UK women relying on hacks to keep their hair looking fresher for longer

Millions of busy British women rely on ‘hair hacks’ like dry shampoo or scraping their barnet into a bun to save time on washing their locks, according to new research.

Over a third of women use spray-on shampoo and similar products to keep their hair looking fresher for longer.

Other short cuts include putting it in a ponytail or plait – or simply hiding it under a hat.

A poll of 2,000 UK women aged between 18 and 40 by Herbal Essences shampoo revealed that one in 20 has gone for 10 days or more without giving their hair a wash.

Their ambassador Ben Cooke said: “For hair, we all know it’s important to keep it clean and refreshed – but sometimes we forget about how much it goes through each and every day.

“Women’s haircare regimes are very important and very personal – so what works for one person may not work for someone else.

'Going to the gym or doing physical exercise was the top reason for hair to look or feel dirty'

“We thought we’d find that most women had similar approaches to keeping their hair clean, but the results actually showed a wide variety of methods.”

Going to the gym or doing physical exercise was the top reason for hair to look or feel dirty, followed by weather conditions and air pollutants.

A fifth of women wash their hair daily, but on average ladies in the UK do it every 2.6 days.

And four out of five women agree with the received wisdom that 'Washing your hair every day will strip it of all its natural shine and oils.'

Forty per cent think that as they’ve gotten older, they can get away with washing their hair less frequently. And six in 10 also say they only really feel their hair is clean if it smells nice.

Ben Cooke said: “Pollution and weather on top of hair styling can make hair feel like it needs a detox, even after just one or two days.

“That’s why Daily Detox is such a great addition to the Herbal Essences family, the nature inspired ingredients will gently clean and ‘wash the day away’ without any damage.”