May sound insane, but I stopped washing my hair (I only use conditioner), and now, instead of reapplying the dye every two weeks, I only have to do it every 4-6 weeks. It takes awhile, though, to get to the no-shampoo stage.

I'll back you up on this: I don't shampoo most of the time either. I don't think it's necessary for everyone.

I'd love to not have to shampoo my hair. I broke through the gross part while I was sick around new year's, but then, silly me, I used shampoo again after 7 days of going without and the whole greasy cycle started again. I haven't had the luxury of that many days in a row where I can be disgustingly greasy since.

Hit the library and the comic book store today. Need to finish shelving books. Tonight we're going to a house concert.

I'll back you up on this: I don't shampoo most of the time either. I don't think it's necessary for everyone.

bon bon, it's not a problem even though you run/exercise? I always assumed that working out (and the fact that I sweat like some kind of farm animal) would make shampooing a necessity.

That's why I added "most of the time"-- I do it after running. Though not every time. Admittedly my hair is more dry than greasy, but five minutes under warm water + conditioning = clean enough.

ETA: (after all, I'm not eating off my hair. It just need to be in good condition.)

I generally only wash mine every other day. And I just wet it and then restyle. Second-day hair usually looks pretty good, too.

Second day hair on me can veer between looking really good and like a limp noodle.

I shudder to think what it would look like if I went seven days without washing. I think the longest I've gone is five before I HAVE to wash it because it's grossing me out so much and the only reason I've gone that long is because I've been too sick to deal with it otherwise.

bon bon, it's not a problem even though you run/exercise? I always assumed that working out (and the fact that I sweat like some kind of farm animal) would make shampooing a necessity.

Not bon, but I haven't used shampoo on my hair since August. I eased out of shampoo gradually, so I never had a manky period. If you want to wean off shampoo, start by diluting it and gradually extending the time between washes. If you're tempted to go CO (conditioner only), start replacing washes with a lightweight conditioner. You can also use a dilute baking soda mix (I think the suggestion is 1 tsp per cup of warm water) in lieu of shampoo. If you do the BS clean, you'll want a slightly acid rinse.

Right now, I have a mix of about 60% shikakai powder/40% baking soda that I use for deep cleans, and for most of my cleaning needs, I'm doing a shikakai tea. I'm planning on planting soapwort so I can grow and brew my own cleaner rather than having to hit the Indian grocery, but that's a long-term plan.

My hair is very fine, and often it starts to look greasy less than 24 hours after I washed it. I hate it. I really wish I could train it to be washed less often.

Sue, how long is it? While weaning off frequent washes, wearing it up or braided disguises the greasy look.

(I, err. Wear mine in braids when I've over-oiled it. Which happens almost every single time I do a full on oiling.)