HAIR: How I Wash My Hair Only Once A Week

It started with scissors. And bleach. Bent over the kitchen sink at a boy's house, I watched the slightly soapy water circle the drain as he rinsed the Manic Panic bleach kit from my hair, freshly shorn by my own two hands into a short, choppy Courtney Love-inspired mess (here's your proof). After years of experimenting with over-dyes and coloring random chunks of my hair, I'd finally taken the plunge and bleached the whole thing after hacking it all off. It was exhilarating, ridding myself of all that hair and transforming the color into something completely different, but I never expected that kitchen sink metamorphosis to lay the foundation for one of the main beauty secrets that I still swear by more than a decade later...

I only wash my hair once a week...every five to seven days or so.

Back then the short length, dye job, and fact that I preferred the Buzzcocks and Bikini Kill over boy bands and Coldplay was excuse enough to forego regular shampooing. I quickly learned that "dirty" hair equaled perfectly messy hair. Hair that didn't require much attention beyond the occasional root touch-up and baby bang trim. And when it came to caring for my dry, bleached ends, allowing my hair to relax a little between shampoos made it softer and less prone to breakage. Time passed, and I eventually grew my hair out, changed it from blonde to jet black to half & half to brown and back to blonde again, let it grow some more, chopped it off again...and throughout these subsequent transformations and lengths, it never occurred to me to change up my shampoo routine. Why mess with imperfection? All these years later, I still only wash it about once per week, sometimes more, sometimes less. This is a fact that, when divulged, is often met with shock, questions and, admittedly, sometimes disgust (turns out, people really like to wash their hair). Now, in the interest of self-preservation and lest you think my habits are truly horrific, I assure you I do shower daily. But I've found that with less frequent washing my hair is healthier, grows faster, has fewer split ends, and is more resilient to chemical processes (though I haven't colored it in quite awhile). Oh, and I don't use dry shampoo and I hit the gym 3 to 4 times per week. I know... how?

Here's how:

Sunday night, shampoo night: Before washing my hair, I brush through it thoroughly starting at the ends and working my way up using a natural bristle brush. Once in the shower, I wash my hair with a sulphate-free shampoo (my favorite is Living Proof PHD), concentrating only on my scalp and roots (the suds will run down and clean the remainder of my hair without causing extra drying and damage). I lather-rinse-repeat twice to clear away any buildup, giving my scalp a good massage at the same time. After rinsing, I apply conditioner to the mid-length of my hair to the ends and leave in for a few minutes before rinsing. Opposite of my only-wash-the-roots rule, I only condition the ends because they don't receive as many natural oils and moisture as the uppermost part of my hair. After patting dry with an Aquis hair towel, which helps absorb more water and dry my hair faster, I work a little oil into the ends -- either jojoba, sweet almond, or some balancing hair oil -- and allow my hair to air dry overnight.

 

Monday: My hair is usually still a little damp in the morning so, after brushing it back out I'll apply a little more oil to the ends (and maybe some styling cream) before drying it the rest of the way with a blow drier. If I have time, I'll use a curling wand and some dry texture spray to add a little texture to my otherwise pin-straight hair. If not, it's a messy bun day (truth: it's almost always messy bun day).

Tuesday: Since no blow drying is needed, after brushing out any major snags I add some loose waves in the front, spritz on some hairspray for hold and I'm out the door. If I can get away with it, this is my daily style. After work, I throw it in a ponytail for my workout. I don't mind a little sweat, and my head doesn't sweat that much anyway. When it comes to showering, I just put it in a bun and don't allow my hair to touch the stream of water.

Wednesday: I'm in a rush, so I play around with my part, parting it on the side and pulling it into a low ponytail. No brushing today, I like the mess.

Thursday: My hair is finally (finally!!!) long enough to pull into milkmaid braids. It's grown about seven inches since my last major (awful) haircut in October 2014. Short hair was fun but a surprising amount of work without the help of bleach this time around, so I'm excited to see it getting long again. After brushing it out, I braid both sides and criss-cross it over my head, securing with some bobby pins. Out of my face and easy.

Friday: Hat day. Brush it out, braid it up, slap a hat on top of it all. Hats fix many transgressions and today a large-brim western is hiding my roots. Pro tip: placement is everything when it comes to braided pigtails. Braid them close to the back of your head, instead of next to your ears, to avoid looking like a child. After my HIIT workout tonight, I brush it out and toss it up in a messy bun. If I'm going out, I'll probably wear a different hat or braid it again.

Saturday: I'm feeling lazy and I like how my hair looks after my weekend workout, so I decide to keep it in a high ponytail.

Sunday bun-day: The final countdown. Bun day. I usually just hang at home on Sundays, so I'm not worried if my hair doesn't look its greatest. Tonight, I'll repeat the process of washing it and, if my ends feel dry, I'll use a hair mask to deep condition and add in some much-needed moisture.

While this schedule doesn't necessarily ring true for every week, and there are definitely circumstances that warrant more frequent shampooing, this is the routine I generally find myself falling into and will probably stick to. Faster growth, no split ends, quick and easy...my hair has never felt better or looked healthier and I'm not gonna argue with that! At this point, the thought of washing and drying my hair daily, even every other day, is enough to make me cringe. As I've evolved over the years -- from the lowest of low-maintenance to loving hair and beauty -- I'm still not willing to spend more than a few minutes on it daily, which is something I believe my current and former selves would agree on.

I'm curious, what routine do you swear by? Are there habits you made when you were younger that you just never strayed from? Please share!

