Washing your hair and scalp frequently and effectively is one of the foundations to healthy scalp and hair. It is often the area I focus a lot of attention on in my hair course because many make mistakes that set them back without even realising.
You can significantly improve your hair care routine by making a few adjustments to your wash day regimen in order to keep your hair feeling and looking great.
So here are 3 common mistakes you’re probably making on washday. If you can fix these, you are on your way to great looking hair!
1. You’re not detangling properly.
Detangling can be a pain for anyone with natural hair, but it is absolutely vital. This process is especially critical if you’ve just taken down a protective hairstyle. I’m seeing more and more people detangling under the shower! Stop it! You can get away with this if you have a looser texture. But if you have texture similar to mine! Please stop it! Turn on Netflix! Turn on a great podcast! Sit down, grab your spritz bottle with water in it, get my Leccino olive oil and get to work, section by section. It takes time, but it’s the foundation to keeping damage at bay.
Also, exclusively finger detangling when you are new to intentionally caring for your hair is a no no! So, start with your fingers, but please comb through gently with our widetooth comb and get the shed hair out!
Remember, the goal is to get tangles and shed hair out!
2. You’re not using the right cleaning products at the right time!
This is probably the most common mistake I see most make. Think about your skin care, many of you have different cleansers, a gentle cleanser for the mornings because your face is generally clean aside from sweat. For the evening, you have your exfoliators or deeper cleanser to lift makeup and sunscreen.
You need the same for hair. For your weekly washes, you need your clays or sulphate free shampoo. But at least every three weeks or once a month, depending on your product usage, your scalp and hair needs to be clarified with a clarifying shampoo. Some people now use a clarifying shampoo more frequently because they use gels, butters and oils more frequently. If this is you, just ensure your clarifying shampoo is well formulated i.e it’s gentle enough.
Not clarifying your hair is a common cause of limp, lifeless and chronically dry hair.
3. You’re not deep conditioning
Why? Why? Whyyy? are you not deep conditioning your hair. Washing with a shampoo and not conditioning is leaving your hair exposed to damage.
Shampooing raises your cuticle layer, when it’s raised it’s more prone to friction and damage. Conditioners smooth it back down and deposit ingredients to fill the gaps and strengthen. So conditioning is a must.
If you want to take conditioning to the next level, try using heat! Heat allows more conditioning agents to bind to the hair shaft. Our deep conditioning heat cap makes the process much easier. Just pop it in the microwave for 60 to 90 seconds and leave it on for about 20 minutes after applying your deep conditioner. Your hair will definitely thank you.