I know you must be thinking, "Really you don't think I know how to wash my own hair?" Well, you are absolutely right. I am constantly re-teaching my clients how to wash THEIR hair. "Why?" you may ask. Simple no two heads of hair are alike. What works for someone may not work for you. Someone with fine hair should not wash their hair the same way someone with thick coarse hair or color vs. someone with virgin hair etc. GOOD STYLE and HAIR start with a great shampoo. So don't go CHEAP or CUT corners. How you wash and what you wash with are very important.
The How
Washing
You should always get you hair really wet before applying the shampoo. Add conditioner to your ends if they are feeling dry or damaged before you apply shampoo. When you add the shampoo to your hair it should only be to the scalp area (When you are rinsing your hair it will naturally go down the rest of the hair and clean it). Now scrub, scrub, and scrub your scalp. This is the part that gets dirty and needs to be exfoliated. Do not manipulate your mid shaft or ends as this will cause more knots. (Ever wonder why your hair feels so much better after going to the salon this is one of the reasons why) We really get your scalp clean. After you have scrubbed your scalp rinse your hair. Now add your conditioner. Apply from the ponytail down. If you have short hair still apply through the ends, just use a little bit. Scrunch and glaze your hair with it allowing the conditioner to soak in. Add a little water and use just your fingers to work your conditioner through and untangle your hair, add water and more conditioner if you have a hard time. Your hands are nature’s comb and do a great job. You are less likely to pull break or damage your hair if you use your fingers as a detangler. The more you do this the easier it will be. Try and avoid using a comb or brush as this will create more knots and break up your natural growth patterns. Rinse, but leave in some so you hair feels silky not milky and not dry. You hair is happy when the cuticle (skin of the hair) is closed and down which give the hair a smooth feeling and won’t knot up. This will create soft lustrous hair naturally and no tangles. Next squeeze you hair dry never rough it up or be aggressive with it in a wet state. Your hair is most fragile in this state. Remember Friction equals Frizz. I would add my styling products into my hair at this point and style as usual.
Review
1. Get hair wet
2. Apply conditioner to ends if needed
3. Apply shampoo to scalp area and scrub scalp
4. Rinse
5. Apply conditioner even on men's or really short hair
6. Scrunch and detangle in shower
7. Rinse to where it feels silky
8. Squeeze the extra water from your hair and apply oils or styling products
9. Style as usual
You should always get you hair really wet before applying the shampoo. Add conditioner to your ends if they are feeling dry or damaged before you apply shampoo. When you add the shampoo to your hair it should only be to the scalp area (When you are rinsing your hair it will naturally go down the rest of the hair and clean it). Now scrub, scrub, and scrub your scalp. This is the part that gets dirty and needs to be exfoliated. Do not manipulate your mid shaft or ends as this will cause more knots. (Ever wonder why your hair feels so much better after going to the salon this is one of the reasons why) We really get your scalp clean. After you have scrubbed your scalp rinse your hair. Now add your conditioner. Apply from the ponytail down. If you have short hair still apply through the ends, just use a little bit. Scrunch and glaze your hair with it allowing the conditioner to soak in. Add a little water and use just your fingers to work your conditioner through and untangle your hair, add water and more conditioner if you have a hard time. Your hands are nature’s comb and do a great job. You are less likely to pull break or damage your hair if you use your fingers as a detangler. The more you do this the easier it will be. Try and avoid using a comb or brush as this will create more knots and break up your natural growth patterns. Rinse, but leave in some so you hair feels silky not milky and not dry. You hair is happy when the cuticle (skin of the hair) is closed and down which give the hair a smooth feeling and won’t knot up. This will create soft lustrous hair naturally and no tangles. Next squeeze you hair dry never rough it up or be aggressive with it in a wet state. Your hair is most fragile in this state. Remember Friction equals Frizz. I would add my styling products into my hair at this point and style as usual.
