I’ve been in the field of hair replacement for almost 40 years now and someone asked me the other day, “what question do people ask you the most about their hair?”
I feel like I’ve heard them all: “how does hair grow?”, “why am I losing my hair?”, “will wearing a hat cause hair loss?”, “what can I do about dry hair?” The list goes on and on. So I found myself pondering the thousands of questions I’ve been asked and realized, people ask me how often they should shampoo their hair… a lot! So, how often should you be shampooing your hair?
The answer isn’t as simple as a number, “shampoo once a day” or “three times a week”, it’s an answer that requires the client to answer a few questions themselves. Because how often you cleanse your hair, depends on how often it needs it.
I have a client who I’ll call “Rocco” (not his real name). Rocco’s a gruff man in his mid-thirties, likes to work hard and play hard. Rocco reconditions old cars for a living and is constantly surrounded by harsh elements like paint overspray, cleaning chemicals, etc. On his downtime Rocco rides his motorcycle, loves his ATV’s, snowmobiles, and the great outdoors. He also suffers from allergies.
I’d recommend Rocco cleanse his hair every day. His work and play environments add harsh elements to his hair and without daily cleansing, the harsh elements begin to build, resulting in, shall I say, a less than healthy appearance? In addition Rocco suffers from allergies so he should get that pollen off his hair to improve his quality of life. And since his environment is so harsh, after Rocco shampoos his hair the first time and rinses, he may consider a second shampooing as well before conditioning his hair.
I also recommend Rocco use NEA Normal to Dry Shampoo, NEA Protein Treatment Formula and NEA Moisturizing Conditioner. For styling, NEA Glaze is Rocco’s preferred product. (Using about the size of an American Dime to a Nickel of Glaze in his hands, he distributes it throughout his hair and lets it dry naturally).
Now let’s discuss “Angelica” (again not her real name). Angelica is a professional woman working in a law firm here in New England. For fun she works in her garden, has won a few trophies in ballroom dancing and on warmer days enjoys relaxing in her pool.
Angelica’s recommendations will alter depending on her day. If she’s heading to work each day and spending a couple nights that week ballroom dancing, she could possibly go two; maybe even three DAYS before she needs to cleanse her hair again. Even if she used styling products the day before like NEA Styling Lotion, NEA Glaze or NEA Gel, she only needs to add a little water the next day to reactivate the ingredients and restyle her hair.
But the pool changes everything as harsh chemicals placed in the water for sanitation, also react negatively to people’s hair. So when Angelica swims in her pool, she should shampoo her hair that evening. (The same would be true for lake, ocean or river swimming, as many times these waters contain minerals that may be harmful to your hair including iron and salts.)
Her products recommendations will very also. When she shampoos after swimming in the pool she should use NEA Phase IV shampoo which will work towards removing those harsh elements from the hair as it cleanses. However on her typical non-swimming days, her preferred cleanser is NEA Normal Shampoo. For conditioning she benefits from NEA Protein Treatment Formula as well as NEA Low Soft Conditioning Formula.
So how often should YOU shampoo your hair? As illustrated in the two above examples, the answer can vary. “As often as needed” would be the simplest of answers, lol.
If you’re unsure what’s best for you, shampoo every day for a couple weeks, and then skip shampooing to every other day. See how it goes. Or ask any NEA professional the next time you’re in. We’ll take a look at your hair and the products you use and make recommendations based on your needs and desires.
Clean hair is healthy-looking hair and healthy-looking hair helps us Look As Good As We Feel!™
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Look As Good As You Feel!™