5 tips for spacing out your hair washes – LAO Care

It is estimated that nearly 40%* of the French population has oily hair ... and this figure is increasing due to the intensification of harmful external factors, such as growing air pollution. The latter, along with UVA rays in particular, creates oxidative stress in our hair fiber, damaging it day after day.

Also, we know how annoying it is to have to wash your hair every day, or to find yourself the day after washing with heavy, shiny roots. It can even make you lose confidence, because it makes you feel dirty, like you haven't done what you should have in terms of hygiene.

And yet! Shiny hair doesn't necessarily have anything to do with hygiene. We're going to explain why, and above all, give you 5 tips for keeping your hair cleaner for longer.

The causes

As mentioned in the intro, our hair and scalp are daily victims of damage linked to pollution and UV rays... but there are many others! The greasy effect on hair can, for example, be amplified by perspiration , if you sleep in an overly heated room , or if you exercise very regularly.

Also, choosing the wrong care products, which are too heavy , can also give a greasy effect the day after washing, or even after drying.

1) Do not twist your hair

Who doesn't have this little habit of running their hand through their hair several times a day , to free their field of vision, or not a nervous reflex? This gesture seems harmless... but not for greasy hair!

In fact, your skin is covered with a thin film of sebum, and by touching your hair, you will transfer this sebum onto it and end up with a greasy lock!

Moreover, if your skin tends to be oily on your forehead, this can also create excess sebum on the hair that is in contact with it!

2) Tie your hair up... but not too tight

If you find yourself constantly touching your hair, it might be time to figure out if it's because it's bothering you by falling in front of your face, or if it's because you're nervous. In either case, you can clear your face by creating a very simple hairstyle that only includes the front strands! A barrette and you're done!

Don't tie your hair too tightly, as this will push it against your scalp and encourage the transfer of oil from the scalp or forehead!

3) Choose a good shampoo without sulfates or silicones

We often make the mistake of choosing our shampoo based on our lengths, when we should primarily choose it according to the needs of our scalp ! For example, if you have oily roots but dry lengths, choose a purifying shampoo and combine it with a local treatment for the lengths, which will contain coating active ingredients.

For example, LAO's Purifying Shampoo with organic nettle hydrosol will be perfect for hair that tends to be oily, it can be combined with our Conditioner , which is a perfect detangling treatment for fine or normal hair that struggles with knots!

So avoid shampoos containing oil, and choose shampoos containing nettle , which has always been known for its sebum-regulating properties, or sage, for example! This way, the shampoo will wash without leaving any residue on the hair !

In addition to their harmful effects on the environment, sulfates and silicones should be avoided for your oily hair . Sulfates are cleansing agents found in large quantities in often low-end shampoos, because they are cheap and lather a lot. However, they can be too harsh for your scalp, which, if attacked, will produce more sebum to compensate.

Sulfates are recognized in the list of ingredients of its shampoo under the name: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), Sodium Laureth Sulfate...

Silicones (and their derivatives, quats), are molecules that are added to treatments and shampoos for their "coating" function; that is to say, they will coat your hair to discipline the fiber. This will make it temporarily softer, possibly shiny. However, in addition to their polluting nature, silicones can be too heavy for fine or oily hair , and residues can remain... giving the impression of having to wash your hair again from the 2nd day of washing!

4) Wash your hairbrush regularly

The hairbrush is a real nest of bacteria, sebum and dust... and yet many of us forget to wash it regularly! While a brush stroke helps detangle and spread the sebum along the lengths, it accumulates in the pins or bristles... and immediately gives you a greasy effect the next time you brush your hair clean!

Moreover, we recommend that you choose bamboo or wooden brushes , which are gentler on the hair fiber and will create less electrostatic phenomena. In fact, both wood and bamboo have antistatic properties!

5) Don’t space out your washes too much!

Yes, we've always been told that you should space out your washes as much as possible, that it's a way to train your scalp so that it doesn't get greasy as quickly. In our opinion, it really depends on your daily life and your actions, as mentioned in the other tips! But it's still advice to try to apply.

However, it is very bad for an oily scalp to wait too long to wash . This is because sebum has an acidic pH, often a little more than skin, which is itself acidic. The accumulation of sebum will suffocate the hair roots and can cause damage to the scalp , resulting in itching, pimples, scabs , etc., as evidenced by the many people who tried "sebum cures" during confinement in 2020!

Clarification on solid shampoos

Solid shampoos... it's all or nothing! You should know that due to the absence of water in the composition of solid shampoos, formulators are forced to start with a fatty base to maintain the solid consistency . This is the reason why solid shampoos are mainly composed of a lot of vegetable butters and oils . You can guess this if you read point #2: these oils risk remaining on your hair fiber even after rinsing, and quickly give it a greasy appearance!

On the other hand, solid shampoos very often contain a high concentration of washing agents , the vast majority of which is Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI), which in high doses can be irritating, in addition to creating carcinogenic co-products during its creation (ethoxylation reaction).

If you've made it this far, we highly recommend you try the LAO care shampoo with nettle hydrosol , which also contains gentle, sulfate-free cleansing agents. It's the brand's bestseller and has rave reviews!