Review
1. Get hair wet
2. Apply conditioner to ends if needed
3. Apply shampoo to scalp area and scrub scalp
4. Rinse
5. Apply conditioner even on men's or really short hair
6. Scrunch and detangle in shower
7. Rinse to where it feels silky
8. Squeeze the extra water from your hair and apply oils or styling products
9. Style as usual
The What
Shampoo
Let's look at what you are washing your hair with. Your shampoo or cleanser, as I like to call it, can be a sham and full of pooo. Did you know the Pantene is basically creating a plastic coating on your hair that is why it is shiny and feels smooth. It is like plastic wrap on your hair, ewwwww. If you are using any of those cheap $1- $5 shampoos, it is probably made from a bi-product of gasoline. Yes, that is right you are washing you hair with gasoline or you can pick one that comes from natural ingredients like coconut. Which I have to say is what they did back around the turn of the century, but we have come a long way baby. So, Picking the right product is important. Ingredients to avoid Parabens (linked to breast cancer and is a commonly used preservative)
Check out this link
http://www.naturalskincaresecrets.com/parabens-and-cancer.html
Silicone, this does create a smooth coating it traps the hair nothing gets in or out. So, if you hair is dry there is no way for it to get moisture or if it is damaged no way for it to get protein to rebuild the hair. Tips any ingredient in a product with the end of it being ...cone is probably a silicone derivative. Look it up in the Internet to make sure. Use Shampoos with no or natural Sulfates (such as coconut). I personally prefer more organic natural based product lines. Remember hair is a natural fiber and should be treated that way when washing. It is not polyester. Some lines I like are Eufora, Moroccan oil, Pureology, Enjoy, Deva Curl, Burt's Bee's, Surface, Wen the list goes on. Also I would recommend only washing your hair at the most every other day.
Check out this link
http://www.naturalskincaresecrets.com/parabens-and-cancer.html
Silicone, this does create a smooth coating it traps the hair nothing gets in or out. So, if you hair is dry there is no way for it to get moisture or if it is damaged no way for it to get protein to rebuild the hair. Tips any ingredient in a product with the end of it being ...cone is probably a silicone derivative. Look it up in the Internet to make sure. Use Shampoos with no or natural Sulfates (such as coconut). I personally prefer more organic natural based product lines. Remember hair is a natural fiber and should be treated that way when washing. It is not polyester. Some lines I like are Eufora, Moroccan oil, Pureology, Enjoy, Deva Curl, Burt's Bee's, Surface, Wen the list goes on. Also I would recommend only washing your hair at the most every other day.
If you have color....
You should be using a color safe, protector, toning or stabilizing cleanser and conditioner at least once a week or every 2-4 washes. This can be by the color company you use or you can look at the product line you prefer to use and see what color support product they have. I like Deva Blond (blue base) to maintain cool colors and keeping blonds toned as well as shimmer lights (purple), but remember purple has RED in it so if you think you see red in you hair that is why. You are better off sticking with a blue based color support cleanser because blue is the smallest color molecule and tends to leave the hair the fastest. Schwarzkopf makes great color conditioning mousse for reds, brunettes and blondes as well.
Fine hair...
Use something gentle. Treat your hair like it is silk and very delicate. Wash your hair like it was a fine silk dress. Usually people with European back round have this. I would recommend a shampoo with no sulfates at all because even bubbles from a natural sulfate can be too harsh. I would also incorporate a protein treatment as well as moisture, alternating on what your hair needs. Fine hair has a very delicate balance of these two since it has a smaller area to maintain this balance. Remember hair grows from the inside out. So what you put in your body is reflected in your hair, skin and nails. If you want thicker healthier hair take a vitamin, like biotin, or talk to your doctor.
Medium hair...
Think of you hair as cotton. Pretty sturdy but still you need to be careful and not over wash it or style it. You can go with a strong shampoo and a light to heavy conditioner or light on both. Just depends on you. Always take into consideration your life style in order to pick the correct combo.
Coarse hair...
This is a hair texture like wool, the strongest most forgiving hair. Usually Latin, Indian and Asian back round. I would recommend a more moisture based shampoo and conditioner if you are trying to control this kind of hair. It tends to be on the dryer side and looses moisture more easily then it does the protein. Natural oils like olive oil, sunflower seed oil and argon oil are great for this as a leave-in treatment.
Gray hair...
