wash days to once a week or more. Whatever works for you is best.
I accept that it’s gonna look like shit 50%+ of my life
For me, silk pillowcase/bonnet never helped with my hair being messy the following morning. So I get it wet and re-apply leave-in and curl custard every morning. I wash my hair twice a week.
I had the same issue until I started putting my hair in a Pineapple before putting my bonnet on. It’s made a huge difference.
My hair just bends to the scrunchie though which is also not the vibe, no matter how loosely I tie it (though you can only tie so loose before it just comes out immediately) and yes I use a silk scrunchie :/
This is me too. It doesn’t matter what I do, my hair, when curled, never looks great the next morning. I only loop my scrunchie twice like I can’t really go any looser lol
I can't really use bonnets, they make me uncomfortable and sometimes give me headaches.
I understand. It works similarly with satin/silk pillowcases. I use both the pillowcases and bonnet. I find the bonnet works slightly better, but the pillowcases by themselves work with a pineapple as well.
This is the reason I’m hesitant to try one. I use a silk pillowcase + pineapple and I know it’s better than not using the pillowcase but I am always a mess
What does this mean? Just pile it on top of your head? Do you use a claw clip?
Yes, you pull your hair to the top of your head and use a silk/satin hairband to tie it together. Don’t pull it as tight as you would a ponytail. It should be very loose so you don’t have the hair band marks in your hair when you take it out. I wouldn’t use a claw clip. That seems like it would pull on your hair/fall out during your sleep.
I'm trying to get used to my bonnet but I just feel uncomfortable. If it's not tight it slides back, if it is tight I get a headache.
What about long hair? I just end up bunching it into the jonnet loose plopping style but I feel that doesn't help much, tossing and trurning withbit bunched up like Christmas lights lol
Yeah everyone keeps talking about silk bonnets and the pineapple method as if its some holy grail and man... it DOES NOT work for me lol. My hair goes down to my lower back so its pretty long and doing the pineapple method like... doesnt do anything. I just manually twist it and put it underneath the cap. It does help frizz and keep curls. But no scrunchie.
I rinse. I only *wash* twice a week but most days I thoroughly rinse and reapply product.
Feels like a lot of people are blissfully unaware of the benefits of washing less but using conditioner or another hair product on the daily. It actually works really well.
Silk bonnets
I plop it on top of my head when I sleep and just spritz with water or use my steamer to refresh in the mornings. I wash my hair twice a week. Eta: you don't mention what products you're currently using, that would be helpful.
Tell me more about steaming your hair. Do you use something specific for hair? Do you put in product after?
I just use a cheap handheld clothing steamer. I don't usually put anymore product in my hair when I use it. I just spray water on my hair, scrunch it and then use the steamer. It helps the water soak in and the curls that have been stretched out curl back up. I also use it when I deep condition since I have low porosity fine hair, it helps it penetrate.
Wow. I just got a handheld steamer for my clothes, I’m going to have to experiment!! Though steam usually just makes me hair a poofy mess, I’ve noticed…
I have high porosity hair and can’t use a steamer because it just makes it poofier/frizzier. It takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what will work for you.
How do you not burn yourself?
My hair is kinda long, I just lean to the side and hold the steamer down below my hair and let the steam rise up. I don't get close enough to it for it to burn me and it doesnt get that hot. I sit on the toilet and set it on the ground, then flip my head over it to do the top.
Omg is this the secret to having fine, high density, low porosity hair!? I’m having so much trouble moisturizing the length without adding weight and looking greasy, been getting a lot of breakage bc my ends are dry but I have to shampoo every few days.
Fine hair tends to need protien too so I always use a deep conditioner with protein. I really like Mielles babassu mint deep conditioner. I don't use curl creme anymore, just a light weight leave-in, aunt Jackie's quench, a strong hold gel, eco styler Krystal, I brush style then finish with Tresemme extra hold hair spray. This blog really helped me figure out my hair. https://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2014/07/moisturizing-low-porosity-hair.html?m=1
Yeah I'm curious about this steaming thing too - what do you use?
