Photo: Bert Hardy, Getty Images

How many times a week do you wash your hair? Do you shampoo and condition every day? Just after workouts? Or less often?

If you're washing your hair every day, you might benefit from sudsing up your locks a little less often, with a little less shampoo and conditioner or, perhaps, just a little differently. You, over there with the greasy hair? Yep, I'm talking to you, too. Because, even if your scalp is getting oily, daily washing with anything but a really mild shampoo can really dry out your ends.

There are some things you can do to get the most out of washing your hair and extend the time you can go between washes -- even if you're sweating it up. Sarah James of Hair Thursday agrees, saying, "With most top hair stylists in agreement, women can absolutely skip a day or two between washings! It's healthy for your hair, keeps color from fading and, most importantly, saves time."

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Over the last few months, I've been hearing more and more about dry shampoo. Maybe because everyone is trying to conserve water (or conserve money) by not taking so many long showers. Or maybe it's because more companies are making it easier to use, like the Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo Spray.

I had a chance to try out Oscar Blandi's new Pronto Dry Shampoo Spray, and I've got to say, this is something that every girl who gets ready in a hurry after a workout should have. Trust me -- I used it after a serious sweat session, and my hair looked great, and it only took a few minutes for me to be ready to head out the door!

This spray is super easy to use (spray it onto your roots in sections from about six inches away, let it dry, shake out excess with fingers, brush and style). It's designed to absorb oil and product (check), increase volume at roots (check) and strengthen hair and nourish the scalp (not sure yet, but I'm guessing it's doing something good). And, it has a fresh lemon verbena scent, which I really liked.

My five year old daughter's beautiful light blond hair has turned the most not-so-beautiful shade of green. Ugh! We swim a lot. We live in Florida, and that's what we do almost every day during the summer. Her hair has been pretty green for about two weeks now, and for about the same amount of time I've been looking for the special swimming shampoo that's supposed to get the green out. I checked three pharmacies, one Walmart, and two grocery stores with no success. How frustrating!

Fortunately, today I stumbled across the ultimate score in 'get the green out' shampoos at Target.. Suave has a cute little kids line of hair and body products that are tear-free, smell great, and sell for less than two dollars. And! They've recently added a special shampoo to the line which is designed to remove chlorine from cute little heads of green hair. It's called Suave Swim and Sport Flippin' Citrus 2 in 1 Shampoo for Kids. We've already used it, and we love it! So....if you are Going Green in a way that has nothing to do with the environment......give this stuff a try!

Here's some interesting news I learned from The Beauty Brains: Dirty hair might save the environment. Ok, maybe that's stretching it a bit, but dirty hair is at least good for the environment because it absorbs ozone from the air. In fact, dirty hair absorbs seven times as much ozone as clean hair does. And according to scientists, this can help cut the amount of harmful ozone floating around your head. Surprising? I think so.

But, as the brains are quick to point out, this isn't going to save the world or anything. In fact, the ozone in the air can interact with oil in dirty hair to produce other harmful chemicals. Still, washing your hair too often will waste water. Instead? Try to find a balance. Or, just shave your head.

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As much as I enjoy splurging from time to time on pricey beauty products, I also really like trying out simple, DIY beauty items. Not so long ago I wrote about home-made hair care -- using foods like mayonnaise and beer to soften and brighten your hair. I think what I like about at-home beauty is that, since the tips are usually cheap, barring any major disasters you can figure out which products you like without having to waste a tonne of money on stuff that turns out to be not so great.

I was pretty excited to find this list of 10 great budget beauty products that you can make at home. They're all really simple, containing only a few ingredients each. In addition, a number of the 'recipes' include a lot of the same ingredients -- like essential oils and rubbing alcohol, so you only have to buy a few things and can still try most of the ideas. All you need is a range of empty bottles and containers and you're good to get started.

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I have pretty healthy hair -- I don't dye it often, I get regular haircuts and don't use to much product, and yet it always looks dull. Do you have the same problem? The Beauty Brains have written on natural ways to keep your hair healthy and shiny. Here are their suggestions:

• Don't overwater your hair -- it causes the cuticle to buckle, which makes it dull
• Don't overwork the shampoo. Rubbing it furiously into you scalp will make it look flat
• Use conditioner -- especially if your hair is dry
  
• When using a towel, pat your hair dry instead of rubbing it.
  
• Don't brush too much
• Avoid too much heat styling
• But if you must heat-style, use protective products. Only, not too much--it weighs hair down
• Don't dye
• Or perm
• Don't play with your hair
• Don't wear it in a pony tail too much either
• Avoid the sun

How do you keep your mane looking its best?

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I posted on an article once before about the cancer-causing chemical 1,4 Dioxane being present in many personal care products like shampoos, body washes, bar soaps, etc. It's definitely not a completely new concept that our showers and baths are full of dangerous by-products, but I can't help but be bothered by the fact that although I'm grateful people are reporting these things, what exactly can we do about it? We got the bad news already, give us some ideas for solutions!

So I was encouraged today when I came across this link on how to find the safest and healthiest products -- finally something useful! And not only can I make a point to buy shampoo, make up, and other products with the "lowest concern" rating, but having lists like this out there for consumers may help motivate the manufacturers to give this issue some increased attention. So where does your favorite shampoo rank on the list?

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My grandmother was getting urinary tract infections one right after the other and we kept trying to figure out what was the culprit. We were cutting out her coffee and soft drink consumption and her sugars/sweets which was making her pretty darn grumpy. She complained that she had been consuming those favorite drinks and sweets all her 94 year long life and that was not causing it. It seems that when we changed her daily routine of showering to bathing because of safety reasons to keep her from slipping in the shower, we were the ones giving her urinary tract infections. It seems her sitting in the soapy water was causing her to get these infections and that is something that is pretty common. Especially in children who seem to do more bathing and love bubble baths.

So with advice from the doctor, this is helpful hints that he passed along. Do not put bubble bath, shampoo or other special bubble bath soaps into the bath water and do not let a bar of soap float in the water. When bathing, do not wash the genital area with soap. Water will suffice. Limit bath time to 15 minutes including soaking in the beginning and when you start washing with the soap, get rinsed and get out as soon as you can. He also suggested that she urinate after bathing. A few non bath related items to help cut down on these type infections is to drink plenty of liquids, especially water, to keep the urine light colored and to only buy loose fitting white cotton underpants to wear.

Way back in the old days (in 1985) the FDA recommended voluntary limits on a carcinogenic by-product called 1,4-Dioxane that was commonly found in soaps and shampoos. That's more than 20 years ago that the dangers of the chemical were first widely known, yet today it is still found in the vast majority of our shampoos and bath products. This could be due the fact that the companies don't have to add it into the products for it to be there (it's formed as a by-product during the manufacturing process), and that there are no actual laws or tests required for monitoring levels (hence "voluntary limit").

Bad news: 18 out of 18 products tested contained some level of 1,4-Dioxane. Good news: most of the products tested were well below the recommended limit. Bad news: 1,4-Dioxane penetrates the skin. Good news: It evaporates quickly and most of the products it's found in are washed off quickly.

See the full article for some of the products that rated highest and lowest in 1,4-Dioxane levels.

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