hair tip #1

 I was so excited when I found this book at the library: Great Hair: Secrets to Looking Fabulous and Feeling Beautiful Every Day by Nick Arrojo.   The book contains many hints on styling and on hair in general.  Here's a tip I found helpful.  Sorry if it's too lengthy!  I didn't want to cut out anything important:

"While I encourage everyone to have hygienically clean hair, shampooing three or four times weekly is plenty--shampoo every day only if you love that clean, fresh scent of just cleansed hair.  If you do shampoo every day, use a lightweight shampoo formulated for daily use and rinse well to avoid buildup and residue.  These result from the shampoo suds that are left on the scalp and eventually begin to dry it out, causing flakiness, which is often mistakenly self-diagnosed as dandruff.  Hair washed every day with shampoo tends to need more styling product because it's so soft, loose, and floppy, and therefore harder to style.  On the other hand, one to three days of unwashed hair result in the release of natural sebum oils from your scalp (unwashed hair means hair that has not been shampooed; you can rinse your hair with plain old water, which does not contribute to residue or affect the release of natural sebum oils).  Too much of these oils can leave your hair feeling greasy, but the right amount can leave your hair with a nice easy-to-manage texture for you to play with.  If you're comfortable with natural oils, try this and see how it works for you.  Just be sure to brush or quickly blow out your unwashed hair in the morning to distribute the oils and to shape and define your style.  Don't use too much product, because it increases the dirt.  Instead, see how you can create individual style with your own lived-in natural texture.    

 A final note: Some hair types--typically those with fine texture--do tend to pick up dirt and grease more quickly and may look a little too dirty to go a full three days without shampooing, but you can determine how far to push this envelope by simply looking at your hair in the mirror and making a decision to shampoo or not, based on your own preferences."