Dirty Little Secret

 

I have a confession to make: I haven't shampooed my hair in seven days. I know, it sounds crazy, but it's true. On average I usually only shampoo my hair every seven to ten days. Before you start you wondering why a hair stylist would walk around for a week with filthy smelly hair, let me clarify. Just because I haven't shampooed in seven days doesn't mean I haven't cleaned my hair in all that time. Allow me to explain: I have naturally curly, dry hair that looks like a fright wig when I get up in the morning. During the night while I sleep, something happens to my hair that allows it to defy the laws of gravity and rearrange itself into a mushroom-cloud-like shape that hovers up and out around my head in a way that only Amy Winehouse or Foxy Cleopatra could find appealing. It's a not-so-pretty sight that still startles me on some mornings. Brushing it out only seems to anger it! Making my curls then turn into a fly-away frizz that bears more than a passing resemblance to Seinfield's neighbor Kramer. So needless to say, something must be done before I can face the world each day as an advocate for the importance of good hair. 
            A shampoo, condition, and styling is the obvious cure for my morning affliction, something that millions of Americans do every day. Unlike the filthy French. However, I realized years ago that daily shampooing just made my curly hair drier and frizzier with an abundance of fuzzy fly-away's. Being an expert on all things hair and scalp, I know that the oil our scalps produce, called sebum, serves many valuable functions. Small glands in the scalp secrete oil for each hair follicle on your head. This oil actually allows the hair to slide through the scalp as it grows from the follicle and leaves a protective coating on the hair shaft that helps shield it from the elements. This oil is what makes your hair shiny and helps hold in the moisture that is naturally present inside our hair.   When the layer of oil in the hair is broken down, the moisture trapped below evaporates, leaving the hair to dry out and become more prone to damage. It isn't long before you end up with dry, unmanageable hair complete with split ends and broken shafts. Our skin, scalp, and hair are in a constant state of combat with the environment. Sun, salt, and chlorinated water strip away the sebum and draw away moisture damaging the cuticle layer. If the cuticle scales crack or warp, the roughened hair surface loses its natural sheen and the fiber of the cortex frays, creating frizzy, dryness. Shampoos, even high quality ones, if overused, can contribute to this loss of sebum and moisture. If you have highly processed, damaged hair, or your hair is naturally coarse, dry, and brittle then there's no better reparative agent than your scalp's own natural oils. Just like Pepto-Bismol, they coat, soothe, and relieve. This same oil that constantly garners complaints for making hair, flat, lifeless, and stringy is actually the thing that can solve many of your hair's problems. The trick lies in getting the oil off your scalp, where it can make hair flat, and work the oil down into the ends where it will help calm and smooth fuzzy, dull tips. 
            My own morning ritual, after scaring myself in the mirror, is to cleanse and condition my hair without the use of shampoo. After stepping into my shower I thoroughly wet my hair with warm, not hot, water and massage my scalp with the pads of my fingertips. I go through all the familiar motions of shampooing but without the shampoo. This rinses out any dirt, dust, and environmental pollutants, as well as any hairstyling products from the previous day. That's why it's a good idea to only use hair products that are water soluble. The massaging of the scalp also increases blood flow to the follicle as it helps rinse the excess oil away from the scalp and down to the ends where it's needed most. Any oil that your more porous ends don't need won't be absorbed and it simply rinses down the drain. Voila! Clean refreshed hair and no shampoo needed. I then apply conditioner (Kerastase Masquintense) to the ends of my hair, brushing it through with a rubber Denman paddle brush to distribute it everywhere, as well as to detangle my Afro-esque texture. After allowing the conditioner to sit through the remainder of my shower, I finish with a rinse of coolish water to close the cuticle and increase shine.
            After this, most of you can towel dry, apply styling product and resume your usual blow-drying and styling routine. You'll find that your hair is bouncy, lustrous, well-behaved and smells good too! If, like me, your hair is curly and you don't want to blow it out, here is the rest of my routine. After rinsing and turning off the shower, but before getting out, give your hair a thorough dog-shake to remove a lot of the excess water. Then grab a towel, throw your head over in front of you, and gently squeeze, blot, and scrunch your hair to remove more moisture. Never rub, scrub, or tousle your hair as this will cause the curls to separate and frizz. Next, based on your hair's length and thickness, use an appropriate amount of curling creme (I use Kerastase Oleo Curl) or other product designed for curly hair and gently scrunch it into your hair, working from the ends up. Don't run your fingers through your hair, this will only taunt it and cause it to curl unevenly out of spite. Don't use a comb or a brush either, it just causes the curls to straighten out and go limp. Now flip your head right side up and arrange your curls using only your fingers and hands to push, press, and mold your curls into the desired shape. Now for the hard part: Don't touch your hair at all, ever again for the rest of the day! You'll only cause it to get frizzy and fly-away. For the next thirty minutes or so, as your hair is drying, you may from time to time flip your head over and give it a gentle shake, or scrunching to fluff it out and to reinforce the curl pattern, but never run your fingers through it, you'll just be asking for trouble. There are tons more tricks and tips I could give to the curly haired, but it would practically fill a whole book, so I'll save those for another column. But those are the basics, so give those a try and see if they don't result in softer, shiner, loopier curls.
            I can already hear many of you saying "What kind of nut is this guy?" "I run every day." "I work out and sweat." "I work in my yard." "My hair is filthy!" "Why won't my husband leave?" "I have to wash my hair every day, sometimes twice." Well, first of all, unless you work in a coal mine, or are a professional mud wrestler, then your hair probably really isn't dirty. Sweat isn't dirt, it's just water and salt. And salt is a water soluble mineral that will dissolve and rinse out with water. We've already established that sebum isn't dirt, it's your body's own protective agent for your skin and hair. It helps balance the moisture and pH levels of your hair to keep it strong and healthy. You don't want to rid your hair and scalp completely of it, but instead maintain it at a proper balance. Think of it the way you would of your facial skin care regime. You never want to completely dry out your complexion or your face becomes tight and irritated. Most people don't clean their faces with soap, they use a gentle cleanser instead. If you've ever over exfoliated, cleansed, and astringented your face, you know what I mean. At first it feels dry and tight then the next day it feels flaky and scaly. After that it starts to get greasy and oily. That's your body responding to the depletion in moisture levels and overcompensating to regain a normal balance. The skin of your scalp does the same thing. If you're chronically plagued with an oily scalp and dry hair, you're most likely shampooing too often and using a shampoo that's too harsh. You shampoo because you're oily, which dries the scalp and hair, and your scalp responds by producing more oil, which leads you to shampoo more often, which leads to drier hair and more oil production and ...well, you get the idea.   Conversely, if you moisturize and condition at the scalp too frequently your skin responds by producing less oil because it isn't needed (ain't nature funny?). The result, ironically, is drier hair. 
            Of course everyone's hair and scalp needs are different so you may need to shampoo more or less than every seven to ten days. You may find that every third day, with rinsing and conditioning in between, is just what you need. You may not even need the conditioning if your hair is fine and your scalp is oilier. I have a client whose blowouts last her three or four days, and she rinses and conditions every few days. She actually only uses shampoo every fourteen to eighteen days, sometimes longer in winter, and her hair has never looked or felt better. And I have never once had to spray her with Febreeze! So don't worry about thinking you aren't clean. If you are feeling like your hair no longer shines and your color fades too quickly, or if your hair is too dry or too oily, too big or too flat, give my dirty little secret a try. Experiment a little and find out what the right balance and schedule is for your hair's individual needs. With a less invasive approach to caring for your hair you may discover that the cooperative hair that you have always dreamed of having has been sitting on your head all along. 

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