Are You Washing Your Hair Right?

How hard can it be to wash your hair?  Wet, add shampoo, rub, rinse and repeat (for those of you who wash twice), and condition (for those of you who use conditioner).

6 Mistakes People Make When Shampooing Their Hair

I grew up at the tail end of a large family.  My parents didn’t have time dwell on step-by-step instructions on how to properly wash and really care for my hair.  Nor did I have a say on what I was washing my hair with, all seven of us used whatever my mom had bought.

It wasn’t until I formulated the shampoo bars, that I realized I wasn’t shampooing my hair correctly.  Quite honestly, I knew nothing about how to take care of my thin, curly, wavy, frizzy hair. 

I’ve been selling the shampoo bars for over 10 years.  I deal with people who are trying to make the switch from commercial liquid shampoos to a shampoo bar.  The transition can be tricky, but only if you don’t know how to properly wash and condition your hair.  Most people don’t shampoo their hair correctly and make at least one mistake every time they lather up.

Good news, there is always room for improvement, and taking steps to take care of your hair and scalp is a relatively simple fix.  Here are six common mistakes people make when shampooing and conditioning their hair. 

1. Not Wetting Your Hair Thoroughly

Most people don’t wet their hair thoroughly before applying shampoo. Every strand of hair, from root to the ends of your hair, needs to be soaking wet to get a deep clean. This is particularly true when using a shampoo bar. Your hair must be saturated otherwise you could end up with soap stuck to your hair. 

This is an easy fix. Just take a few more minutes standing under the shower stream to ensure every strand is drenched. This differs for everyone. Hair that is dense and/or thick takes longer to saturate.

2. Excessive Amounts of Shampoo

People have no idea on how much shampoo to use and use to much, especially bottled shampoo. Once wet, our shampoo bars lather up quickly.  No need to worry about too much shampoo or wasting money on expensive shampoos.

With our shampoo bars, you can either rub the bar briefly on top of your scalp and hair ends or create the lather in your hands and wash your hair with the later.  If you choose to rub the bar on top of your scalp, do not “over rub” the hair with the bar. Again, doing so will leave soap on the hair and increase the likelihood of leaving hair with a “gummy waxy” feeling.  You are washing with the SOAP LATHER.

3. Skipping The Scalp

So many people just wash their hair and skip their scalp all together. 

Start washing at the scalp and spend time massaging it. Scrubbing the scalp is a key step to an effective shampoo experience. Focusing your initial shampooing efforts on the scalp helps remove dirt, sebum, and build-up that collects there. The magic number for cleansing the scalp is three minutes, no matter your hair length or hair type.

Our Neem and Tea Tree Shampoo & Body Bar is formulated as a scalp treatment.  Neem and Tea Tree help bring relief to itching and irritation and aid in the healing of conditions such as dry skin, dandruff, and scalp psoriasis  It even helps promote hair growth. 

4. Not Rinsing Thoroughly

If you wash your hair twice, focus your first shampoo only on the scalp, not the actual hair, especially those with long or textured hair.

Most people whip through the rinse portion of hair washing.  This is doing more harm than good especially when using a shampoo bar.  Some clients comment on a “greasy or waxy” hair feeling after they first use a shampoo bar and even after a few washings.  This happens when the soap residue doesn’t completely rinse out of your hair. 

Be sure to rinse, rinse, and rinse again.  Spend at least a full minute rinsing hair of shampoo before moving on to the next step.  It might be helpful, especially when you first start using a shampoo bar, to not rub the bar directly on your hair.  Instead, work up a good lather in your hands and only use the foam on your hands to wash your hair.  Whatever you do, don’t give up during this period, your hair will adjust.  Just be patient.

5. Uneven Conditioner Application

Applying conditioner is a different experience for everyone, however uneven application is the most common mistake. 

Avoid tangles and hair breakage by working the conditioner into hair with a wide-toothed comb.  Make sure to rinse the conditioner out thoroughly.  If you have curly or coily hair texture, you can leave a little bit of the conditioner on for softer hair. 

Skipping conditioner can be a time-saver, but your hair will pay for it in the end. The key to a productive condition is removing the excess water from your hair before you apply conditioner because this allows it to soak in and do its job. Take your time to work it in, making sure to coat every strand. 

6. Eliminating The Cold Rinse

Who doesn’t love a hot shower?  Your hair that’s who! 

Hot water raises the cuticle, so you need to rinse the hair with cold water to close the cuticle.  A flatter cuticle has a smoother surface, one which reflects light and makes hair look shiny and healthy! 

New to using a shampoo bar? Check out this link for Shampoo Bars: Tips & Techniques

Written By: Mary Ellen Wank, Wellness Advocate and Founder of LATIV, Natural Skin Revival DISCLAIMER