When and How to Wash Black Hair

When it comes to the topic of how often Black women should wash their hair, you will hear different answers based on who you ask. A lot of women I know only wash their hair once a month, which is far too long to go without washing.

Recently my aunt asked me to do her hair and she told me at that time she hadn't washed it for about 3 months! The amount of buildup, dandruff and gunk in her hair almost made me sick, and I tried telling her she should shampoo her hair more often, but she said she was too busy to bother with it. Her hair is only about 4 inches long and its in BAD shape!

I can only assume that there are a lot of women like my aunt out there who either dont feel they have time to properly take care of their hair, or some women actually believe it is good for black hair to be dirty, claiming that "dirty hair grows better". But I am willing to bet that those womens' hair is not very long or healthy at all.

I am here to tell you from personal experience that your hair does NOT like being dirty and does not grow better from not being washed regularly. The only reason some women may experience hair growth during long periods of not washing their hair is because black hair DOES like low manipulation. Meaning, the less you touch, comb, brush or interact with your hair, the less chance you have of breaking off or ripping out strands of hair. Hair is always growing, and the more you leave it alone, the retention rate increases.

But unfortunately, we cannot go without interacting with and manipulating our hair for long periods of time because it must be washed, moisturized, conditioned and styled. Washing and shampooing your hair cleans out the pores, and gets rid of all the gunk and product buildup so that your hair can grow even better. Plus, the water provides a good dose of moisture to your hair, as long as you make sure to use the right products that will help retain it after your hair has dried.

The frequency with which you should wash your hair is different for each head of hair. Some black women do well with washing as much as every other day, others will only wash their hair once every 2 weeks. You will have to try different frequencies and see how your hair responds. If you try washing 3 or more times a week and your hair just seems dry and is breaking and shedding a lot, your hair may not like the increased manipulation and you may be washing too much.

You also need to consider your budget when deciding how often to wash, because the more you wash, the faster you will go through all of your hair products and you will have to buy supplies more often.

If you choose to only wash your hair once every 2 weeks, first consider how much styling and heat you subject your hair to. If you style a lot, and use a lot of products to protect the hair from heat and retain moisture, you will want to wash more often to get rid of buildup.

Regardless of how often you choose to wash, you should always wash your hair in one direction. The shower works best for this since the water can reach all of your hair without you having to move it around. Make sure to massage the shampoo at your scalp to clean the pores, but do not move the rest of your hair around too much. Try to keep the hair going straight down so that you do not cause tangles. So resist the habit of piling all the hair on top of your head and rubbing it around!