I am only talking about the color you need to analyze if it is fine gray hair medium or coarse. To keep it from going yellow or dinghy use a blue or purple shampoo and conditioner once a week.
Wavy, Curly, Kinky hair...
Moisture, Moisture, Moisture! If you have frizzy hair, guess what you are wavy or curly, but you are just fighting it. The reason you have frizz is because you hair is dehydrated. Wavy, curly, kinky hair simply doesn't have enough moisture. This is due to the hair structure of it, which is typically oval or flat. One tip is to skipping every other time and just washing with conditioner. This is a great way to maintain and build moisture. What I mean is just substitute shampoo for conditioner in the steps I have outlined. If you can do it, stretch it to only once a week using shampoo and every other time conditioner. Again, I would use essential oils like ones stated in the coarse. Also look at your hair strand is coarse and curly or is it fine and kinky. Make sure you address both issues. Use water bases gels not protein power based (usually a gel with protein powder base will get white and flaky) Great book to pick up Curly Girl and visit nautarallycurly.com
Straight hair...
Typically Asian Indian or really fine baby hair are the only people with truly straight hair. Really fine hair is lacking the medulla (the bone of the hair structure) that is why it won’t hold a curl. I would still treat it as a fine hair structure when picking a shampoo. Asian or Indian hair that is straight can pretty much use anything. It just depends on what you want to achieve as an end result.
I hope you got a lot of helpful tips and will start to see and improvement in your hair.
Fine hair...
Use something gentle. Treat your hair like it is silk and very delicate. Wash your hair like it was a fine silk dress. Usually people with European back round have this. I would recommend a shampoo with no sulfates at all because even bubbles from a natural sulfate can be too harsh. I would also incorporate a protein treatment as well as moisture, alternating on what your hair needs. Fine hair has a very delicate balance of these two since it has a smaller area to maintain this balance. Remember hair grows from the inside out. So what you put in your body is reflected in your hair, skin and nails. If you want thicker healthier hair take a vitamin, like biotin, or talk to your doctor.
Medium hair...
Think of you hair as cotton. Pretty sturdy but still you need to be careful and not over wash it or style it. You can go with a strong shampoo and a light to heavy conditioner or light on both. Just depends on you. Always take into consideration your life style in order to pick the correct combo.
Coarse hair...
This is a hair texture like wool, the strongest most forgiving hair. Usually Latin, Indian and Asian back round. I would recommend a more moisture based shampoo and conditioner if you are trying to control this kind of hair. It tends to be on the dryer side and looses moisture more easily then it does the protein. Natural oils like olive oil, sunflower seed oil and argon oil are great for this as a leave-in treatment.
Gray hair...
I am only talking about the color you need to analyze if it is fine gray hair medium or coarse. To keep it from going yellow or dinghy use a blue or purple shampoo and conditioner once a week.
Wavy, Curly, Kinky hair...
Moisture, Moisture, Moisture! If you have frizzy hair, guess what you are wavy or curly, but you are just fighting it. The reason you have frizz is because you hair is dehydrated. Wavy, curly, kinky hair simply doesn't have enough moisture. This is due to the hair structure of it, which is typically oval or flat. One tip is to skipping every other time and just washing with conditioner. This is a great way to maintain and build moisture. What I mean is just substitute shampoo for conditioner in the steps I have outlined. If you can do it, stretch it to only once a week using shampoo and every other time conditioner. Again, I would use essential oils like ones stated in the coarse. Also look at your hair strand is coarse and curly or is it fine and kinky. Make sure you address both issues. Use water bases gels not protein power based (usually a gel with protein powder base will get white and flaky) Great book to pick up Curly Girl and visit nautarallycurly.com
Straight hair...
Typically Asian Indian or really fine baby hair are the only people with truly straight hair. Really fine hair is lacking the medulla (the bone of the hair structure) that is why it won’t hold a curl. I would still treat it as a fine hair structure when picking a shampoo. Asian or Indian hair that is straight can pretty much use anything. It just depends on what you want to achieve as an end result.
I hope you got a lot of helpful tips and will start to see and improvement in your hair.
If you have any questions or input please feel free to email me.
Very informative post - I'm glad to have discovered your blog.
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