1) use leave in 2) silk pillowcases. 3) loose pineapple buns 4) spray hair with water and apply some light oil(almond smells divine) on day 4 5) day 6 or 7 hair wash again
How do y'all keep from breaking out in acne with all these products you're wearing in your hair?
This. For me curl creams give me bad acne but I just make sure to wash my face and put moisturizer to create a barrier before apply products
I have to be careful about what I use for sure, I have PCOS, so am prone to cystic acne. Fragrance is a big one, anything that doesn't get rinsed out has to be low/no fragrance. I give my face, chest and upper back a really good rinse after rinsing out my conditioner as well.
I wash my hair, add product, wrap it all up in a microfibre turban, then get back in the shower and rinse my face and back. Then get dressed and then unwrap my hair
Some of us did break out while testing, after a while we find products that work which do not give us acne. It is highly individual, I broke out from tresemme, so that got tossed (sample size for testing), then got lucky with some brands and went higher end. For gel I decided to go as simple as I could get, and it worked wonders. So trial and error.
I absolutely do not have that kind of time in my life, so honestly, I just stopped caring. If my curls were kinda frizzy so be it. I don’t think these curls we see on the internet are possible to keep perfect, so I just remind myself it’s the internet don’t compare yourself to this impossible standard. Plus, it’s humid out now anyways, they’d get that way no matter what. I look at other curly haired people on the metro and realize no one but me cares if there’s some “frizz”. Lots of top buns and clips. Sorry I don’t have actual curl advice, but lowering my expectations had helped a lot.
Honestly? Day one I wear my hair down nice and curly. Day two and three it's in a pony tail or braided with product to hold back the fly aways.
Depression mostly hehe
I have extremely fine, thin hair. I can’t not wash every night anymore. My hair every morning I don’t shower looks greasy and stringy due to the products I use. Sometimes you just have to wash daily, I think.
Same here. Mine is more 2aish and after sleeping on it, even if I reapply product to it damp, still looks bad lol. It really only looks good the day I wash and style it. If I wear it up, it takes the curl out and turns a mix of waves and curls with straight hair at the roots. Ugh.
2b/c here, I had the same problem until I started doing a mist refresh. Don't put more product in, just lightly dampen your hair with water in a mister spray bottle. It should not be dripping. Then dry with a hair dryer. That's enough to reset my styling products and tame grease. I might put a lil dry shampoo on my bangs.
Yeah my hair is a combo of 2c on top and 3a on the bottom and while thick in terms of amount of strands, my hairs are very very fine. I never realized how fine they were until I compared it to some other friends with curls who have way thicker hairs. If I don’t wash it every other day it’s oily, loses volume and stinks. It’s already hard for me to get lots of volume and I have been trying a ton of curl defining products, but it’s fairly low porosity for curly hair too so it tends to get too weighed down by product and gets matted. I can try more new products but I only have so much time to experiment, and usually after a good wash it just looks better so I wash either every other day or every day.
Yeah, personally my scalp is just too oily to not wash daily (and yeah I've tried "training" my scalp which does nothing for me lol).
Not washing does not mean not getting your hair wet. I wash 1-2x a week but cowash in the shower daily.
This needs to be higher up! I wash (shampoo + conditioner) once a week. Every day I only conditioner and my hair has been amazing!
For people who pineapple their hair, doesn't the part of the hair near the nape of your neck lose definition?
Yes. But it's underneath, so I don't care much. Also, if I sweat at all, which I almost always do, it bounces right back.
I wash or cowash every day but I swim for exercise and I have to get the chlorine out. My stylist says my hair is in great condition.
Scalp rinses and scalp scrubs. Nature lab Tokyo has really great ones. There are some you can get in the store too. Not Wash your hair every day doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t get it wet. Or at least, not for me…
Satin pillowcase and I put my hair in a buff
Silk bonnet for days 2-3, then it's up in a ponytail days 4-5, and a bun until the next wash day.
I struggle with my waves/curls being a complete mess after I sleep too. I don’t know if it’s actually recommended, but I usually ‘refresh’ them by getting them at least a little wet every morning. If I protect them while I sleep (bonnet works best, high ponytail or bun is okay) then I usually only slightly have to touch up. If not, I will get them close to soaked. Usually don’t put more product in, just depends.
