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Unfortunately, a lot of guys are left in the dark as they relate to proper hair care for themselves. Women have a lot of resources at their disposal that outlines what they should and shouldn’t do as far as proper hair care goes, but that is not the case for guys. The purpose of this article is to help all the men out there know how to care for their hair; in the following sections, we will be going over how often you should wash your hair, what happens if you go long periods without washing your hair, and how sweat will affect your hair as well as hair growth.
Is Washing Your Hair Everyday Bad For Guys?
Although hair types may vary, and depending on the way that you choose to style your hand and your hair type, you may find that you feel more comfortable washing your hair every day. That said, regardless of your hair type, you should refrain from using shampoo every day; as this can dry out your hair and make it brittle, and even prone to breaking. For healthy and great looking hair, everyone should stop washing their hair with shampoo every day; but this is especially true for men. Experts can agree that guys should only wash their hair every two to three days. You can rinse your hair more often than that to remove sweat and apply conditioner, but you should skip out on the shampoo.
When used in excess, most shampoos (even the expensive brands), can dry out your hair; they contain sulfates along with other chemicals that strip the hair of essential oils. By lessening the frequency of shampoo use, you are effectively reducing the amount of frizz that your hair has, which will make it easier when applying product. As you may know, healthy hair behaves better, and if you are finding it hard to achieve the style that you are going for, washing your hair too often may indeed be the culprit.
How Often Should I Wash my Hair if I workout Daily?
Working out daily is a great habit to maintain, although you may be wondering if you should be washing your hair every time you workout or exercise; or how it will affect your hair and scalp. While maintaining good hygiene practices is vitally important, and if you are sweating you should shower every time, washing you may not want to shampoo your hair every time that you shower. Depending on much you were sweating with your specific workout routine, you may be able to opt-out of even rinsing your hair; experts suggest that if your sweat level was low, simply styling it after can give it the messy look that a lot of guys aim for.
While you may be working out every day, that does not mean that you need to wash your hair with shampoo and conditioner every time that you workout. Experts suggest even with sweating daily, to limit your hair to the complete shampoo treatment 2-3 times a week. However, if you feel more comfortable or that you have sweat sitting on your hair, you can always do a heavy rinse with water to clean your hair and scalp; and if desired, condition after without shampooing. Too much sweat can cause your hair to weaken, while shampooing too often will lead to breakage and dry hair.
Dry shampoo is also an option that a lot of guys overlook, although you should make sure not to add dry shampoo to hair that is wet or has fresh sweat. The best practice as relates to dry shampoo is to utilize it before you start to work out and sweat.
Should I Wash My Hair every day if I Use Product?
As stated above, shampooing your hair should only be done a couple of times a week for guys; however, if you use products that may vary slightly. Depending on the type of product that you use, it may be necessary to use shampoo if you have a buildup of the product; however, in most cases for guys, rinsing the product out and applying conditioner is more than enough to strip the product from your hair without the use of shampoo. Products like clay and paste may be harder to stip off of your hair, but if used in moderation daily, there should be no need to shampoo more often than every 2nd or 3rd day generally.
For more advanced styles that require the use of a lot of products, you may find that you need to shampoo your hair every other day, or in some cases, every day. If that is the case, you should remember to take extra care of your hair by limiting the amount of shampoo used, as well as applying conditioner and letting it sit for up to 10 minutes before washing out. Additionally, you may find that applying a hot oil treatment to your hair once or twice a week will help to ensure that the shampoo does not strip your hair of all its naturally beneficial oils.
How Long Can You Go Without Washing Your Hair?
Guys are lucky in the sense that they can go for longer periods before washing their hair than women; in part due to the length of hair. According to experts, guys don’t have a big need to wash their hair with shampoo, unless they are prone to sweating excessively or use a lot of different products daily to achieve their desired look. For the most part, guys are fine by simply washing their hair to remove product and then following up with conditioner to maintain healthy hair.
If you are one of the guys that does use a lot of product to achieve your desired style and simply rinsing it does not remove the product from the past day, then shampoo your hair may need to be done. However, to lessen the amount of drying out that shampoo is prone to, you can opt-in for less invasive shampoos, although they will generally have a higher price point.
