Katelyn Iorillo, a junior at SMU, has been experimenting with her hair color and heat styling since she was 13 years old. The education and psychology major considers herself pretty knowledgeable when it comes to her own blonde locks.
“My hair doesn’t really get greasy because it’s really damaged from bleaching it,” Iorillo says.
With her naturally straight hair, Iorillo prefers to air dry her hair after a wash, and will apply what is now known as “dirty hair products,” like dry shampoo or dry conditioner, before her next wash or heat style.
Iorillo is part of a growing trend of American women who are opting out of daily shampooing. Some are taking advantage of new products that are to be used on dry, dirty hair as a way to avoid additional damage to their hair from extra heat styling and harsh chemicals that can be found in traditional shampoos.
“If you wash your hair a lot, it’s going to dry it out, especially if you have color treated hair,” says Drybar stylist Gabrielle Tyler.
Tyler, who works at the NorthPark Drybar location, rocks bleach blonde hair and washes her hair about every five days.
The Los Angeles-based blowout chain not only styles hair, but also offers many “dirty hair products,” such as dry shampoo, as a way to prompt clients to let their blowouts last an couple extra days. Dry shampoo, usually in an aerosol can, will soak up the natural oils in your hair while adding a volume and a fresh scent to a two-day-old style.
Heat styling is not the only way to damage your hair. Many shampoos have harsh chemicals in them that will strip your hair of its natural oils and damage your scalp. When your hair is stripped of its natural oils, the scalp then becomes dry and flakey. A dry scalp cannot produce healthy hair, so people must make sure to use oils or dry-scalp shampoo if they feel this is happening to them.
Senior Mattie Lippe, a journalism major, says washing her hair daily conditioned her hair to need to be washed daily. When she noticed how much of her hair was falling out when she was brushing it, she began to wash her hair every 3 days and had great results after a small adjustment period.
“It got healthier and stayed cleaner longer. It also got stronger and a lot thicker again, and more voluminous,” Lippe said.
When considering how often your hair needs to be shampooed, you need to consider what kind of hair you have. Different textures, colors, and even how often you put your hair in a pony tail, can affect how you should be treating your hair. Whether you’re a brunette or a bleach blonde, learning how to keep your hair strong and healthy should always be a top priority.
