11 Ways You're Washing Your Hair Wrong
A lot of us have a serious love/hate relationship with washing our hair. Sure, it's relaxing as hell, but it can be such a process. Since a solid hair regimen is key to healthy, shiny, Beyonce-level hair; it's something we have to deal with regularly. For all of your precious time and effort, you may as well do it right. Here are 11 ways you're doing it wrong:
The less often you shampoo your hair, the better. You don't need to wash your hair every day. Shampoo strips your hair of natural oils and moisture. If your hair is a little oily, dry shampoo at night and you'll be good to go in the morning.
Taking a minute to just stand under the water when you first get into the shower is not only good for your peace of mind, but it's a good way to open up your hair cuticles and prepare them to receive the moisture from your conditioner.
You should try to avoid combing or brushing your hair when it's wet, when your hair is at it's most fragile. Since detangling dry hair can also cause breakage, it's easiest to use a shower comb and detangle under your shower head. The water will help guide the comb through your hair and prevent tugging.
Adding essential oils to your hair, or doing a quick co-wash (conditioner wash) before using shampoo is a good way to add extra moisture to your hair to prevent shampoo from drying it out.
It is important to find the right products for your hair type. Thicker hair needs more moisture than thinner hair and curly hair tends to dry out easier. Make sure to use shampoos without sulfates (the ingredient that causes lathering), as it strips your hair of essential moisture. You should also research and invest in quality products that feed your hair, instead of buying cheaper products that aren't as effective.
It sucks standing in a perfectly steaming hot shower and then having to suffer through a cold rinse for your hair. It's definitely uncomfortable, but totally worth it. Rinsing your hair with cold water causes your open hair cuticles to contract and seal shut. This locks in moisture and prevents frizz.
You shouldn't rinse your conditioner off for longer than 1 minute. As long as your run all of your hair under water and don't miss any spots, you're good to go. Otherwise, you're rinsing your product down the drain.
It doesn't matter who you are, your ends are always in need of conditioning. They are the oldest part of your hair and therefore the driest and most damaged. You should focus conditioners and oils there, since the hair closer to your scalp is newer, stronger and more resilient.
It's the same concept as conditioning your ends. You want to focus your shampoo application on the hair closer to your scalp, since that part of your hair gets oily from your natural sebum oil. Your ends are already drier and more fragile. Excess shampooing can cause breakage and tangling.
There is no need to shampoo your hair, rinse and repeat. You don't even need to use shampoo for your hair. You can wash your hair more gently with conditioner or cleansing conditioners. Even when you do use shampoo for a deeper clean, one time is good enough.
The whole "scrubbing your scalp" thing can cause more harm than good. A nice, gentle scalp massage is good to promote blood flow and healthy hair growth, but you don't want to scratch or irritate the skin. You should also be very gentle with your wet hair. Tugging and pulling will almost always lead to breakage and split ends. Who wants that?
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