How to wash your hair like a pro
I hear it all the time while working in the salon, “I wish I could bring you home with me so you can wash my hair everyday!” As a hairdresser, I truly believe great hair starts with a proper hair washing routine. I’m going to go back to the basics of hair washing. These tips that I will share with you are key to get a professional hair washing experience at home! Before we get started I want you to think of your scalp as you would your skin. If you have a healthy and clean scalp, you will have healthy hair. You should have a hair care regimen in place, just as you would a skincare regimen. Make sure to choose hair products based on your hair type. If you need help with choosing a product be sure to ask your hairstylist at your next salon visit or refer to my product suggestions at the end of this post. Now we begin! Before you reach for your shampoo and conditioner be sure to fully wet your hair. The shampoo will lather up better this way. Make sure to place your shampoo in your hand first and evenly saturate both hands as you would hand lotion before washing the hair. This will provide even distribution. Massage the roots but don’t rush! It’s important that you use the pressure of your fingertips and massage the scalp to get a deeper clean and promote proper blood flow to the scalp. Now that your roots and scalp are taken care of I want you to grab a second pump of shampoo and apply on your mids to ends, making sure to work the product into a lather. Let the shampoo sit in the hair for 1-2 min. If you have a lot of styling products, dirt or excess oil in the hair this will help break that up. Rinse until the water runs clear. Next is conditioner, don’t skip this step! Most of us are not properly applying conditioner and it can cause a lot of buildup issues. Sometimes we feel like conditioner is the reason why our hair is greasy or weighed down but I disagree. If you think back to what I mentioned earlier about treating our scalp like we do our skin its easy to understand that by not hydrating the hair and scalp it will only dry the hair out. You want to apply your conditioner away from the scalp first (think of where your ponytail would be) using a decent amount of product. You can always add more product so start with a small amount. If your hair tangles easily I would recommend keeping a Wet Brush in the shower to comb your conditioner through the hair. Whatever product is left on the hands, run it through the scalp. Let this sit for 1-2 min. I like to keep a hair clip in the shower to let the conditioner sit on as long as I can. Works great for hair masks as well! Rinse fully until the water runs clear. I hope these suggestions help! I’ll go through common hair types and some shampoo and conditioner recommendations to use at home. Please leave a comment if you have any questions!
Oily hair: I would suggest a 3 step regimen. First, a Detox Shampoo. The one I use is called Maxi.Wash by Kevin Murphy. Its going to exfoliate the scalp, remove product buildup and mineral buildup. This is going to be your first wash before your regular shampoo and conditioner. I would suggest Balancing Wash and Hydrate Rinse, also by Kevin Murphy for your daily shampoo and conditioner.
Chemically damaged hair: If you have had color damage from bleach or if you use hot tools often then I would suggest Virtue Labs Recovery shampoo and Recovery Conditioner. These products will help reconstruct frayed cuticles and brittle ends.
Normal Hair: If your hair is quite healthy, has shine but isn’t too oily then I would recommend Kevin Murphy Hydrate Wash and Hydrate Rinse. These are formulated for all hair types and will provide moisture to the hair without weighing it down.
Curly hair: I would recommend Oribe’s Moisture and Control line. If you have a slight wave or super kinky hair this Shampoo and Conditioner will work for you as well.
Fine hair: Feeling like you have no volume? I would recommend Virtue Labs Full Shampoo and Full Conditioner. these products will add volume and thickness to the hair without weighing it down.
Thick hair: If you have thick, coarse hair and need a rich lather I would suggest Kevin Murphy Smooth Again shampoo and Smooth Again conditioner. These will help tame frizz and provide moisture.
