How to - 3 week hair! {no washing!}
Hi sweet friends!
Y'all asked - and I'm delivering!
I got so many messages when I started posting about how long I had gone between hair washes and you said you wanted to know how I do it.
Most of you know that it is SOOO much better for your hair to go longer periods of time without washing. With my mother as a hairdresser, I have never actually washed my hair more than 3 times a week (which I believe was around late high school/early college and was only for one summer). I have stayed around 1-2 a week for several years and then I decided I wanted to wash it even less.
Ready to see exactly how to not wash your hair every day (or even every week!)?!
First of all, I want you to understand I did not just wake up one day and decide to not wash my hair for 3 weeks. It definitely takes time for you to work up to it. But just like in getting stronger, you start with light weights and slowly increase and before you know it, you're doing double or even triple the weight! Same exact concept here - just increasing the days you go without washing your hair each time!
In this hair washing cycle, I washed my hair on the morning of April 6 before heading to Gatlinburg and I washed it on the evening of April 30th after the gym! I tried to take a lot of pictures but I know I didn't take as many as I (or you) might've liked - I'll keep documenting on Instagram stories though so you can see how things look in real time!
Several of you asked me what I do with my hair or how do I not wash it after going to the gym. Unfortunately, I don't have any actual pictures to show you in this cycle because I wasn't able to make it to the gym except for the last day (longest time I've gone without going to the gym since last August!). But I did volunteer at Zoo Knoxville about a week in and got pretty sweaty, so hopefully that will count for the girls that were curious about that part! I'll do another round on Instagram stories after going to the gym regularly as well so you can get a closer, better look!
Read on for each day's details!
Day 1:
I washed my hair the morning of April 6th after coming off of another 3 week hair cycle. Normally I would also curl my hair on a day 1 wash but I didn't because my curling iron had just died a couple of weeks before :( ... but I think it worked out better! I may try the next cycle the same way!
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| Day 1 - fresh washed hair! |
Days 2-6
Generally during my first week, I wear it down as much as possible because I want alllll the days possible with my hair down. I take a straightener to the creases that show up from sleeping on my hair and then go.
Important Tips:
- I keep my hair in a bun on top of my head at home to keep anything from getting in my hair - food, my hands. Which brings me to another point - you MUST keep your hands out of your hair. Even with clean hands, your hands have oils that will cause your hair to get greasier quicker.
- I brush my hair in the morning obviously, and I'll brush it again before going to bed.
- If I go to the gym during the first week, I take extra care to distribute the oils creating by my sweat and keeping my hair dry. I will brush it out when I get home from the gym and then blow dry it (yes, with the sweat. It will be ok.)
- Try to not use dry shampoo this first week. If you are an every day washer increasing your days, try to only use dry shampoo every other day at first and then wean yourself off of that as well!
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| Day 3 |
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| Day 3 |
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| Day 3 |
Day 7:
On this day, I volunteered at Zoo Knoxville. I knew I was going to be getting sweaty, but I also had an event that night and I wasn't sure if I'd be home in time to wash my hair beforehand. I did a quick side Elsa braid and got to work!
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| Day 7 |
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| Day 7 |
{I was actually thinking I would have to wash my hair because I remembered how sweaty I got last year. Just like that ->}
But of course - I didn't get home in time and thank goodness for crimped hair (thank you Elsa braid!) because I brushed it out (picked out twigs and leaves lol), got the blow dryer out to dry my sweat, added a little dry shampoo and headed off to the Girls Inc Elite Awards!
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| Day 7 |
Day 8-9:
Generally I switch it up to a bun on the weekend following the first wash - which I forgot to take a picture of. But nothing interesting, I just had my hair in a bun all day both days!
Day 10-12:
At the start of the 2nd work week, I try to start getting creative with my hair and you will too once you get to this point.
Since I have been training my hair for a while, I'm at a point where I can still do some days down during the second week, so that's what I did on these days and alternating a bun in there as well.
Day 13:
When I say "get creative", I'm not talking crazy hairstyles. I'm just saying think outside your regular hairstyle - especially if that means down. If it is long enough - try variations of half up/half down! I'll do a half up / half down bun, a braid (like I did below) or just plain ol' half up / half down (which is great with curls too!).
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| Day 13 |
Day 14:
I wore my hair down most of the day, but because it ended up raining cats and dogs for a good portion of the day, I ended up pulling my hair back in a ponytail.
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| Day 14 |
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| Day 14 |
If I'm doing a ponytail and I'm getting further into my no wash cycle, I'll do it more on the "messy look" side so that it makes it easier to hide any oiliness - without using dry shampoo.
2 week reminder: You should have only used dry shampoo twice at this point! I had still only used it once (after the zoo, before the event on April 12 - Day 7)
Day 15:
Made it to another weekend and I spent most of the day working around the house and attempted to head to the Tri-Cities to see my family for Easter, so what do you think I did with my hair?
Yep - In. A. Bun.