Most guys can get away with shampooing their hair 2 times a week with a maximum of 3 times in any given week. It should also be noted that while you are shampooing, you should focus on your scalp, and not the strands of your hair, as this is when you will experience excessive drying out. When you are conditioning, this is when you will want to focus on your strands of hair, and leave it in for a few minutes to allow your hair to soak up the moisture.
What Happens if you Don’t Wash Your Hair for Two Weeks?
Depending on your hair type, you may find that you can go for longer periods without washing your hair and not noticing much of a difference. The bottom line is that what happens when you go two weeks without washing your hair depends on you. Factors such as hair type, how long your hair is, and if you are working out and sweating will determine what happens to your hair and scalp if you stop washing your hair with shampoo. In most cases, guys can get away with not using shampoo for weeks at a time; as over time, your scalp will start to secrete oils that are meant to protect your hair, and give it that lustrous shine. However, if your hair is naturally more oil-prone, you may find that you need to wash your hair more often.
A lot of guys find that they can go weeks without washing their hair and not have any negative effects; a lot of them will still rinse and use conditioner but have found that they don’t need to use a shampoo. And this is especially true if you have shorter hair, as there is much more airflow to your scalp. Hygiene will also play a role, as some guys can go weeks without washing their hair and notice that if anything they have improvements to the look and feel; while other guys notice that there is a smell that isn’t quite pleasant and feels greasy all the time. It all boils down to texture, genetics, and natural oils in your scalp which transfers to your hair.
Why Does Hair Always Smell?
You may notice that your hair has a smell; and while some days your hair can smell amazing, other days that might not be the case. The cause of this isn’t from sweat, as sweat doesn’t have a smell, or from your hair at all. The reason why your hair smells is largely in part due to the condition and cleanliness of your scalp. Because sweat does not have a smell, what you are smelling in your hair is bacteria from your scalp that feeds off of the lipids and proteins in your sweat. Because for the most part, out scalps are covered in hair and can’t breathe properly, they are considered to be breeding grounds for yeast and bacteria that sweat intensifies.
If you notice that your hair is smelling, and not always pleasant, then the issue could lie in your scalp not getting clean when you are washing your hair. This is not uncommon, and the most important thing to remember is that when you are shampooing your hair, you are cleaning your scalp. Instead of focusing on the strands of hair when shampooing, you should be focusing instead on scrubbing your scalp using the tips of your fingers, as much as possible.
Is Sweating Good for Hair?
Generally speaking, sweat is beneficial to your hair follicles. While too much sweat can lead to damage over time, that is not usually the case. When you sweat from your scalp, your hair follicles start to unclog, allowing more room for hair growth. This also opens up the pores on your scalp, removing any clogging that could be keeping your hair from growing. However, it should be noted that because of the saltiness in your sweat, this is not the best for hair, as it contains lactic acid; which when mixed in with the keratin that is found naturally in your hair, can lead to damage. So while it is important to sweat for your pours, it is also important to at least rinse the sweat off of your hair when possible.
To keep sweat from damaging your hair, it is important to minimize the amount of sweat that is sitting on your hair post-workout. This simply means that after your workout, if you don’t want to shampoo your hair that day (remember 2-3 times a week is plenty), then you can rinse your hair out during your shower, and follow that up with an application of conditioner. A lot of guys will apply conditioner and then immediately rinse it out, which limits the amount of moisture that you are receiving from the product. Best practice is to wet your hair when you get into the shower, apply conditioner, do your normal shower routine, and once you are almost done, rinse your hair to remove the conditioner while maintaining the moisture that it provides.
We hope this article will help all you guys out there who are wondering about proper hair care and how sweat will affect your hair growth, as well as how often to wash your hair. Remember that you only need to use shampoo a maximum of 3 times a week, and depending on your hair type and level of naturally occurring oils, this may be excessive. The best thing to do is to pay attention to how your hair is taking the shampoo, and cut back or increase use as needed.
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