Not too long ago I posted a photo on Instagram about how I’m “training” my hair to not have to be washed often, and I was genuinely shocked at how many people had questions. I promised a post on my method, so here we are.

I’m about one month into this method and so far it’s getting easier and easier each week. I wash my hair about every 7-8 days or so. The first week my hair felt disgusting by day 5, but this last week I made it to day 8 and still felt like I could go another day or two. (I should note, I still take baths every other day, so I’m most certainly still bathing myself. I’m not that nasty.)

Day 1: I’ve washed my hair the night before but didn’t blow dry it. (I actually very rarely blow dry my hair anymore.) I use a flat iron to curl my hair. This is my LEAST favorite hair day but it sets a good base for the week.

Day 2: I brush out my hair to pull some of the natural oils on my roots down to the ends of my hair. I HIGHLY recommend a boar bristle brush for this. They’re fairly inexpensive, and they make your hair super shiny! I then use dry shampoo (Batiste is my fav <3) just on the roots at my part and the hair around my face. I don’t use it on my entire head. Rub it in with your fingers and touch up the curls if you want. I usually only have to touch up a little bit, 5 minutes tops. (The curls for me have turned more into waves by day 2…yay!) A lot of complaints I hear about dry shampoo is that it dries out the ends of your hair. By redistributing the natural oils in the beginning and only focusing on your roots with the dry shampoo, you’ll notice a big difference.

Day 3: Same method as day 2.

Day 4: Same method, but if things are looking blah or too oily at this point, switch up your part. Day 3, 4, and 5 are usually my favorite hair days!

Day 5: Same method.

Day 6: You’ll probably notice the hair closest to your face and around your neckline is looking rough at this point. I’ve had luck with braiding my bangs back and just using some dry shampoo on my neckline. But if it’s feeling horribly gross…wash that shit and see if you can push it further next week.

Day 7: If you’re on week 1, your hair will probably look and feel grimy as hell right now. (Mine was still fine at this point but for demonstration’s sake, I’ll pretend I was having a yucky hair day.) Throw it up in a bun, a braid, whatever your go-to “My hair looks like shit today” style is.

Day 8: If you haven’t washed your hair by now, go with another up-do of some kind. I’m currently loving pigtail buns right now because it’s one of the few styles that works with my short hair. Tonight.. We wash.

So.. Pretty straightforward method. The key, I think, is sticking with it. No part of any “training” is ever easy in the beginning, but it gets easier. Week two was easier than week one, week three was easier than week 2, and maybe in a few weeks I’ll just stop washing my hair, get some dreads, live on a commune, grow some weed, and change my name to Sunflower.

Totally kidding.

– amanda