So, I sleep in a bonnet. I also spray my hair with water and I will comb it if it's knotty, then apply some mousse or gel and blow it dry. I only wash my hair 2-3X week.
I usually try to stretch it 2-3 days. If I’m feeling really lazy, I use dry shampoo for the 4th day.
After going back and forth on this, I finally got a sleep bonnet. It's made a really big difference. This is my first week with one. I'm on my fourth day since wash and I just did a little refresh this morning and I'm super pleased. Each night I've put on my bonnet I wonder what I'm going to wake up too and think to myself "this is it, I will have to shampoo in the morning" but no, it's been workable.
A couple of things in tangent have worked for me 1) sleeping with a bonnet. Clean the bonnet pretty often so you don't have build up on the bonnet 2) finger comb the knots in the morning and/or before you go to bed. Now I have very few knots and by finger combing I only disrupt the curl pattern of the ones that are messed up. I then refresh them with water and maybe a little product by making them soaking wet and finger coiling or brush styling if it's a big section. 3) I steam my hair with a shower bonnet (e.g. a bonnet I keep aside for showering) in the morning by just putting it in the bonnet when I take my shower. Others have suggested a facial steamer or clothes steamer as alternatives. 4) Making sure my product isn't too oily, isn't too heavily applied, and/or hasn't been building up on my hair. There were a few brands of curl creams that made my hair way more oily than others, so I switched them out (try samples if you can). Sometimes I add too much product, which limits how long I can go without a wash. However sometimes I can wash my hair and not put any product after this, and it will still curl from the build up 🙃 so although this is low maintainence, I also suggest using a scalp rub or clarifying shampoo every so often 5) Push it past your limit! I don't know how true this is, but I had read that when we keep stripping our hair of oils, our bodies will over produce as a response. I personally found that if I initially started with 3 days of no wash, day 3 was unbearable, but I kept preserving and washing on day 4... until my body got used to it. After a while day 3 was fine, then I pushed myself through day 4. Now my hair doesn't look as greasy or start to itch up to day 5 (which I'm currently on today and I was at a professional conference all week). But this also depends on how much product I apply, what shampoo/conditioner/product combo I use, and if I've dealt with build up recently. Sometimes dry shampoo is necessary, but more likely I rinse out the build up. 6) optionally, I've found the curls last longer if I partially diffuse. It takes over an hr to fully diffuse my hair from soaked, so I scrunch with a cotton t-shirt then plump, then when I'm done getting ready, diffuse for 10-20 min. Even 10 min is a lot of help! I focus on the roots, the ends usually dry faster because of my hair cut. Hair type: 2a-3ish, low porosity, super thick, long
Do you mean wash is in wet in the shower or the whole shampoo-condition wash? I feel like shampooing my hair every day makes it greasier.
I don't wash mine daily but I do rinse it in the shower and add conditioner for this same reason. I was once or twice a week, depending on the week. I can't do the refresh thing, I've tried. I've done the pineapple, satin pillow case, etc - it's just more work for me and I can't get it to look nice. On weekends or if I'm not going to work, I'll leave it in a pony or messy bun.
You don’t have to shampoo your hair to take a shower or wet your hair.
I condition it on some of the days between washes.
Also just chiming in to say that if washing your hair more frequently works for you, that’s okay too. I tried for a long time to get to multiple no wash days, but the reality is I need to wash every other day. Our hair is unique; it is what it is!
Short answer: I don't. I have fine, low porosity, medium density hair that hates buildup and gets extremely touchy about protein moisture balance. I've been washing daily or every other day for over 25 years and it works for me whether I straighten or wear or natural. It hasn't made me hair weaker or my scalp less healthy, either - despite highlighting my hair (only a few times a year but still) every stylist I've had has said I have some of the healthiest hair they've seen, and my dermatologist and I are very happy with the condition of my scalp. TLDR - everyone's different.
It’s not possible to have great hair for all of the time- i usually have to put my hair up after 2 days. it would probably look better if i washed it more of but wash day is super draining bc i’m autistic, so i don’t. i wear I loosely put my hair up when i sleep, then wear a silk bonnet. To combat frizz i use a deep condition and curl gel on my wash day.
