The secret to salon-fresh hair? It’s all in the hair wash routine. Turns out beauty is born in the basin. Those 10 minutes you spend in the back room getting your hair washed as you twiddle your thumbs and stare at the ceiling are essential to achieving that oh-so-fresh salon look.
It’s time to switch up your hair wash routine and learn the correct way to wash your hair. Spoiler alert: you’re probably doing it wrong!
Brush Your Hair Before You Step Into the Shower
Without brushing your hair before you wash it, you’re looking at double the damage. Yikes. So, if you’re serious about following the proper way to wash your hair, your hair wash routine should begin before you even step into the shower.
Wet hair is way more likely to tangle, so if you haven’t gotten the knots out that were already there, you can guarantee they’ll still be there, but probably worse with a lot more of them. Our hair is at its weakest when it’s wet, so yanking a brush through it isn’t the TLC it needs.
Bamboo Afro Pick - €15
Level up your hair wash routine with Curls N’ Clouds Bamboo Afro Pick. Made from 100% premium bamboo, it’s seriously soft on your curls and prevents unnecessary pulling and friction when brushing out those knots. This makes it a good choice for dry hair, and an even better one for wet hair.
Avoid Hot Water
Next up in our hair wash tips is to check the water temperature you’re using. Regularly washing your hair with hot water can make your hair brittle and suck it dry.
The correct way to wash your hair is to use lukewarm water. This gently opens the cuticles of the hair (the outer layer of the hair shaft) and pores on the scalp to allow your shampoo to do a deep clean, removing trapped dirt, oil, and bacteria. They’ll also be able to absorb more goodness – mo’ nutrients, mo’ shine!
Go Beyond the Top Layer
Most of us will have squeaky clean hair on top, but very few of us will have clean hair all the way through. After squirting your shampoo directly onto the top of your hair, make sure to massage it into the deeper layers, not forgetting about the hair at the back of the neck and behind the ears.
Neglecting sections of your hair in your hair wash routine will cause it to be weighed down by dirt and oil build-up, so you can kiss goodbye that gravity-defying blow dry that says we’ve just been to the salon.
Rinse Your Hair with Cool Water at the End
You know those cuticles and pores we just opened? You’ll now want to close them before all your hard work escapes. It’s one of our most important hair wash tips as many people leave them open and vulnerable all day long. Without a cool water rinse before you hop out of the shower, you can think of your hair and scalp as magnets for all sorts of nasties. So, take a deep breath, shut your eyes, and cool off.
Calm Down with the Aggressive Towel Drying
Flipping your head upside down and roughing it up with a towel is pretty much the worst thing you can do when it’s damp (um, hi hair loss and major frizz). Instead, when properly washing your hair, pat dry your scalp and softly squeeze the ends with a towel.
Microfiber Towel - €13
For a hair wash routine your hair deserves, opt for a microfiber towel to protect your precious strands. With a faster drying time and the texture of clouds, you’ll optimise volume and minimise frizz. Simply scrunch wet hair with Curls N’ Clouds Microfiber Towel to recreate that salon feeling at home every time you wash your hair.
Header Photo
@cherisemelaan / Instagram
