7 steps to wash your hair properly to achieve the highest hair care results

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Although washing your hair is a necessary hair care step that everyone does every day, not everyone knows how to wash their hair properly. Just by washing your hair properly, you can significantly improve the health, softness and shine of your hair.

On the contrary, if you make a few common mistakes when washing your hair, your hair will gradually become damaged and lose its natural shine. In this article, we will share some suggestions to help you wash your hair properly to achieve the highest hair care results.

1. Wet your hair before washing

Just like a washing machine needs to run a rinse cycle before adding detergent, your hair needs to be wet before applying shampoo. Warm or hot water will help expand the hair follicles, any dirt, sebum or chemicals accumulated in the hair will follow the shampoo and water out. At the same time, wetting your hair with warm water also dissolves the oily layer on the scalp and helps your hair easily absorb nutrients from the conditioner.

2. Long hair should use conditioner before shampoo

It sounds ridiculous, but this is exactly the best way if you have shoulder-length hair. Long hair often has the disadvantage that the ends are quite dry and easily damaged. Therefore, to protect the ends of your hair and prevent damage, before using shampoo, you should apply a small amount of conditioner evenly on the ends of your hair and rinse thoroughly. Conditioner not only helps make the ends of your hair stronger, but also fills in broken spots on the surface of the hair with moisturizing ingredients, making hair smoother and healthier.

3. Foam only on the scalp

Both hair care experts Saviano and White say that you only need to apply shampoo on the scalp, especially the nape of the neck, then create foam by gently massaging from root to tip. The hair closest to the scalp is newly grown hair, so it’s usually the oiliest, while the ends of the hair are the oldest, so they’re often drier and more susceptible to damage. This is why you only need to focus on foaming the shampoo on the scalp. Be careful not to use too much shampoo. Average hair only needs a coin-sized amount of shampoo. If your hair is long or too thick, you can double the amount of shampoo.

4. Remember to massage gently

Too much friction between hair strands can cause damage to the hair surface, leading to tangles and breakage. Washing your hair also needs to be as careful and meticulous as washing delicate clothes by hand. Gently create foam from the roots of your hair, massage with moderately strong horizontal movements to increase blood circulation in the scalp, stimulating hair growth. Do not rotate your fingers or palms because it can cause tangles. Then, gently stroke the foam towards the ends of your hair from top to bottom, avoiding rubbing the ends of your hair too much.

5. No need to wash again

Many shampoos come with instructions on the packaging that often advise you to rinse your hair after the first wash and repeat the process again. However, this is not necessary. Washing your hair with shampoo once is also effective enough. Only wash your hair a second time in case your hair has too much dirt on it, preventing it from foaming the first time.

6. Apply conditioner from the middle of the hair towards the ends

After rinsing out the shampoo, gently twist your hair to remove excess water and then apply conditioner evenly on the hair shaft and ends. Clip your hair in a few minutes. If you wash your hair in the shower, you can finish showering and then rinse your hair. The longer you keep the conditioner on your hair, the more likely it is that the nutrients in the oil will be absorbed into the hair. Remember not to apply conditioner to your scalp because the scalp is where the main concentration of sebum is, which will make your hair oilier and more easily greasy.

7. Rinse hair with cold water

In contrast to the first step of the shampooing cycle, when rinsing your hair you should use cold water. Cold water will cause the hair follicles to close, locking the hair surface, both protecting the hair structure and making light reflect best, making the hair shiny and smoother.

In addition to these notes, you should also choose shampoo and conditioner suitable for your hair type for the most comprehensive hair care. Dry hair needs to use shampoos and conditioners rich in moisturizers. Dyed hair needs to keep its color. Thickening shampoos often make hair drier, so they need to be combined with supportive products with high moisturizing properties. Healthy or oily hair should be washed every day, while normal and dry hair only needs to be washed 3 times a week.