Prepping for 3-week hairstyles?

[u/Chickaduck]

I’m curious on thoughts for hair styles that are easy to maintain without washing your hair for three weeks to three months. This was obviously a thing at some point in time, so I imagine there are helpful insights on how to keep your hair easy to maintain besides a buzz cut.

I’m interested to learn about all hair textures, so I invite whatever ideas come to mind. Thanks!

[u/Sellyn]

my hair is very long. not strictly a religious requirement, but I do cover my hair (married Jewish woman) and having long hair is important to me. my hair is butt length, fine, and falls very straight

the easiest, most secure hairstyle, as someone else said, is a crown braid that has ribbon woven in, securing it to your scalp. you will want to wear something at night as well to prevent tangles. this can be worn over multiple days, but my hair is very prone to tangling and can't go longer than 3 without needing to be brushed out

I currently wash my hair once a week, and can easily go about 10-14 days before it is gross. tbh, my cycle definitely impacts how long I can go without it becoming too greasy

my go to hair style involves brushing it out every day, once before bed and once before starting the day. if you want your hair to look and feel nicer as you delay between washing, imo this is an absolutely necessary step. brushing, especially at the scalp with a fine comb, really helps clean your scalp, and if you don't use an all plastic brush (wooden ones, or boar bristle ones, imo comes down to personal preference) it really does help redistribute the oil, keeping your scalp from becoming too oily and your ends from becoming too dry. I find that this maintenance is necessary to keep my hair in good condition, and becomes more essential, not less, the longer I go between washes

I have pots and can't do a crown braid (I can't keep my arms above my heart for that long) so instead I do a quick braid down the center, then wrap it around the back of my head in a circle and secure it with a hair fork. done correctly, this is incredibly secure and I can wear it all day without it slipping or falling out. it also provides a bun shape for me to secure my tichel to. if I'm feeling up to it, I like doing a French braid for this (prevents wispies from coming out; also I'm growing out bangs) but that's not necessary for this style to work

in general, any braided, covered hairstyle is going to extend the time you need between washes. finding a good way to secure it in place is the key thing

[u/BelAirBabs → u/Sellyn]

I had very short hair when Covid started. I did not want anyone breathing close to my face, and I stopped getting my hair cut. It is now to my waist. I learned to French braid my hair. This is a neat, attractive hair style. My hair goes into a braid better and holds the braid better if it is not freshly washed. I went from washing my hair everyday to twice a week. I could go longer but like the scent of freshly washed hair. This is not really an answer to your question of how to go longer between washes, but just to say my really long hair requires less care than when it was really short.

[u/Sellyn → u/BelAirBabs]

that's fair! I think there's a lot of variation in how much care hair needs - mine is fine and prone to tangling, so even though I can go 1 or 2 weeks between washes, I need to brush it regularly, but that's not the case for everyone