It’s one of the most Googled beauty questions: How often should you wash your hair, really?

While most of us have been conditioned to lather, rinse and repeat ad infinitum, whether or not it’s doing our locks any good is under constant debate. And, unfortunately, there’s no hard or fast rule about how many times you should actually do it; it all comes down to your hair type.

Thick and curly hair

While thick and curly hair can benefit from a few days without washing, someone with thin, straight hair can expect to see an entirely different result.

Similarly, how processed your hair is will come into play as this prevents the oils in your scalp travelling down the hair shaft as quickly as it does for those with fine tresses.

Ultimately, curly hair types should be careful not to wash their hair too often but if your hair is fine and pin-straight, an oily scalp will show more easily so you might find the need to wash every-other day.

That being said, you can have too much of a good thing. Washing your hair every day actually removes the natural oils, or sebum, hair needs to stay healthy and stripping it can lead to dry, brittle locks. If you reduce the amount of times you wash your hair each week, over time you should actually find that it needs to cleaned less regularly.

So, what’s the verdict?

Well, at most you should try and wash your hair every other day but if you can make it two, or even a week, even better. If you hair does get oily, try using some dry shampoo on your roots to help soak up excess oil.