Sounds counterproductive, yes, but if you go back to our causes of oily scalp—you know that over-washing is a large contributing factor. So often you’ll hear people discuss how they’re “retraining their scalp” or “balancing their hair” and usually this is what they’re doing.
See, when you let your scalp live with its natural oils for a while, it will stop signaling to your pores that they need to put in extra work. Sure this may make for an awkward and greasy transitory phase, but most experts agree this takes about a month according to anecdotal evidence.
So how often should you wash, you ask? Well, that just may take some guess work on your part. So the most important thing is to be diligent about checking in on your scalp. “Literally go in there, part your hair at various points throughout your head, and look at your scalp: Is it red? Are there flakes? Do you see oily buildup? Make this a habit,” says Reslan. “The bottom line is you just have to pay attention to it. People don’t do this enough.” A good rule is that if your hair is red and painful, that’s a sign that it’s time to rinse.