How often should we wash our hair? A while back Kim Kardashian West revealed she goes up to five days without shampooing.
I grew up in a home of fanatical hair washers. My mother and older sister still wash their hair almost every day. For a long time, I felt obligated to wash my hair all the time. I thought it meant I wasn't a proper young woman if I walked around with dirty hair. I also thought that because I have an oily scalp, I needed to wash my hair everyday.
Still, if Kim's cutting down on shampooing, it must be a thing. So I decided I'd give it a try. After all, it would save me time, save me money and conserve water—which sounded like a great thing for everyone involved. What I learned is that my hair looks better and has more body if I haven't washed it in a few days.
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Dr. Lynne Goldberg told Business Insider recently that, "It's paradoxical, but people who wash their hair a lot to get rid of oil are drying out their scalp and producing more oil."
For the first time in my life, I will not question a medical professional. If it works for Kim, and dermatologists think it's good, well that's enough for me. I will no longer feel bad about this. Dry shampoo has become my friend, which is great because I am too busy to wash my hair daily or even every other day.
Here's the thing: We have to let go of many ideas and things when we become mothers. For example, we need to drop the idea that motherhood is going to look like what we thought it would. If your life looks exactly how you pictured it, I am so happy for you (really!). For me, though, it looks nothing like I had imagined. I have less energy, don't have sex as often as I would like and I'm over-scheduled. Washing my hair daily out of habit is one of the things I decided to let go of.
I have thick hair, so that gives me a slight advantage. But mostly what I made was a mental shift.
Once I accepted that frequent hair-washing was a waste of time, I decided to cut my hair shorter too. I thought that being sexy meant having long hair. You know what's sexy? Feeling great about yourself. Having my hair up in a ponytail because it was too long for me to be able to do anything with it is not sexy. Since adopting this new hairstyle and styling non-regime, I end up wearing makeup more often. I have a pep in my step!
Is a minimalist approach to hair-washing for you? It all depends. I have thick hair, so that gives me a slight advantage. But mostly what I made was a mental shift.
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So, please don't judge me too harshly. If you have long hair, and you can wash and style it every morning, please share your secrets for time-management. As for me, I'm happier with my dirty, short hair and fulfilling life.
You do you, and let me be me.
Thank You!
PS: I've also let go of the idea that my house will look like Pinterest.
