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Hair today, gone tomorrow.
Hair styles and trends come and go — the worst ones aggravate your hair’s health and cause more strands to go down the drain.
While influencers insist one trend in particular just takes time to adjust to, experts warn it could actually backfire and lead to thinner and grayer hair.
Referred to as #nopoo, the “hair training” trend has been growing in popularity on social media and among Gen Zers. The idea is to avoid shampoo to train your hair and scalp to be healthier.
While many of the purported benefits come from anecdotal evidence, science shows that flaking on shampoo could cause dandruff, irritate the scalp, stunt hair growth and worsen scalp problems.
One of the biggest misconceptions about washing hair regularly is that it causes hair loss or shedding.
However, the opposite of not washing enough is more likely to cause androgenetic alopecia (AGA), the scientific name for hair loss.
If you’re dealing with hair loss, the scalp is already under duress from DHT, or dihydrotestosterone, the hormone responsible for shrinking hair follicles and triggering thinner, shorter and less pigmented hairs.
Not removing buildup with regular cleaning can cause sebum buildup, increased inflammation, microbial imbalance and oxidative stress — all of which can increase follicle shrinkage and stop growth.
Sebum is a natural substance that protects skin and hair — too much of it may trap DHT near the follicle opening and disrupt the scalp’s microbiome.
Research in Skin Appendage Disorders has shown that microbial imbalances on the scalp, particularly overgrowth of fungi and bacteria, can worsen follicular health.
Those who stop washing their hair for long periods are likely to experience itching, increased oiliness, visible flaking and a gritty-feeling buildup around the follicles.
These can all indicate keratinized debris, oxidized sebum and microbial overgrowth that deteriorates the health of the scalp and suffocates hair.
Regardless of whether hair loss is already an issue, not following a cleansing routine can result in poor scalp health, as well as accelerate hair loss and cause hair to go prematurely gray.
Even in the early stages of AGA, one study in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology found evidence of low-grade chronic inflammation surrounding hair follicles that could impair the hair growth cycle.
Sulfates in shampoo have also been villainized because of the belief that they’re too drying, but there’s no evidence that these ingredients cause hair loss.
While sulfates and other cleaning ingredients mostly affect the outer layer of the hair shaft and the scalp, they don’t disturb the hair follicle and may only cause irritation or dryness on sensitive scalps.
