Hi there!
So, staying on my topic of keeping hair clean, as a hairdresser, I am extremely fussy on washing hair properly. To me, there is absolutely no point in even bothering to wash your hair if you’re not going to do it thoroughly. Because for one thing, it won’t get rid of the greasy smell and it won’t style well either. Which brings me to my pet hate, hair salons. Hair salons have not mastered the job of cleaning the hair first. Well, some of them. But there is nothing worse than going for a treat to a hair salon to have this new gentle massage washing, that does nothing but irritate the living daylights out of us clients and even the stylists as in my experience, it wastes a busy stylists time, when she has to send the client back to the basin to be washed badly again. Nobody wants to upset the young junior by being annoyed at her but on top of badly massaged washing, they also avoid washing another important part of the head, the back! Yes, we’ve all had that experience, so what did I do about it? I stopped going. Yes, something so simple made me stop going to the salon and handing over my hard earned cash for a job not done well.
So what’s the big deal? How does one wash hair properly?
Firstly, you find the right shampoo for you and that doesn’t mean expensive shampoo, that means are you sensitive to the regular sulphate shampoo? Which is in every bottle of shampoo unless it states otherwise as a non sulphate shampoo. Sulphate is a very good ingredient to remove the grease that builds up on one’s head between washes. The grease comes from the acid mantle that builds up on the scalp between washes which is the substance you want to remove in the first place. If this is not removed properly with each wash, it causes dry scalp, dandruff, smell and limp hanging hair! It gets a bit confusing here now as if you’re sensitive or allergic to sulphate, this can cause extreme itching and flaky scalp anyway! So there is absolutely no harm in washing your hair with an non sulphate shampoo because it will actually clean your hair and a cheap example is baby shampoo! Tigi products actually have a great smelling range of non sulphate shampoo, but are a little more expensive.
So, how does one wash one’s hair properly?
Well, to start with rinse the hair with warm/hot water. Add a dollop of shampoo and massage all over the hair to sud it up. Then like you’re giving your hair a good scratch all over but with just your finger pads, go at it. This is a strenuous movement and if you don’t feel strained, you’re not doing it right! Scrub every inch of your scalp for about 3 minutes and then Rinse. This first wash is removing the acid mantle but you’re not done yet! You need to do a second wash always! Add another dollop of shampoo and continue again with the same scrubbing motion for another 3 minutes, if you have long hair, you will need to scrub the flowing locks also for 3 minutes! Yes, it is a strenuous job to have clean hair!
Now, not everybody needs to have conditioner, especially if you have fine hair, but if you have thick course hair, the conditioners job is to smooth down the cuticles that have been roughened while being washed, especially with the action of a sulphate based shampoo. But if you do need conditioner, please make sure that it is rinsed to squeaky clean, because conditioner on lovely well washed hair will also cause to hang limply!
The jobs not finished yet! Another very important action is to brush the scalp completely and thoroughly for another 3 minutes! This removes any left over dead cells that can appear as dry flaky scalp!
This washing method will result in fresh smelling, shiny, light hair that will last you at least 5 to 7 days!
So, what are you waiting for? Jean xxxx
