Does Washing Your Hair Too Often Cause Hair Loss?

Hair wash day can become a real source of dread for anyone experiencing hair loss, and it’s easy to see why. Seeing strands of hair in the plughole or on your hands while shampooing can be stressful, and many people start to associate washing their hair with hair loss itself. Over time, that fear can lead to putting off shampooing, or even avoiding it altogether.

But the reality is reassuring: over-washing is very unlikely to be the cause of your hair loss. In fact, finding the right washing routine for your hair type – often enough to keep your scalp clean, but not so frequent that it dries out the hair – can actually support scalp health.

The most common cause of hair loss in men is androgenetic alopecia (male pattern baldness), which can be effectively managed using a variety of treatments. Online trends like the ‘no poo’ method often claim to prevent hair loss by avoiding shampoo, but there’s no evidence that giving up shampoo can treat male pattern baldness.

In this blog, we’ll explain why shampooing doesn’t cause hair loss, what ‘washing too often’ really means, and which treatments are actually proven to help.

Can over washing cause hair loss?

Not really, no.

It’s understandable to link washing your hair with hair loss, because that’s when shedding is most noticeable. One of the telltale signs of male pattern baldness is seeing more hair in the shower, but this doesn’t mean shampooing is the cause.

With male pattern baldness, hair follicles spend longer in the telogen (resting) phase and less time in the anagen (growth) phase. Hairs in the resting phase are ready to shed. Washing your hair can simply dislodge these hairs — but they were going to fall out anyway, whether you washed your hair or not.

What counts as washing too often?

It depends on your hair type.

As a general rule, people with curly or afro-textured hair need to wash their hair less often, because the coiled structure means natural oils have a harder time travelling down the hair shaft, meaning this hair type is more prone to dryness and breakage. Comparatively, fine or straight hair can look greasy more quickly, so washing more often may be required to remove excess sebum and dirt buildup.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer for how often you should be washing your hair. But a good rule of thumb is: if it looks greasy or lank – you may need to wash more often. If it looks dry and frizzy, you might be washing too much or using products that are too harsh.

What the no poo method is

The ‘no poo’ method involves giving up traditional shampoo altogether.

Supporters claim shampoo strips the scalp’s natural oils, leading to excess oil production, scalp issues, and even hair loss. After an adjustment period, often quoted as around six weeks, they believe oil production ‘rebalances’.

The belief is that shampoo strips away the scalp’s ‘natural oils’, causing overproduction of sebum which leads to greasy hair. Followers surmise that after an initial adjustment phase of about 6 weeks, the natural oils balance out, and the hair stops looking greasy.

Instead of shampoo, followers use a variety of other methods to wash their hair: some use vigorous scrubbing with water alone, others use household items like apple cider vinegar or baking soda, as well as grooming habits like brushing their hair with a boar bristle hairbrush to evenly distribute oils through the length of the hair. For those that believe shampoo is chemical and thus damaging or unnecessary, these methods are considered a more ‘natural’ and thus superior alternative.

Some people online claim this approach has improved dandruff or even stopped their hair loss – but these claims don’t hold up when we look at the biology.

Why skipping shampoo doesn’t work

Male pattern baldness is caused by a hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT) binding to hair follicles and shrinking them. Over time, the shrunken hair follicle only produces short, thin hairs which are not long enough to break the surface of the skin, leading to balding.

Dandruff, on the other hand, is linked to an overproduction of a naturally occurring fungus on the scalp called Malassezia, which feeds on scalp oils in susceptible individuals. Medicated shampoos containing active ingredients like ketoconazole, zinc pyrithione or selenium sulfide are often used as treatments to manage the symptoms of dandruff.

Foregoing shampoo likely means there will be a build-up of dirt, pollution and sebum on the scalp, which is associated with an increase in scalp issues.

One study found that in groups who didn’t wash their hair very often, like astronauts and Antarctic research teams, there was an increase in Malassezia, and scalp itchiness and flakiness. On the flip side, in other groups who had a history of scalp issues like seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff, washing more often resulted in a reduction of Malassezia levels and scalp irritation, redness and itching. This study supports the idea that regular scalp cleaning improves, rather than worsens, common scalp complaints.

Most of the evidence supporting the no poo hypothesis is anecdotal – no study to date has directly tested the long-term effects of foregoing traditional shampoo, nor on the benefits as a treatment for male hair loss. In contrast, treatments like minoxidil and finasteride are supported by decades of research.

Clinically proven treatments for male pattern baldness

If you are worried about hair loss and want to prevent further thinning, these treatments are backed by strong scientific evidence:

Minoxidil 5% Spray applied daily to the scalp improves blood flow to the hair follicles, bringing essential oxygen and nutrients required for growth. It is also thought to prolong the anagen phase and shorten the telogen phase, helping to improve hair thickness and density over time.

Finasteride tablets directly inhibit enzyme 5a-reducatase, which is responsible for converting testosterone into DHT. By reducing DHT levels, Finasteride has been shown in studies to be effective at stopping hair loss in 9 out of 10 men. When used together, they are effective in 94% of men.

Take our free consultation for personalised recommendations on the best treatment plan for you.

All of our blog articles are reviewed for medical accuracy by our Medical Director before publication.

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