In addition to a satin bonnet and pillowcase, I’ve found the single biggest thing was working out my styling routine. Figuring out what gel my hair likes (a cheap Garnier one, in a ridiculous amount), how it likes to be styled (in the shower, gel finger combed through), and dried (plopped in a tshirt, air dry or diffuser) has honestly made it last like nothing else. I used to be the same, needing to wash it every day and thinking it just couldn’t last. I can now wash it on a Wednesday, bike to and from the office on Thursday, and with a quick refresh have it look good on Friday. Your method/products will probably be different, but I encourage you to keep experimenting - your hair might surprise you.
Haha I don’t.. I use suave daily clarifying either every other or every day. CGM does not work on my very fine hair. I use some of the techniques, but none of the products.
Honestly, I’ve accepted that it’s easiest for me to just wash my hair every day or every other day. Usually for 2nd day hair I can just head bang a bit and my hair will come back to life, at least partially. After that I gotta wash or at least get it wet in the shower.
I wash every other day because otherwise my scalp dries out (no matter what shampoo I use) but i wet it every day. Mine is not a strong curl, so no matter what it goes 'flat' overnight
Sleep with a satin bonnet!!!!
I wash every day because if I just get my hair wet in the shower, there’s no getting anything through it - comb, fingers, whatever. If I only condition, my scalp starts itching on day two. I have to really wash out product every day or it’s just a mess.
OP: I am in the same boat! I never go a day without washing my hair, or it’s a frizzy, knotty mess.
Bad time management.
As a curly girl, the 2-3 day hair is my best hair. Curly hair dries out very fast, and we usually need a lot of product. I only wash my hair once a week bc curly hair is so dry. If you wash it every day, it will always seem dry without product. And it will only continue to dry out. - former stylist
You should buy a silk bonnet they are cheap you can get them online if you don’t like the thought of wearing one of those use a silk pillowcase works wonders!
Can you braid or twist it nightly to keep the waves/curls?
Idk, I don't like the way it looks 😭 I swim a lot, so I wash my hair every day anyways but I was just curious :)
Putting it up high and leaving it in my bonnet. I oil it the day before or a couple hours before I decide to wash it.
I got a silk bonnet to keep my kitten from chewing on my hair as I slept and I’d say a good portion of my day 2 curl problems went away. I rewet with a spray bottle if I need more oomph but it generally looks pretty good
Depression and mom mode. I should wash every 2 days
My hair loves water so I usually use some conditioner and then detangle my hair a few times a week under the shower but I fully wash my hair once to twice a week depending on product buildup. Seems to work well :)
Braid your hair before bed
I sleep in a sink cap if I want to retain my curls overnight. In the morning I use a curl rejuvenating spray.
I used to be able to go 2-3 days and then I bought a ShowerStick water softener (for scalp itchiness/seb derm) and no one warned me that my hair would get greasier faster when I wash with soft water 😩 So now I would ideally wash every day, though that dries out my ends
Different styles. French braids, half braids/half curly puffs, buns, buns with braids, twists, ponytails. Basically everything but wash & go cus that leaves my hair soooo tangled, dry, and knotted.
When I was in my 50s, my hair went from oily to straw dry. Then about 4 years ago I switched to the curly girl method and started washing my hair every 7 days. It takes 6-8 hours to dry on its own. And 3-4 hours to completely dry after using a hair dryer. I put it up in a ball on top of my head to sleep. I comb it every morning to get knots out. My hair is caucasian, dry, and 2b/2c mix with one or two clumps of 3a. I aim for healthy hair not how much curl I can squeeze out of it. I shower with a turban in between washes.
I have shorter hair so it doesn’t tangle a lot but gets messy and frizzy. What I’ve found is using a good leave in conditioner and light gel holds my hair to day 2 no problem. Maybe it flattens a bit in back because I sleep on my back but some wet hands raking and fluffing the curls the next day works great. After some dry shampoo at the roots. On the third day I don’t have to touch up much (the dry shampoo is still working!) and the fourth day I do a bit of a pulled back look (top knot, side comb, etc). I can’t go much past 4 days.
Bonnet and silk pillowcases
Bonnets and leave in!
