Shampoo!

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2020.11.07Hair care

Shampoo!

Most people don’t wet their hair thoroughly before applying shampoo. Every strand needs to be soaking wet in order to get a deep clean. The good news is, it just takes about a full minute standing under the shower stream to ensure every strand is drenched. The bad news is, it’s different for everybody. If your hair is particularly dense—not even thick, just dense—run your fingers through to double-check that water has made it from the root to the ends of your hair. People generally have no idea how much shampoo to use in the shower. And if you use a fancy shampoo, you could be washing a lot of money down the drain. At the same time, using too little shampoo won’t get your hair clean enough. Starting at the scalp is crucial. If you’ve ever had a professional shampoo at a salon, you know how much time they spend on your scalp. It’s not just an impromptu head massage. Scrubbing the scalp is a key step to an effective shampoo. The magic number for cleansing the scalp is three minutes, no matter your hair length or hair type. It all goes down like this: After you’ve scrubbed your scalp for three minutes, it’s time to rinse. A quick 15-second rinse should suffice, but depending on your hair type, you could need a little more time. Now it’s part two of the shampoo, only this time you’ll be focusing your efforts on your hair, not your scalp. To do this, take about a dime-sized amount of shampoo and apply it to your hair. Focus on massaging the shampoo into your actual hair strands. You can spend as little as 20 seconds on this part, or longer if you use lots of products that can cause build-up. The trick to using conditioner is only to apply it to the bottom two-thirds of hair to prevent your scalp and roots from getting overly oily since the scalp produces natural oils. Skipping conditioner can be a time-saver, but your hair will pay for it in the end. The key to a productive condition is removing the excess water from your hair before you apply conditioner because this allows it to soak in and do its job. Take your time to work it in, making sure to coat every strand. Finally, you should be giving your hair a cold water rinse. If you thought this was a beauty myth repeated over the years in magazines and on websites, this is a beauty do that is actually true. While hot water raises the cuticle and therefore makes products more effective, you need to rinse hair with cold water to close the cuticle. A flatter cuticle has a smoother surface, one which reflects light and makes hair look shinier. It’s ok not to if you’re afraid of a cold shower, but if you’re brave and committed to having shiny hair, then take a chance and move that tap over to cold.