Ask the Expert: Should You ‘Lather, Rinse and Repeat’?

Consumers are often confused by the instructions placed on most bottles of shampoos: “lather, rinse, and repeat”. You might have encountered this before and wondered whether you should really wash your hair again even after you just shampooed and rinsed it. Then, there are also those tips from hair care experts wherein they insist on skipping daily use of shampoo – preferably 3 to 5 times a week, or every other day if you can. Consumers are therefore left in the middle, finding themselves questioning which of these two are true and what they should follow if they want to get the most out of their shampoo.

To be honest, there is no clear answer to this: it depends. Hair care experts have weighed in on the benefits and drawbacks of washing hair twice in a single shower trip.

Ideally, washing every other day or a few times a week is best to maintaining your hair without stripping off natural oils. Anything beyond this, such as daily washing or lathering hair twice with shampoo can be deemed ‘excessive’ to the point that the natural sebum is eliminated from hair and scalp.

Then again, there is always the factor of varying hair type or hair care needs. For those that use styling products like gel, mousse or hairspray on a regular basis, lathering hair twice with shampoo might prove beneficial. This helps to get rid of product residue buildup, which can damage your hair and scalp in the long run. But if you do not have thick hair or those that are exposed to styling products or pollutants, one wash should be enough. Or else, you are stripping off natural oils in the hair and make it vulnerable to damage or dryness.

However, there is a way to avoid shampooing hair twice in the shower, even if you might be suffering from product buildup. There are products such as a clarifying shampoo, which is designed to address this problem so you no longer have to expose hair to the harsh formulas of shampoo.

To conclude, shampooing hair twice in the shower should be avoided as much as possible. There are clarifying products that will help to keep hair and scalp clean from product residues, dust, dirt, and other pollutants that might accumulate itself in your hair. Anything in excess is never good for your hair, so use your own judgment.

Do you lather hair twice? Or do you shampoo every other day?