How often should you wash your hair according to your hair type?

“Is it okay to wash our hair every day?”

“How often should we wash our hair?”

These are frequently asked questions that have answers ranging from daily wash without fail to once every other day to once a week being debated continuously.

If you exercise every day or live in high humidity places, i.e., Singapore, where your scalp perspires easily — washing your hair daily feels like the right thing to do. However, if you suffer from hair loss or damaged hair, it might seem counterintuitive to wash it daily as it might strip the natural oil away from your hair. Yet, we also have expert trichologists telling us that in circumstances of hair loss or damaged hair, we need to wash our hair daily for a healthy clean scalp to promote hair growth.

So how often should we be washing our hair? Let’s look at our hair type to get a better sensing.

 

How to check your hair type and the type of shampoo or hair treatment suitable for it

Before you can decide on your hair washing regime, it is important to understand firstly your hair type so that you can use the correct hair products that are formulated for your specific hair type. Hair types can be classified into the different thickness of hair:

• Fine hair
• Medium hair
• Thick hair

Here are some simple tips that you can use to access and understand your hair type along with some suggestions for hair products and hair treatment:

 

1. Fine Hair

Take a single strand of hair and feel it between your fingers. If you cannot feel the strand, you have fine hair.

Fine textured hair tends to get greasy faster as they have the highest contact with the oil glands on the scalp. Our recommendation for those with fine textured hair is to shampoo your hair daily, preferably double cleansing.

Many people have the misconception that washing hair daily is bad for scalp health as it will strip away the scalp’s natural oil, therefore making the already thin hair dry, limp, and flat. However, expert trichologists have come forth to debunk the myth. They maintained that when the correct shampoo, conditioner, and lotion are used, a daily wash can help to create a healthy scalp which in turns promote hair growth.

Suggested hair wash regime for fine hair:

1. Double cleanse daily with PHS HAIRSCIENCE Nutrition Shampoo + FEM Thickening Shampoo or ADV Volume Shampoo.
2. Moisturise with a PHS HAIRSCIENCE Fortify Conditioner
3. Massage in PHS HAIRSCIENCE FEM Fortify Tonic to deliver vital nutrients to nourish and strengthen hair roots.

 

2. Medium Hair

Take a single strand of hair and feel It between your fingers. If you can feel it, you have medium textured hair!

For people with medium textured hair, you might feel that you can go longer without washing your hair. However, experts suggest looking to the environment to determine when to wash your hair. In high humidity Singapore, our scalps can get greasy very fast, and an oily scalp is enough a reason to wash your hair. Don’t be afraid of washing it when you have coloured or damaged hair — just use a good quality hydrating shampoo and conditioner when you do.

Suggested hair wash regime for medium hair:

1. Double cleanse once every other day with PHS HAIRSCIENCE Nutrition Shampoo + ADV Argan Oil Shampoo
2. Moisturise with a ADV Argan Oil Conditioner
3. Finish off the regime with a PHS HAIRSCIENCE Argan Oil Treatment that provides enriched nutrients and intense hydration to strengthen and revive dry, damaged hair.
4. Apply PHS HAIRSCIENCE ADV Moisture Hair Mask weekly to replenish any moisture loss. Its powerful blend of nourishing botanicals helps to keep your hair silky and soft so that you can clean your scalp effectively without worrying about dry ends.

 

3. Coarse Hair

Take a single strand of hair and feel It between your fingers. If it feels rough or coarse, you have coarse hair!

Coarse hair does not show as much as greasiness even when the scalps are oily as compared to fine and medium hair. It also does not fall flat or look limp when there is an overproduction of scalp oil. However, you should never go a long time without washing it as there can be a buildup of sebum and impurities that clog the hair follicles. Over time, it will result in hair loss and a hair loss treatment in Singapore may be your only solution.

Suggested hair wash regime for medium hair:

1. Double cleanse a few times a week with PHS HAIRSCIENCE Nutrition Shampoo + FEM Foritfy Shampoo that energises and rehabilitates the scalp to reduce hair fall
2. Moisturise with a PHS HAIRSCIENCE FEM Fortify Conditioner
3. Finish off the regime with a PHS HAIRSCIENCE FEM Fortify Tonic that delivers vital nutrients to nourish and strengthen hair roots, thus reducing hair fall.

 

The general rule of thumb

While there is no one magic number, the general rule of thumb you can follow is to wash your hair whenever you perspire especially after an exercise, or when you are wearing a lot of hair styling products or when you feel that your roots are becoming oily and grimy. However, if your hair looks great, feels comfortable and not causing you any issues, you can skip the wash! It is also about trial and error and understanding how your hair behaves :)

If you are still unsure about the type of hair you have or how to have great looking healthy hair, come for a free in-depth consultation and diagnosis of your scalp health with our hair and scalp experts.

Book an appointment with us here