I went a week without washing my hair

You might think this is absolute insanity. Just like most people, I wash my hair almost every other day. But with all my dramatic hair changes, I know what it’s like to feel completely fine with washing my hair twice a week since I used to have dreads and getting them soaked was hell. Now, since I’ve growing out my hair after having short hair for three years, I don’t even brush my hair.

I decided to try a week without washing my crazy hair without any shampoo, dry shampoo, and refraining from all hair products including any oils to add a scent. (I used to survive on tea tree oil when I had dreads. I don’t style my hair so it should be easy, right?)

Day 2

Obviously, I was fine just as I was on day one, which is why I didn’t bother taking a photo. I kept my hair tied up because it was very windy and with my hair being short, it’s hard to completely tie in a ponytail or put in a bun. Instead, I tied up the top half of my hair, but even then I had baby hairs flying.  I refrained from wearing hats or beanies because then my hair would get greasier and grosser, faster.

Day 3

When I told my mom that I wasn’t going to wash my hair for a week, she told me about one of her co-workers who only washes her hair twice a month. Also, I knew the frontman of my favorite band has hair significantly longer than mine and he hasn’t washed his hair in ages and it still looks great – so I knew it couldn’t be that bad. I went to a deli near my house and the cashier was mesmerized by my hair color. My hair is naturally pretty dark, and part of it is a perfect gray because it used to be white/blond and I tried dying it black but it turned dark blue and faded to gray. Great for conversations, but sparks anxiety because it hasn’t been washed.

Day 4

It only took three days and my hair was beginning to get greasy. As I showered, I let my hair soak up some water then put it in real bad Dutch braids, (I haven’t practiced) and hoped it didn’t appear too bad. No one had complained about any sort of stench so I was in the clear – my hair isn’t the gross greasy kind, but very shiny.

Day 5

By day five showers were much quicker since I was not caught up in washing and conditioning my hair. I kept my hair in the dutch braids from yesterday because why the hell not. My brother’s girlfriend told me she does the same when she’s too lazy to wash her hair during the week.

Day 6

OK, by this day my hair officially felt gross. I did a workout and yoga which made me super sweaty. It felt so uncomfortable not being able to wash the smelliness because at that point I really had to. I ran it under some water in the shower to hopefully rid of any stench. I went to a local show that night to watch a heavy bands and there were a lot of men with longer, healthier looking hair than mine. The end of the day I stood in front of the mirror just shocked at how insanely greasy my hair was.

Day 7

It was the final day and I ran it under water again. No one seemed to care except me which was cool. I’m used to getting stared at especially for the gray hair but it was not all so bad. When I told my best friend I had been getting annoyed by my dirty hair,  she instantly said: ‘I could easily do that.’  Although I wouldn’t want to do it again, I learned Dutch braids are the way to go.