I use conditioner and a hair mask every time I shower. I also use a shower cap. Use a leave in conditioner that works for your hair type.
https://preview.redd.it/twhn67qin89d1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=148cebaeb1a0745ee3aabe5b04500bb4bd85dbdb My hair is technically curly but it behaves like it’s not. It doesn’t grow up from my head. It’s flat like straight hair. It’s actually straight sh when it’s wet. I have to air dry it with a small banaba clip to get any teeny amount of volume. My scalp is oily and iIf I do anything to it, it loses its shape. It’s always been ridiculously extra baby fine but I used to have a lot more of it. Between being older, stress from being unemployed for a year and Ozempic it’s thinning. It’s also low porosity and it hates protein. It oddly finds cowash more drying than shampoo. If I use Carols Daughter, I have to use conditioner as well. If I use Aunt Jackie’s it feels like I washed it with Dawn. Everyone’s hair is different. There is no right or wrong number of washes per week or month. It’s whatever works. Unfortunately what worked when I had more hair no longer does.
Bonnet for sleep, nonnegotiable. Refresh with hydrating products in the morning. Routine matters on wash day. I need something with enough hold to last through my next wash day!
Gotta wash it on the third day. I can stretch to the fourth, but rarely do.
Use a bonnet, protective styles, and moisturize it
I have 3b low porosity hair that's prone to buildup and looking ridiculous in the morning so I rinse it every day and put in a little curling cream. Basically, I get it sopping wet, pat it down, then add the cream and air dry. This washes away most of the buildup and lets me restyle as needed. I only wash my hair every 5 to 8 days depending on how it feels and how hot it was.
✨ Dépression ✨
For me, it really depends on how well my wash day goes. I use a denman brush to twirl and sort my curls into small sections and heavy amount of leave in conditioner and gel. I have really thick, coarse, frizzy hair and live in a hot, humid area. If I really want it to set, I don’t touch the curls at all after twirling and let it air dry (my hair ends up looking like coils, rather than curls. To get curls, I comb with my fingers after twirling with the brush, but it wont hold as well the following days). Then I use a silk bonnet to sleep. I avoid using any hair ties (I use only large claw clips or the puff cuff to put hair up when needed). My hair is definitely frizzier the second / third day but I only need to apply a little water or product to freshen it up. The third day, I usually have my hair half up/ half down.
Honestly, it’s tough. I have to time my wash days around when I want my hair to look its best. If there’s 2 days in a row that I really want my hair to look great—I’m in a pickle. For me, it helps that every night I scrunch with a Twist Curl Reign Multi Use Miracle Oil. Also, I sleep wearing a satin hair cap.
You need to protect your hair while you sleep with a bonnet or something similar
i sleep with my hair braided and that keeps me from getting gnarly rats nests in the back.
I was my hair everyday. But I don’t mind putting the extra work in which I know it is.
Dry shampoo! And it doesn’t look perfect every day
You wash with shampoo every day?
I have a similar issue. I have to get it wet even if I’m now washing it to reset the curls and comb it out every night.
Cowash!
[удалено]
I can maybe get away with second-day hair. But usually I have the same problems as you and it's not worth the hassle, I just wash it every night.
I use a wide tooth comb and brush it through under lukewarm/cold water to de tangle it, shake the excess water off my hair and I'm good on no wash days.
I don't wash it everyday but I get it damp with a spray bottle to get all the knots out and apply product, sometimes with a brush but mostly with my fingers. Looks good as washed when it's dry.
Sleep on an 100% mulberry silk pillowcase, comb your hair in the morning with a rake comb, and use a misting water bottle to add humidity (but not soaking wet) to your hair and refresh your curls. If your scalp is oily, you might be someone who has to wash your hair every day. I wash my hair once or twice a week and my hair stays fresh but my husband can't miss even one day or he'd look like a greaseball. 😂 Different requirements for different bodies and hair types.
Satin pillowcase and embracing that they don't have to look perfect all time. Pulling the front back, fluffing out the back and feeling like a lion.
