Lisa Niven, online beauty editor
Washes hair every day
I wash my hair every single day. Even if I have had it blow-dried the night before, or if I oversleep, or even if it looks fine when I wake up - I can’t not do it. I just like the feeling of freshly-washed hair, plus mine gets greasy really quickly. Yes I know, as people insist on telling me constantly, if I washed it less then my scalp would become accustomed to producing less oil. But frankly I don’t fancy enduring the transition period. And I actually just quite like washing it. On top of that I love, love, love the smell of hair products in my hair (Ouai, Oribe and Pureology have some of the prettiest-smelling shampoos around), so as soon as my hair starts smelling just of hair, I want to wash it.
My hair is naturally straight and of medium thickness, so after I've washed it all I do is put it up in a towel to dry, then comb it through and go. In the winter I’ll quickly blast it with a hairdryer to avoid hypothermia, or I might use Ouai Soft Mousse for a bit of body, but that’s the extent of my styling regime on a day-to-day basis. I can imagine that if it took ages to blow-dry or style then I’d be a bit less keen on everyday washing, but since it doesn’t take up much of my time I’m happy to do it. In fact, trying to have a shower without getting my hair wet feels more time-consuming. In the shower I use a gentle shampoo on the roots and then apply conditioner only to the ends, to avoid greasiness. I switch brands often because of my job, but I avoid anything too rich. About once a week I use Redken Cleansing Cream for a really thorough cleanse - you leave it on for two minutes and your hair afterwards is squeaky clean. Like, you can hear it squeak. It’s one of my favourite products, plus Vogue contributing beauty editor Guido Palau recommended it to me - and you can’t ignore hair advice from Guido.
Funmi Fetto, contributing beauty editor
Washes hair every 7 to 10 days
I never used to wash my hair at home. Ever. I just loved the luxury of going into a salon. Now that I no longer chemically straighten my hair, most stylists have no idea what to do with my natural texture - thick, coily, Afro hair that grows up and out. So now, every seven to 10 days, I wash it myself. Initially I hated this but what began as a very difficult relationship (tangles and knots galore) blossomed into a great love affair. I love washing my hair. I find it incredibly therapeutic. And then there’s the foam. I’m obsessed with foam. Lather for me is equal to cleanliness and while I don’t believe it’s next to godliness, it comes pretty close. Sulphates (which create the foam in shampoos) can be drying for hair so to compensate, I am fanatical about deep conditioning and co–wash every other week.
A prerequisite of my washing ritual is that it has to be dark outside and my surroundings have to be pin-drop quiet. So it all begins around 7.30pm. I start by drenching my hair in a homemade conditioning detangler; carrot oil, water, some drops of rosemary essential oil and a cacophony of conditioners. Using a paddle brush I brush through, rinse it out and then begin the washing process. I start by paying vigorous attention to my scalp using the tops of my fingers to “scrub”. My scalp has to feel clean. If my hair has lot of product build-up, I’ll use Christophe Robin’s Cleansing Purifying Salt Scrub with Sea Salt (the foam level on this is epic). Otherwise, I wash with Living Proof’s Conditioning Wash or Shu Uemura’s Absolue Cleansing Milk. I repeat this two to three times with warm water and then use a hydrating conditioner or mask. I massage through an obscene amount (from hairline to ends), brush it in and leave it to soak. I then set a bath (a very foamy bath), get in, scrub for 20 minutes, drain the bath, rinse my hair with cold water and pat (not rub!) it dry with a white cotton T-shirt. Job done.
Lexxi Duffy, acting social media editor
Washes hair every 3 days
I do sometimes wish I had slightly thinner hair, just so I could actually walk into a salon and get a blow dry in under 30 minutes. No one has managed it yet! As I write this, I’m on day three of not washing and the dry shampoo is holding up ok. But I will need to decide whether to wash it in the evening, which I hate, or get up early to do it, which I also hate, but slightly less. The absolute ideal would be to wash it, towel-dry it, leave it to air-dry (summer only), then plait it for bed. This is my hair peak, it only happens once and the rest of the time I’m doomed to a life of dry shampoo-ed roots and frizzy ends. But still, very pre-Raphaelite. So I guess that’s my look.