This Is How Often You Should Be Washing Your Hair This Summer
There's so much to love about summer, including the days getting longer and warmer so we can say goodbye to hibernation and super cold days. It's exciting to transition from winter to summer, switch to flowier outfits, and pack away those sweaters. While it is equally important to take care of your skin all year round, summer means lighter makeup and a little extra protection for being outdoors, though you need sunscreen 365 days a year.
In fact, Dr. Melanie Palm, a board-certified dermatologist and founder of Art of Skin MD in Solana Beach, California, told InStyle, "I recommend looking for non-comedogenic products, meaning products that do not cause or contribute to breakouts." Summer does get sweaty, after all. Meanwhile, New Jersey-based dermatologist Dr. Karan Lal told the outlet, "Retinols and retinoids make you more sensitive to the sun," so it might be wise to tone down to avoid more irritation.
While our skin gets all the TLC, it's also important to take care of your hair. On this, Hairstylist Earl Simms told Elle, "The heat of the summer intensifies the damage that is done to the hair normally through using styling appliances." Simms added that the sun's UV rays and the swimming pools' chlorine don't help either. Protect your hair by wearing a hat when possible, and don't forget to hydrate your hair with hair oil or a mask.
Still, our hair also gets sweaty and greasy when we are more active or outside more, so does that mean you wash it more often?
The frequency of washing your hair in the summer depends on these factors
We have all heard that washing your hair too much will lead to losing more natural oils on your scalp, leading to extra dryness, but what if you are sweating way more? According to Better Not Younger, if you are more active outdoors and sweating more, you should wash your hair two to three times a week. Of course, someone who is indoors more and less active can do less. If you have fine, thin, or oily hair, you should schedule a hair wash every other day to avoid looking too flat and greasy. Curly or color-treated hair tends to be drier, so keep washing to only one to three times a week with a hydrating, color-protecting shampoo. Fan of the pool? You must wash your hair after every dip because chlorine "dries hair out, leaving it brittle and more susceptible to damage" (via Better Not Younger).
Ultimately, how often you wash your hair depends on your lifestyle and hair type. "If you must shower more frequently, use conditioner only to protect hair health," stylist Eliut Rivera told Well + Good. Rivera recommends only shampooing your hair twice a week if you are more active, and even then, just shampoo the scalp to clean it and not "the full length of the strand." Meanwhile, trichologist Kari Williams suggests shampooing only once a week even if you are in a "humid climate or have a flaky-scalp condition" to prevent dry hair.