I wash my hair about 2x per week. Every third or fourth wash I use a sulfate shampoo to remove buildup because I am buildup prone with low porosity hair. In between washes I use a shower cap in the shower and refresh my hair with water, leave in (spray) and gel as necessary. When I wash, I do it at night because I prefer a night shower. I plop with a long sleeve tshirt after I put in all my products on my soaking wet hair and leave in the plop until I’m done with my other bathroom activities (lotion, skincare, brushing teeth, etc). Then I diffuse until 85-95% dry. I then usually put it into a hair net! for sleeping, I use a satin bonnet or a hairnet with a satin pillowcase. The hairnet has recently been a game changer as my satin bonnet can get a little warm.
put your hair in a protective style (like a loose braid), DONT sleep on it, put it either upwards over your head or in a silk bonnet
A silk scarf makes all the difference for me!
Bonnet.
I wash my hair about once a fortnight. However, I rinse my hair at least every two days or daily and I also condition it regularly.
I’ve only recently started going days between washes and it’s because I began to wear silk bonnets. Prior there was no way I could!
I get 2-3 good days (pineapple, silk pillowcases for sleeping) then 2-3 days in a bun or clip. So usually every 5 or 6 days.
Braids at night, wet them while in braids, take out in morning and shake head around. Do not brush
For me wearing a bonnet/some kind of cap and not towel-drying my hair eliminated a lot of the frizz and matting issues that I used to have. If it's particularly rough one day, I just get it about half wet and comb some oil through it with my fingers. When I used to wash my hair every day it was a dry, shapeless mess. Everyone's hair is just so different, which can make it really annoying to try and figure out what works lol.
im having this exact problem
I'll wet my hair down but only wash it once a week. If you are washing it everyday you are stripping it so it's going to tangle easier. Leave in conditioner and a bonnet will help. Also deep condition it and just wet it down or use a spray bottle.
I have the same problem it’s so annoying
I often keep my hair in styles that won’t tangle it like buns and braids because I have the same problem. At night, I apply some leave-in conditioner and detangle (if tangled) braid it, and put a silk bonnet on. In the morning, I wet my hair and put moisturizing products in to reshape my hair for the day.
i wear it in a bun for day 3-7
I don’t. I wash it everyday, my curls don’t survive the humidity or the gym.
I plait my hair before sleeping. I still get it wet in the morning to reset the curls, but I don’t wash it.
I sleep in a loose bun, and sometimes refresh with a leave in conditioner in the morning
I wear a bonnet for sleep and wear a loose clip for workouts then diffuse the roots and style the rest w a refresh. I go like a week in between this way w a little dry shampoo. Very humid climate and outdoor workouts
If you don't live in a humid climate, overwashing may be why your hair knots up so easily. You probably need to add moisture and wash it less and pineapple it at night and wear a headband or bonnet and use a silk pillow case.
I sleep with a bonnet
You can use a spray bottle and a little leave-in conditioner on the days you want to refresh your curls without a full shower! I only wash with shampoo once a week or so, but I use conditioner and detangle for my in between showers. My hair turns to straw with little coils at the ends if I don’t maintain haha
I either tie it up, brush it out (w a leave in conditioner) and do braids, or refresh it with water and a brush
Protective hairstyles
I do my hair every few days. The first sign of oily roots is when I clean. I typically sleep with a bonnet on the first night of wash day and sleep with a silk pillowcase every night with my hair in a low loose ponytail when I'm not in my bonnet! As always all hair is different but if it's just the mess that makes you wash every day try some different methods for your hair when you sleep ❤️ Also for products I put in a curl cream after my shower, frizz spray and a little hair oil on my ends!
Try a satin pillowcase or bonnet ,maybe? Washing my hair too frequently is what makes mine knot! It strips out all the oils that keep it from frizzing. I slather it with leave-in condish & mostly air-dry it. Then it's good for 4 or 5 days.
I don’t. I can go one day between washes if I’m lucky, and I only do it if I know I’m not going out or I really don’t care how I look. Not everyone can “refresh.” Even if I can get it looking halfway decent, my scalp feels like it’s crawling. So I’ve accepted that this is how it is for me.
Get better shampoo and conditioner? If I washed my hair every day I might as well just live in the shower. Specifically with oils in them if your hair is drying out.