HAIR TRAINING: Teaching Your Hair to go Longer Between Washes

Hair training is rough and it's frustrating because let's face it, you feel someone dumped a gallon of oil on your head.

What if I told you that you could get your hair to grow faster, be healthier & save you money on hair products. Those are just a few of the benefits of training your hair to go longer between washes. Here are the reasons why you are washing your hair as much as you are and how to stop doing it.

1: Your scalp & hair get really oily really quickly

I'll let you in on a secret….your hair and scalp are getting oily really fast BECAUSE you are washing it. Those oils are essential for your scalp and hair to be strong and healthy. Your body produces them because they are needed. The more the hair is washed, the faster your body produces it to try to give the hair the nutrients it needs.

How to FIX it:

Start by going one extra day between washes. I don't care if you dry shampoo the crap out of your hair or throw a hat on or throw your hair in a messy bun. JUST DON'T WASH IT! In all HONESTY it will take your hair time to realize that it isn't being washed as frequently and once it realizes that then it will slow the oil production. So start going an extra day. If you're really up for the challenge go a whole WEEK and I promise you that by week 2 you will already notice a big difference.

2: How to keep your hair looking and feeling good even though it's not being washed

Everyone says "my hair smells gross" so then it needs to be washes. FALSE it is because you aren't using the right products to ensure that it smells good throughout the entire week. The products you use are going to make or break it for you.

On hair wash day:

-Use a shampoo that addresses a problem your hair has (shampoo 2x) I first use the Redken All soft shampoo and then use the Matrix Brass Off shampoo to neutralize the warm tones

-Doing a conditioning treatment through the mids and ends of your hair (DO NOT PUT ON YOUR SCALP) for the treatment I like to use my normal conditioner mixed with a few pumps of argan oil. I let that sit on for about 15 minutes before rinsing. My favorite conditioners are: Redken All Soft Mega, Pureology Strength Cure, Pureology Hydrate, Redken Frizz Dismiss. My favorite oils to mix with them are: Redken all soft argan oil, Redken frizz dismiss oil, Matrix exquisite oil. For every quarter size amount of conditioner do a half a pump of oil. You can let treatment sit on for longer than 15 minutes if needed.

-Rinse your hair in cool- cold water. This will seal down your hair cuticles and allow the conditioner to really soak in.

-Towel dry the dripping water out of your hair before you apply product so that way your hair can get all the benefits.

-Apply a leave in conditioner ( I love the Pureology 21 benefits or the Redken One united)

Spray from the mids to the ends.

-Apply a cream to add moisture, reduce frizz, and keep your hair feeling soft. (I love the it's a ten miracle leave in or the redken all soft mega leave in treatment) Apply mids to ends and focus majority of the product on the ends.

-Apply an Argan Oil ( I use the same ones as I would use for the deep conditioning treatment)

On damp hair apply about 2-3 pumps through the mids and the ends.

Throughout the week:

Don't over use Hairspray or products with lots of texture. That will cause your hair to feel dry and you will feel it build up as the days go by. Use light weigh products to keep your hair looking a feeling great.

-I use the same argan oil every day after my hair is styled just to smooth down the hair and keep it looking shiny and feeling soft. Apply only about 1/2 -1 pump of oil through mids and ends.

-Use a dry conditioner ( I love the amikca dry conditioner) this will keep your hair feeling like it has just been washed. It is a great way to keep your hair smelling and feeling fresh.

-Use a shine spray (I love the shine flash by Redken) It has a medium to light hold but it allows your hair to have that nice natural shine.

-Use a heat protectant. Both of the leave in conditioners have a heat protectant built in but throughout the week I feel that your hair needs a little extra to keep it protected. I use the redken iron shape. It has a medium hold but it doesn't weigh down the hair or feel crispy or crunchy.

-Dry shampoo for the WIN! (I love the IGK direct flight first class charcoal dry shampoo) it works wonders and I don't have to use a lot either. I spray this on, leave on for about 5 minutes and then take a comb and comb it through. This allows it to soak up more oil and if you are combing it through it will make sure that your hair will not get a gross build up.

3: BLOW IT DRY

Probably not the answer you were expecting but believe me when I say that blow drying your hair will allow your hair to not get as oily as quickly, allow your hair to hold a style for longer and help smooth out the hair so excess heat doesn't have to be applied. If your hair is anything like mine (a crazy out of control animal) then blow drying it is essential. When the hair is just naturally air dryed it allows the hair cuticles to dry however which way. This often causes the hair to feel fuzzier, drier and look more damaged. You must blow your hair dry correctly in order for you to reap all the benefits. I have another blog post dedicated to achieving the perfect blowout and it outlines all the best products and tools to use and how to use them. I will link that below. But for creating a seamless blowout you will need the correct leave in products that will provide your hair with moisture and protein. You will also need the correct blow dryer, round brush and paddle brush. Blow drying your hair takes more time but in the long run your hair will look, feel and be much healthier.

4: Use the RIGHT kind of DRY SHAMPOO & APPLICATION IS EVERYTHING

Here are some hacks I have found to really make the most out of your dry shampoo. First of all my all time favorite dry shampoo is by IGK and it is their Direct Flight Charcoal Cleanse. I have found that I don't have to use much and one application can last me several days.

First I apply to my part line, around my face and on the top of the back section of my hair. I allow it to sit on for about 5 minutes before I touch it. This allows the dry shampoo to work its magic and really absorb oil. Once the 5 minutes has past I take a hair comb and comb the dry shampoo through the ends of my hair. This will keep your hair from developing a gross buildup of product and will still allow your scalp to breathe. Once it has been combed through then going in and massaging the excess with your fingers and be careful not to exfoliate your scalp with your nails because that will create flakes.

By applying dry shampoo this way I have found that I use significantly less product and it allow me to stretch my washes even longer because I am not seeing a visible buildup of product on my hair and my hair still feels really great.

I hope this gives you some good ideas of how you can start training your hair. All of these steps have personally transformed my hair and have allowed it to grow so much longer, be so much healthier, saved me lots of money on product and lots of time on doing my hair.

If you have any questions feel free to reach out on here or on any other of my social media platforms at @becthestylist

Link to the Perfect Blow Out Blog Post:

https://becthestylist.wixsite.com/becthestylist/post/how-to-get-a-perfect-blowout