If you’ve been near a Scott J Salon during April, you know we get into Earth Month in a big way. Our fundraising for Clean Ocean Action takes many forms. This year we hosted a Walk for Clean Water across the Brooklyn Bridge on April 19, and every year we participate in the Make it Montague Earth Day Block Party in Brooklyn Heights on April 22. You may have bought a raffle ticket to win a big basket full of Aveda goodies. You might have seen us circulating our CrowdRise fundraising link on social media, or selling fundraising items in the salons in exchange for a donation — such as wildflower seeds, Aveda tote bags, and bamboo To-Go-Ware for camping and picnics.
But we want you to take a little bit of Earth Month with you after April has come and gone — by doing the one thing that will not only save water, but save your hair.
Skip the shampoo.
That is, commit to shampooing at least one less time per week. Washing your hair during a shower uses 10-20 gallons of water. Skip one wash a week, and that’s 520-1,040 gallons saved by year’s end. That’s pretty significant: 1,000 gallons of water fills a typical above-ground swimming pool. If you pay water bills, you’re saving actual cash. And no, we’re not advocating going without a shower: just skip the hair-washing part, and turn off the tap 5 to 10 minutes earlier.
You’ll be doing your hair a favor. While shampoo cleanses, it also washes away natural oils your hair needs to stay shiny, soft, and fight frizz. Shampoo too much, and your scalp and hair will dry out. At some point, the scalp compensates for losing natural oils by over-secreting oil — this is a direct path to greasiness, dandruff, or both.
Shampooing too frequently also fades hair color. Even if you’re using a product line that protects hair color, like Aveda Color Conserve, repeated rinsing with hot or even warm water over time takes a toll on color-treated hair’s richness and vibrancy.
We recommend cutting back on shampoo once or more per week to both keep scalp and hair in-balance, preserve color, and save H20. (And, as stylists, we’ll pass along a dirty little secret: unwashed hair tends to hold styles much better.)
Your hair will likely benefit from less frequent shampooing, but you will need to adjust to keep tresses fresh between washes. Here’s what we recommend:
Daily Brushing
One of our all-time favorite hair tools is the Aveda Wooden Paddle Brush. It has magical detangling powers and is excellent for all hair textures and types. Its extended bristles stimulate the scalp, break up oil at the root, and distribute your hair’s natural oil from scalp to the ends, which need it most.
Source: Aveda
Use Dry Shampoo/ Conditioner
Aveda’s Shampure Dry Shampoo is our go-to product to absorb oil, add texture and make the hair smell oh-so-good. Now it’s joined by Thermal Dry Conditioner, which conditions, detangles, softens, and also adds that dreamy scent. Hit your scalp with the dry shampoo, the ends with the dry conditioner, and no one will be the wiser. Here are some tips on how to use these products, and a few cute in-between-wash styles
Source: Aveda
Experiment With Different Looks
Hats are your friend: they’re fabulous accessories, they shield skin and hair from the sun’s harmful rays, and they can hide the top of your hair if you can’t quite get the crown right on in-between days. Adopt easy styles for no-shampoo days. If you’re not yet down with braids and buns, fear not. Hair tutorials are what YouTube is made for.
And remember: we live to give you hair care and style advice. If you’re committed to cutting back on the suds, we want to help. Save water, save your hair! It’s a great win-win.