‘There’s kind of a myth out there’: Expert reveals how often you should actually be washing your hair if you have hair loss

When it comes to hair care, there are so many different opinions on what is best for certain hair types and textures and how to execute the perfect wash day routine.

One primary source of contention between haircare professionals like hairdressers and trichologists—specialists who study and treat hair and scalp conditions—is how often hair should be washed.

There are two schools of thought on the matter. Some argue that washing too frequently can be bad for the hair, depriving it of natural oils. Others advise clients and patients to wash their hair more frequently to prevent the buildup of oil on the scalp and potential skin issues.

One trichologist has taken to social media to share what she tells her patients who are actively experiencing hair loss when it comes to their hair care routine.

How frequently should you wash your hair if you're losing it?

In a video that has drawn over 944,000 views on TikTok, user Mandy B. Beauty, Trichologist (@thairapybymandyb), explains that for clients experiencing hair loss, she recommends daily hair washing.

"Every day," she says. "Yes, I said every day. Now, there's kind of a myth out there that you shouldn't wash every day, that it's bad for you. But that's only because of the products that are available over the counter typically have a lot of alcohol and drying ingredients in them. So when you wash every day with those types of products, it can really leave your scalp and your hair very dry. However, when you are going through hair loss and you have thinning hair, it is recommended that you wash every single day or every other day, no more than once every three days."

For folks experiencing hair loss, she says this is because of a buildup of a hormone that can cause hair thinning.

"The reason is because dihydrotestosterone grows with sebum," she says. "So the more oily your scalp is, the more that DHT has the environment that it needs to live in. So I have all my hair loss patients washing every day, or every other day, to keep DHT off the scalp. Now, you want to make sure that you're using a shampoo that has DHT-blockers as well as stimulating ingredients. So that your hair has the healthiest environment that it can have in order to grow healthy, happy hair."

The Daily Dot has reached out to @thairapybymandyb via email regarding the video.

What is dihydrotestosterone?

Dihydrotestosterone, also known as DHT, is a hormone that can cause hair loss in both men and women. It is a byproduct of testosterone.

Testosterone is more strongly associated with men, despite naturally occurring in both male and female bodies.

Why does this hormone cause hair loss?

When levels of DHT become too high, hair can become brittle and thin, as well as more likely to fall out.

Typically, women who experience DHT-related hair loss do so around menopause, as the change in hormones can throw off body chemistry and lead to hair loss.

What kind of treatment is available?

As referenced by Mandy, DHT blockers can help treat subsequent hair loss when applied through topical means in haircare products.

These include topical finasteride and dutasteride, prescription medications that lower the amount of DHT in the scalp without impacting the rest of the body.

Rosemary oil is thought to be a natural DHT blocker, as well as pumpkin seed oil and caffeine. The latter is less a cup of Joe and more an additive to something like shampoo. Saw palmetto and green tea are also in this category.

If you are already using a prescription treatment, it is rarely recommended to stop using prescriptions in favor of natural remedies without consulting the doctor who prescribed it to you.

'They told me the same thing.'

Some viewers echoed the poster's advice, writing that they had tried stretching out days between hair washing, and washing every day got them the best results.

"I was losing so much hair I went to a specialist," one commenter wrote. "They told me the same thing. You need 2 have a clean scalp in order 4 hair to grow. I have been doing this 4 6 months now n my hair is growing back!!"

"Once I stopped washing my hair daily or every other day that’s when my hair thinning started," another said.

"I started washing my hair everyday instead of once a week and now I notice my hair brush is not packed with hair after brushing," a further user said.

"I used to wash my hair every single day, for 30 plus years…no issues," a commenter wrote. "Now I’ve been washing three times a week and my hair is thinning. Huh, maybe some truth to this."

Can you 'train' your hair by not washing it?

Others were staunchly opposed to the advice in general.

That's despite Mandy's position that the advice is for people who are experiencing hair loss, not people who are happy with their current routine and hair density. Several referred specifically to the concept of training one's scalp to produce less oil by going longer in between washes, which has been debunked by industry professionals, per Refinery29.

"As a stylist, I believe it’s important to let the natural oils moisten the scalp," one commenter wrote. "Too much shampooing cues the oil glands to overproduce. Wash according to climate."

"All this depends on individual, genetic etc," another said. "I wash my hair once a week I m almost 40 and I have a lot of hair, no hair loss and Does not get as oily as fast neither."

"My hair is naturally curly but thinning now, it has never been oily," a further user added. "I wash maybe twice a week so I can get some natural oils."

Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.

Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.

The post ‘There’s kind of a myth out there’: Expert reveals how often you should actually be washing your hair if you have hair loss appeared first on The Daily Dot.