At the more regular end of the scale, 60 percent of guys said they wash their hair every day, while 15 percent wash it five to six times a week; 13 percent wash it three to four times a week; and six percent wash it once or twice a week.
As such, men with thin hair should wash every other day (roughly three or so times a week). Men with thick hair, including those with very curly hair, have more sebum, which means they only need to wash every three days or roughly twice per week.
A recent survey conducted by Lookfantastic set out to measure just that. It turns out that 49% of women polled admitted to washing their hair every damn day, which means that we, as a nation, are totally split 50/50.
A major reason many people choose to not wash their hair every day is that they fear long-term damage. Hair is pretty healthy when it first grows out of your head. Unfortunately, it can become unhealthy over time partially due to uncontrollable environmental factors such as: UV rays from the sun.
"Obviously every guy is different but on average I recommend washing with shampoo every three days," Susan Bard, MD FAAD, a dermatologist at Manhattan Dermatology Specialists, says. In fact, washing daily can actually backfire, leaving your scalp and hair in poorer condition.
Going a long time without washing your hair can cause a buildup of a yeast-like fungus called Malassezia on your scalp. Over time, this leads to a layer of dead skin cells that shed from your head in the form of oily, yellow-ish dandruff flakes. Dandruff can also make your scalp red, scaly, and itchy.
How Much Should You Wash? For the average person, every other day, or every 2 to 3 days, without washing is generally fine. “There is no blanket recommendation. If hair is visibly oily, scalp is itching, or there's flaking due to dirt,” those are signs it's time to shampoo, Goh says.
Rossi generally tells his patients they should wash their hair once or twice per week. But if you've had chemical treatments that can make your hair drier — such as bleach, perms or relaxers — you might want to wash it less than once weekly to avoid breaking or brittle hair or split ends, he said.
Your scalp and your strands need moisture to stay healthy, so try to cleanse once a week if possible. If you're working with fine or thin hair, or you have an oil-prone scalp, you may need to suds up a few times a week, every other day, or even daily (if you're, say, running a marathon in scorching heat every morning).
There's no one-size-fits-all rule for washing frequency. But on average, a guy should wash his hair two to three times per week. This routine is standard for maintaining clean hair with a healthy moisture balance.
The majority of people in Japan washed their hair at least once a day as revealed in a survey conducted in September 2022. The largest share, almost 63 percent, of respondents stated that they washed their hair everyday in the evening.
At the more regular end of the scale, 60 percent of guys said they wash their hair every day, while 15 percent wash it five to six times a week; 13 percent wash it three to four times a week; and six percent wash it once or twice a week.
In fact, you should not shampoo every day. The exact number depends on your hair, but think more like two or three days a week. Shampooing removes oil. And it's totally logical to think that shampooing more would mean less oil—totally linear.
Many doctors say a daily shower is fine for most people. (More than that could start to cause skin problems.) But for many people, two to three times a week is enough and may be even better to maintain good health.
“If your scalp is very oily or prone to breakouts, or if you sweat daily, it's best to wash daily,” says Dr. Wu. “If your hair itself is brittle or processed, you may want to skip a day in between washes to avoid stripping natural oils.”
"The average individual can typically go 2 to 3 days without shampooing their hair. However, if your hair is visibly oily, you may not want to wait that long," she says. "Usually, you can go longer without washing your hair when your hair is styled up, but no one should ever go more than 14 days."
The no-poo method is a hair-cleansing technique that removes shampoo from the equation, says Geeta Yadav, MD, a dermatologist in Toronto. Instead of using shampoo, followers of the practice use alternatives such as apple cider vinegar, a cleansing conditioner, or just plain water.
Washing your hair every day can strip away more oil than it should from your hair, which leaves your hair drier and more likely to break. Washing your hair every day can cause dryness, and that makes your hair much more prone to split ends. Split ends are the enemy of happy and healthy curls!
A water-only hair wash routine will help preserve the natural oils. Further, it is a low maintenance hair care routine that requires you to invest in minimal hair care products. You can use lukewarm and cold water to wash off the dirt and dust and then follow it up with a good conditioner.
If you're thinking of ditching shampoo altogether, think again! Although water can rinse your hair and remove some of the dirt, it definitely won't be enough to cleanse it properly. Water will not remove all the oils and product build-up from your hair. This means that you'll still end up with an itchy, smelly scalp...
The best recommendation depends on your hair type, but for most guys, shampooing every 2-3 days is about right. But that doesn't mean you can just ignore the top of your head for 3 days. Get in the shower and give it a good scrub under the water. That will help remove dead skin cells.
For most people, it is not necessary to wash their hair everyday. So the decision about how frequently to wash hair depends on a person's hair type, scalp texture, how oily the hair gets, and personal preference. For some people, too-frequent washing can cause damaged hair and a dry, itchy scalp.