Guest Author - Kaaronica Evans-Ware

I've been asked whether or not it's okay to wash ethnic hair everyday. My first question, of course, is to what ethnicity are they referring. This is important because the fragility of hair definitely depends upon genetics. I’ve been told to never wash my hair more than twice a week as it will either dry it out or weaken it. Over the years, however, I began to wonder if having cleaner hair would really damage it.

So, of course, I tried a little experiment. For two weeks, I washed, conditioned and styled my hair every morning. My hair is fine in texture. It’s neither oily nor dry. I keep a good moisture balance so I was very curious as to if I’d have to work harder at maintaining that balance.

What I found was obviously cleaner hair. But by day three, I could smell the freshness whenever my hair moved. And moved it did. It was all over the place as if it had been set free. It was shinier and it certainly seemed healthier.

Now, all of the benefits sound nice, but it was hard work. I wasn’t use to giving so much of my day, everyday, for hair styling purposes. I, then, began to make it worth my while by exercising before washing my hair. This could easily become a lifestyle change for me if I weren’t so worried about turning the ends of my hair into Brillo pads.

Clearly, time and styling stress are the main issues I found myself dealing with. My hair wasn’t noticeably dryer or weaker. However, it was noticeably softer and easier to manage. I suffered far fewer tangles than I had in my normal regiment.

Yet, I could immediately feel the onset of a dry scalp and since I’m not a fan of hair grease, I began using an emollient conditioner to see it that would help. It did but not much.

After a week, I had really clean hair, dry scalp and possibly the signs of styling stress. For the week ahead, I decided to still keep the clean hair but lose the dry scalp and frayed ends. I slightly dusted (an ever so slight trim) the ends of my hair and made a jojoba-based hair oil to massage on the scalp right before bed. I used the lowest setting possible whenever I styled my hair. For me that was medium heat all around.

At the end of the experiment, I found that I could wash my hair everyday but it would probably create more problems than I’m willing to put up with. I’ve never had dry scalp and I’m not about to start just for cleaner hair. The time commitment was the easiest component to incorporate as it became part of my healthy mind and body goals.

What’s changed since this experiment? I wash my hair more often than twice a week, but no more than four times a week. My ends still look great and my scalp isn’t dry.