I guess it depends on how much product you have in your hair, the more you have or the heavier the type of product then the more liklyhood you need to wash it...I wash everyday because Im in a very humid environment and surrounded by women who really pickup on odors quickly. so I rinse with warm to cold water and mildly very lightly shampoo ...and havent noticed any excess shedding in the 3 weeks that Ive been doing this. I blow dry after towel drying with warm to cool air...We will see how long the piece will last but Id say around 4 months by the way its holding up so far...time will tell.