This post originally appeared here as part of my work with Free People. Images by Jana Kirn

My Hair Routine + How To Make Your Hair Grow Faster

A couple months after moving to Philadelphia, I got a really bad haircut. Like, watching the stylist try to make it better kind of bad. Pay for it anyway kind of bad. Cry in the car kind of bad. I took a photo to send to Chris, but it has since been deleted. That kind of bad. At the time, I was in a low place already, for one reason or another feeling self-conscious about the way that I looked, thinking that a fresh haircut would put me right and bring back some confidence. Well, joke's on you, Julie. There's a lesson to be learned in there somewhere. After years of hiding behind my hair, there were now significant chunks of it missing.

Normally, when a bad cut happens I would take my own advice and call the salon to have them fix it, but in my case, the only fix was to get bangs, and I really didn't want to go down that road again. So, after my tears dried, I attempted to grin (by laughing at myself in the mirror) and bear it, and started the slow and (sometimes) painful journey of growing out my hair. There were at least a couple of bright sides: It was hat season. And... well, it was hat season, that's pretty much it. After toying with my hair, I found that I could twist the front section back in a sort of boho-half-up situation... and then cover it with a hat. You get the picture. Now, I'm not necessarily trying to grow my hair to the mermaid lengths it was before, though who knows, but my goal is to get it to a place where I can eventually have my friend in Pittsburgh or New Hampshire shape it up. And as much as I loved having shorter hair, I realized something surprising: Shorter hair is way more high-maintenance than long. Who knew? Probably everyone else. But I've managed to streamline my routine to a bi-weekly wash with an easy refresh each morning and in the process I've gained a few inches of length. Today I'm sharing my hair routine, read on to learn my tips and tricks for low key style and how to grow out a bad haircut:

Shampoo & Condition: I wash my hair twice a week and air dry it overnight. There's no set day, just when it starts to feel greasy and the hat comes back out. I've been washing my hair infrequently for years, a habit I picked up when it was short-short in college. I've had a few people ask what I do when I work out, and well, I just tie it back. My scalp doesn't really sweat all that much and it doesn't bother me. 

One of the biggest challenges when it came with dealing with my shorter, in-between length hair was figuring out which products to use. After using salon products for years, I had reverted back to some organic shampoo from the drug store that I had picked up when we moved. I realize now that it was pretty terrible stuff... I didn't realize just how unmanageable it made my hair until I started using the potions above. Yes, potions. As in, Living Proof PHD is pure magic. I have very thick, very fine hair, which can get bushy when the right products aren't applied. The PHD line from Living Proof cleans my hair, but doesn't make it feel parched. But the biggest difference has been in the texture, I almost (almost) don't have to do anything with it when I wake up, it's not puffy, not frizzy, it's made an enormous difference, and it even dries faster.

Style: Save for the mousse, which I don't use as frequently, the products above are what I use from day to day to give my hair texture and hold.

Carol's Daughter Monoi Oil: I've used a few different oils on my hair, and I love that this one comes as a spray. I spray this on my air-dried hair from mid-shaft to end, and brush through before applying the PHD styling treatment.

TIGI Catwalk Session Series Hairspray: Ever since I worked in a salon years and years ago, I've had a love of TIGI products. This hairspray is weightless and leave may hair touchable and soft, while still providing plenty of hold.

After washing and air drying my hair, in the morning I spray on some Monoi oil before working a dime-sized dollop of PHD styling treatment through the ends. 

I apply the product mostly to my ends, and then when there is just a little left on my hands I brush them over the top of my head to tame fly-aways.

Now that my hair is a bit longer, I don't use the mousse as much, but if I'm using mousse for texture, I'll work some through the ends after the styling cream.

Once I've applied product, I break out the blow drier -- a CHI low EMF professional drier -- and dry it the rest of the way through by twisting back sections away from my face and briefly holding the drier against them.

I allow my hair to cool like this while I do my makeup.

For the final touch, and to ensure the choppy front section of my hair doesn't get too Friends-era Jennifer Aniston, I heat up my curling wand and, using a light touch, curl back the front section and add texture to the rest by wrapping sections of hair once or twice around the barrel. I then set everything with hairspray and comb through lightly with my fingers.

For the few days following, all I need to do in the morning is refresh the curls which takes about five minutes.

If you're thinking about growing out your hair, or are in the process, I commiserate. It sucks, but I've learned a few tips and tricks that can make the journey a little less bumpy:

- Resist the urge for major change. If you're someone who likes to change up your style, this can be difficult, especially if you're dealing with a cut you don't like. It's tempting to try and "fix" it or make things different, but if your goal is longer hair, or to grow out a bad cut... resist... resist! Getting bangs or bleaching it all just adds extra trouble... something I have to constantly remind myself.

- Step away from the heat. I still heat style my hair, but it's at a minimum. Exposing your hair to high heat can cause damage, like split ends and brittleness. Try air-drying it instead.

- Supplement. If you're vitamin B deficient, your hair and nails won't grow as fast. Supplement with a hair, skin, & nails vitamin that contains vitamin.

- Hydrate & eat healthy. Protein and iron play a key role in generating healthy hair and promoting growth. Eat whole foods, cut out as much sugar and processed foods as you can, and drink plenty of water.

- Style and reshape if you can. One of the worst parts of growing out your hair is the inevitable "awkward phase" that you will hit. Schedule a trim every few months to have your style reshaped. Trimming your hair won't actually make it grow faster, but trimming off the split ends will keep it looking healthy and lessent the amount you'd have to trim if you waited.

+ Do you have any tips for making your hair grow faster? Please share!

Thank you to Living Proof for kindly providing their products... I am now addicted. Opinions are my own.