Tuesday, March 6th, 2007
Don’t Be Such a Primp!
From Jonathan in Boston.
Here’s the Thing:
Don’t wash your hair, at least not every day.
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Wash that mop – |
My wife came across this tip about ten years ago when she was trying to grow her hair long and healthy. It is actually healthier for your hair and scalp to not shampoo your hair every day, according to Marie Claire Healthy Hair 101 and the Embracing Women’s Health site. The natural oils from your scalp, once adjusted to producing the correct amount, are very beneficial to healthy hair. In addition to being healthy, it is also good for the your wallet and the environment. As a guy with short hair, if you skip shampooing your hair every other day, you can save about 2 minutes of water and the energy to heat it. For folks with longer hair it is even more important and the savings add up faster.
My wife had been encouraging me to skip washing my hair every day when I shower for a few years. Her main reasons were to save time and give me the flexibility to not need a shower every single day. She also told me that it was better for my scalp and hair. She typically washes her hair twice a week and I certainly love the look and feel of it. I was resistant at first, but eventually gave it a try. It took me a week or so to get my scalp adjusted to produce less oil and not leave my hair too oily on the non-wash days. After that initial transition, I’ve really enjoyed my hair and the freedom of not having to wash it every day. It especially helps when I don’t get my normal shower on the weekend in favor of extra sleep. My hair feels great whether I washed it today or yesterday and my scalp doesn’t itch like it used to even if I go for a couple days without shampooing.
And what is better than doing something that is healthier and saves you a little dough too. A rough engineering estimate on the amount of water and energy I and you could save goes as follows.
A really low flow shower head uses about 2.5 gallons of water per minute. For a two minute reduction in water usage every other day, that works out to 910 gallons a year saved. A gallon of water weighs about 8.3 pounds. We have to raise that water from 55°F to 105°F (ballpark shower temp), so a 50°F change. The definition of 1 BTU (British Thermal Unit) is the amount of energy to raise 1 pound of water 1°F. Therefore it takes 415 BTU to raise 1 gallon from the inlet water temperature of 55°F to shower temperatures around 105°F.
If we reduce the shower by not shampooing by 2 minutes every other day, that works out to 910 gallons X 415 BTU per gallon equals 380,000 BTU which works out to be about 370 cubic feet of Natural Gas at perfect efficiency. In terms of natural gas, which is what the gas company charges by, that works out to almost 4 therms, which at our current gas prices is only $7 per year.
Now if you figure that you don’t have 100% efficiency even if you have tankless hot water and excellent insulation, this is a low end boundary. If you have a regular flow shower (6-8 gallons per minute), you can multiply the savings by 2 to 3 times. Also, if you typically take longer than 2 minutes shampooing your hair or shampoo less frequently, you can save even more. For example, my wife shampoos her hair twice a week and takes about 5 minutes each time (longer hair takes more care and time than short hair), and using a low flow shower head we save about $25 a year (which would be about $65 with a regular shower head). Of course we don’t see this as a savings since she’s been doing it for so long it is part of our baseline.
While the savings isn’t enough to fund the installation of a nice solar hot water system or do more than buy a meal or two, it does save a bit and if more people did it, it would help out. For those of you CO2 concerned, the CO2 emissions are about 45 pounds per year for the low end boundary (2 minutes, every other day with low-flow shower head).
on Tuesday, March 6th, 2007 at 7:26 pm:
This is an awesome analysis, Jon. I’m psyched to be able to give people a good reason why I never wash my hair. Or shower, for that matter. Sometimes I don’t even brush my teeth. Or wipe. But I digress…
Just one question on your math (and granted, I’m not an engineer): If 1 BTU = the amount of energy needed to raise 1 pound of water 1°F, how does it take 415 BTU to raise 1 gallon of water 50°F?
(and yes, I do wipe — that was a joke)
on Tuesday, March 6th, 2007 at 8:26 pm:
1 gallon X 8.3 lbs/gallon X 50°F = 415 BTU
on Tuesday, March 6th, 2007 at 10:21 pm:
It takes 1 BTU to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water 1°F
A gallon of water weighs 8.3 pounds, there for it takes 8.3 BTU to raise 1 gallon of water 1°F. To raise 1 gallon 50°F takes 50 x 8.3 BTU = 415 BTU/gallon.
on Wednesday, March 7th, 2007 at 12:33 am:
right, a gallon does not equal a pound. my bad.