I know a bun may be a bit of an unpopular option, but if you're at home - it keeps your hair out of your face, out of your hands and away from anything that might cause it to get dirty.
But if you do have plans - there are plenty of ways to make a bun cute too! Pinterest alllll the cute bun styles!
Day 16:
It's Easter! I wanted to wear my hair down for church and for pictures in my Easter dress and I realized something I hadn't done yet. CURLS!
So yes, with 16 day old hair, I curled it! This just gave my hair a complete refresh (curls will normally do that anyway)!
My hair was starting get a little greasy - but nothing a little refresh from curls and dry shampoo couldn't fix. So I DID use dry shampoo on this day (which was my 2nd use).
For reference: this is pre-curl Day 16 hair.
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| Day 16 - post curl! |
Day 17:
Great way to start the work week with fresh curls! So I wore it down again!
Day 18-19:
I did a loose bun on Day 18 because I actually kept switching back and forth between down and up. I try to not do that because when I do that, my hands are in my hair wayyyy more than they should be.
On Day 19, I did a high & tight bun, which I loved!
{I kept forgetting to take pictures so this is a screen grab from a video lol}
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| Day 19 |
Day 20:
I was super exhausted from the week and should have made this look better - but I didn't. I just did a boring ponytail.
{More video screen grabs since I keep forgetting to take pictures! This one is actually from a hair update I did on Instagram stories}
Still pretty happy with how the curls look this far into this cycle!
Day 21:
The official beginning of 3 weeks! I had a gala for this night and had planned on washing my hair that morning. But when I got up, I was checking out my hair and decided. Nahhh. I was getting a spray tan on that Monday and I didn't want to wash it again in just a few days.
I wore it in a bun to work to keep my hands out of it all day and when I was getting ready, I almost just pulled back a small of the front for a little half up/half down look and then I realized I did that at the last event...
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| - this was Day 15 in that cycle - |
I checked some quick hairstyles and decided on a low, side pony. I fluffed my scalp and used a little dry shampoo for extra volume and hairspray for hold.
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| Day 21 |
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| Day 21 |
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| Day 21 |
Day 22-23:
Weekend is here again! You know by now, if I don't have plans, that means I'm living that bun life.
Day 24:
Starting my 4th work week and it is really time to wash my hair. But I had that spray tan this evening and I didn't want to wash it before because I knew I'd want to wash it after.
So I sucked it up for another day and did higher pony, with a little volume on the top & sides (which you can't see since this is yet another screen grab from a video and not an actual picture - I will be better next time, I promise!).
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| Day 24 |
Day 25:
Directly following a spray tan, you have to avoid the water. So I couldn't wash it the night I got it and the next morning (the morning of this day), I could only do a cold rinse - I was specifically told no hair washing. So, up in an easy bun it went!
Now, if I had anything important going on the weekend after the gala or Monday/Tuesday at work - I would have went ahead and washed it before the spray tan since you do cover your hair with a hair net. But thankfully, I didn't and people were definitely more focused on my SUPER dark tan than my hair lol (the first 24 hours is when it is it's darkest, before your soap shower, and I was DARK).
The success of your no wash cycle will have so much to do with how you plan your cycle - especially towards the end (events, work, life!). I can't stress enough how much being creative with your hair is really how you make it through your no wash cycle!
I went through my day in my bun, went to the gym after and then took my final pictures.
Be warned: this is as dirty as my hair would be. A full 25 days of no washing plus add spray tan AND gym sweat.
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| Day 25 |
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| Day 25 |
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| Day 25 |
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Clean hair!
Ready to save some time and spend less time washing your hair?!
Oh and scroll down for the hashtag to use if you post about this!
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Hey you! I get it you scrolled to the bottom for a quick summary. No problem :)
If you wanted to skip the details and just get to the 5 points on how to not wash your hair every day (or every week), here's the deal.
* The way to get to 3 weeks (or any extended period of no washing) is to add a day to every wash cycle (If you're an every day-er, go 2 days after your next wash. Then 3 days, then 4!)
* Keep your hands out of it
* Do not - I repeat - DO NOT saturate your hair with dry shampoo. This completely defeats the purpose of "washing". Keep your dry shampoo usage to only once a week.
* DO try new styles! Creative styles help hide any oiliness that might be showing when your hair is down. That means re-curling, re-straightening, and even braiding!
* A bun is your best friend!
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I want to see all of your progress and success stories! Tag me in stories or posts with this hashtag: #3weekhairchallenge and/or #extendmyhairwashcycle!
I'll help cheer you on and give you any tips or advice I can!
Life is SO much easier when you're only washing your hair 2-3 times a month!
LOVE,
Brooke Allison
Here are the products I use for my hair:
Shampoo (initial quick wash): Infusium 23
Purple Shampoo: Joico Purple Shampoo - Endure
Conditioner: Joico Moisture Recovery Conditioner
Brush: Wet Brush
Curling Iron: Babyliss (3/4") & Conair (3/4")
Straightener: Babyliss Pro
Hair Spray: Tresemme
Dry Shampoo: Batiste Tropical
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