Have You Stopped Washing Your Hair While Under Lockdown? This Could Be a Bad Idea

Greasy hair and spending the day in your pyjamas... This is how we can sum up the majority of the days we've spent under lockdown. While it is best to use this time to really focus on you and take a break from always having to get dressed up, there are certain trends that don't necessarily need to be followed. Among those that are currently flourishing is the ‘no poo’ movement; in other words, simply stopping washing your hair.

To get a clearer picture of this concept that advises you to leave your hair oily, renowned hairstylist Hovig Etoyan’s decided he'd add his 2 cents.

Is it a good idea to leave your hair oily for days on end? Many women believe that the lockdown is the right opportunity to leave their hair greasy since there are no professional or private obligations.

Benefits if you have naturally oily hair

If you have naturally oily hair, this period ‘is advantageous because it allows you to space out your shampoos, without having to be worried about what others think,’ explains Hovig Etoyon, Thus, ‘you can start gradually by doing a shampoo every other day, then once every three days, to reach the point where you wash your hair just twice a week, which is ideal,’ says the hairdresser.

Problems if you have normal hair

If, on the contrary, you have normal hair, why choose not to wash it? ‘Even if this helps you to avoid the silicone in shampoos or the limescale in the water, the scalp will still accumulate an excess of sebum,’ explains Etoyan. The result? Your hair is not able to breathe as much, and at this point irritations, or even itching may occur.

If you then have to spend more time removing excess sebum in the shower, you increase the time spent under the water, and the amount of shampoo used. Since the hair is more oily, it will lather less.

Hovig Etoyan's trick to avoid this over-consumption during washing is to ‘apply your shampoo to dry hair, and add water as you go along to make it lather.’

Use your free time to care for your hair

Rather than leaving your hair greasy for several days, use your time at home to take care of it. Instead of washing your hair quickly, and with unsuitable products, ‘take the time to massage your scalp while shampooing instead of rubbing it,’ explains the hairdresser.

Rinse well, then apply a mask under a towel, with the hair previously towel-dried. You can also apply a root scrub to cleanse your hair and make it shiny.