Sorry, I'm Washing My Hair That Day

Many of you may have heard of the dismissive line "Sorry, I can't go, I'm washing my hair that night." While washing your hair seems like a straightforward task, there are actually several things that you need to do to keep your hair as healthy as possible.

It is usually easiest to remove the tangles in your hair before you get in the shower. First of all, it will be easier to detangle your hair when it is dry than when it is wet, and your hair is stronger then as well. As a result, you will experience less snapping and frayed ends. Secondly, it will be easier to get even penetration of shampoo and conditioner, so your hair will be cleaner and healthier.

Use warm water to wash your hair. If the water you use is too hot, it will not only cause your body to respond by producing more oil, which will make your scalp get dirty faster, but it will also make your hair sticky and attract dirt. That will raise the scales on your hair, which will also make it tangle faster when you're working the shampoo or conditioner through your hair. However, warm water cleans faster than cold water, so it's not necessary to use ice-cold water.

Apply the shampoo directly to your scalp before working it through your hair. Your scalp is the most important part to wash, because that is the part that secretes the oils that you want to clean off your body. However, you may wish to apply a small amount of shampoo to the rest of your hair to clean the residual dirt from your day's activities.

Contrary to popular opinion, it is generally not necessary to rinse and repeat when washing your hair. Modern shampoos are good enough to cleanse your hair completely in one go, although if your hair is particularly grimy you may wish to wash an extra time. In fact, if you overclean your hair, you will cause your hair to become brittle and dry, which will increase the chances of breaking your hair or having flyaway hairs, and your scalp will secrete more oils instead. It is better to err on the side of undershampooing your hair rather than overshampooing it.

You need a lot less shampoo than you think you will need. For many professional-quality shampoos such as the Paul Mitchell line, you will only need a dime-sized amount or a pea-sized amount. Even for the commercial shampoos, which have more water and fillers, you still usually only need a quarter-sized amount for a normal amount of hair. The dangers of overshampooing have been previously discussed.

It is best to use a separate shampoo and conditioner. If you are prone to oily hair, you may not need a conditioner, but a combination shampoo-conditioner does not allow either the shampoo to fully clean your hair, nor the conditioner to fully coat your hair and promote hydration. Leave-in conditioners can make other things stick to your hair if you use too much, but rinse-out conditioners can leave it too dry if you don't leave it in your hair long enough. Find one that works for you and stick with it.

Using these simple tips will help you have and keep healthier hair. It is particularly important to use these tips if you do anything to your hair, including using hairspray, color, straighten, or perm it, because those processes can damage your hair.