Why I'll sleep an extra 15 minutes tomorrow morning
I think I've posted before about my hair situation: It looks greasy and my scalp itches if I don't wash it every day, but everyone (including every hairdresser I've ever had) tells me not to wash it every day.
Several months ago, I read an interview with Coronation Street's Maria, Samia Ghadie (that's her at right, and this is where my excuses for reading such fluff would be if I could be bothered to make them). In the interview, Samia was asked about her beauty regime, and she said that if she's in a hurry, she'll tie her hair back in a ponytail and only wash her fringe (bangs). That way, her hair looks mostly clean, but she hasn't spent all the time on washing and drying all of it. I don't have a fringe, and so didn't spot the obvious solution to my own woes in Samia's words. Note to self and you all: Always heed Samia's advice!
At my company's Christmas party, I was in the loo chatting with a girl who works in one of our other offices (we'd never met before, but you know what work Christmas parties are like). Somehow, in the two minutes we spent talking, we got on the subject of how often we wash our hair. "Many days, I just divide my hair off at the crown and wash the front bit," she told me. "It looks and feels clean, but only takes a minute to wash and dry."
Lo, has this bit of guidance changed my life. I now wash all of my hair every other day. In between, I just wash the middle and top sections and blowdry as normal. My hair looks fine, the scalp doesn't feel funny, and I get to sleep a little longer on the days when I'm not soaking my whole head.
On my in-between days, I like to use Avalon Organics Revitalizing Peppermint Shampoo (for which I can now see I have been paying 100% more than I should have been. Damn British prices.). It smells nice (check out Avalon's peppermint shower gel, too) and gives my scalp a pleasantly tingly feeling. There's no sodium laureth sulfate, so it doesn't lather too well, but it gives a very clean feel and fragrance.
