Hair Washing Techniques

[Mermaid.hairr]

How do you guys wash your hair? I am still experimenting with how to wash mine. I have been trying the condition, shampoo, condition, but I'm not sure how I feel about it. Sometimes my hair ends up looking a little greasy after the wash, because of all the conditioner I suppose. What are the other techniques? Should I just shampoo my scalp first and then condition once? Looking for a bit of advice because I am trying to stretch my washes and it's disappointing when my hair looks like crud even after a wash

[lapushka]

We do 4 sections (because of the thickness). A dollop of shampoo on the back, a dollop on the top, and a dollop spread over the 2 sides. Then suds & lather. Rinse quick (don't get all the product off, just make it more sudsy), then re-suds and then rinse clear.

[Wusel]

I put conditioner on dry hair, leave it on for 10min-1hour, wash my scalp with dilluted shampoo and rinse it down the lengths, rinsing out the conditioner at the same time. Then put leave-in stuff in. That's it.

[Zesty]

(Prewash I put just enough oil in my hair to make it look a little lank and leave that on overnight. Then...) I use a rather harsh shampoo, but I lather and rinse twice while holding my length and ends out of the way so that they get minimal shampoo on them. Then I use a heavy cone-free conditioner, let sit while I wash my body, and rinse that out thoroughly at the end of my shower. I also do the leave-in in my LOC (a cone- and protein-free conditioner) in the shower with a quick rinse to distribute it more evenly but not wash it out. (If you're not familiar with the LOC method, the thread link is in lapushka's signature.)

What's your hair type and what kinds of products are you using? I'd say you should do some more experimenting if your current routine is leaving your hair greasy-looking after a shower.

[Mermaid.hairr]

My hair is rather greasy itself. I used to wash it every single day. For the past couple of months, I have been trying to stretch my washes. It has gotten to the point where my second day hair looks only slightly greasy, and my third day hair looks so oily that braiding it back is a necessity. I've been struggling with this hair growth journey because with the less washing and not using any heat, my hair is just never looking the way that I want it to. I've been experimenting with a few different brands of shampoo and conditioner and my washing technique. Think it's safe to say that I haven't found my holy grail for any of it yet

[Nadine <3]

I do mine in 2 sections. First the front and top parts and then the back at my nape. If my hair was really dirty, I lather it again to make sure my scalp is nice and clean. I use a pretty harsh shampoo. after I'm clean I squeeze the extra water out and cake on a good handful of conditioner and let it sit while I do other stuff. Rinse it and add another handful. This is were I start going through it to get all the shed hairs out of there. Rinse and done. It goes into a turbie for however long it takes me to get clothes on and lotion everything.

[missrandie]

I mix conditioner diluted with water at a 1:2 ratio, put it on my dry hair and scalp, work it in, then toss a shower cap and a homemade turbie on it for 20 minutes and go do something else. Then I come back, get in the shower, lightly wet my hair, and work the conditioner in one more time. Then I rinse thoroughly, apply 2 pumps (very tiny pumps) of my argan/fractionated coconut/jojoba oil blend to the ends of my hair, comb through, and rinse again.

My hair likes this quite a bit, but YMMV.

[lithostoic]

Depends. Sometimes I cover my hair in conditioner and shampoo the scalp without rinsing first, sometimes I shampoo the scalp and condition the ends, sometimes I cowash, sometimes I shampoo from root to tip ... Just depends on what I feel like my hair needs.

The other day I tried two parts poo to one part co, to cleanse my scalp. I liked it. First I conditioned the ends, then added the mixture to my scalp and rinsed everything at the same time.

[lapushka]

Ooh, I forgot my conditioning routine + the rest of it. I condition twice after washing. Then hair goes into a t-shirt "towel" for 40 min. or so, then it's time for detangling with a wide tooth comb for the last time for the week + LOC/LCO method. Then it is clipped up with tiny and bigger claws (CG method), left to airdry for 3H, then a diffuser goes through for 4 min (30 seconds for back, top, 2 sides = 2 min. then the roots for another 2).

[Anya15]

I do a very heavy pre-poo overnight oiling using coconut oil (I have started adding amla oil to it recently) and while washing, I do two sections, one for each side of my head. I use sulfate-free shampoo (Using a sulfate free shampoo doesn't necessarily work for everyone.) I use aloe vera as a leave in. No conditioner.

Keep in mind that all of us have different hairtypes and some people may have a sensitive scalp, etc. You should experiment with different things to find out what works for you. :)

[Arctic]

I usually just S+C. Almost daily. Life too short to have dirty, ugly hair - plus oily hair gives me scalp problems. I used to experiment a lot with different washing techniques and products, but most of them just irritated my scalp/skin or my hair didn't like them. Some of my experiments even seemed to sensitize my skin, like CO washing did. I still can't put conditoner on my scalp after many, many, many years.

Unfortunately you will need to do your experimenting yourself, but I hope you will find a nice routine soon.

[Anje]

After trying a bunch of stuff (CO, WO, etc.), I'm at the really basic standard method.

Take hair out of style, detangle it briefly.
Hop in shower, wet it down.
Shampoo scalp, trying not to move the hair around all that much, but just massage the scalp a bit. Maybe squeeze some of the suds down the length if it's gunky. Usually I'm using a seriously diluted sulfate shampoo to do this, just squirted on directly from the bottle. If it doesn't lather, I add a bit more. :)
Rinse.
Squeeze out excess water, then put conditioner on the length, up to about the nape or the ears. More on the bottom.
Wad it up gently (trying not to squeeze out the conditioner) and dump the hair in a showercap so it's out of the water. Let it marinate while I wash the rest of me.
Rinse conditioner out of hair. Maybe not all of it, but most.
Fold hair from nape over top of head, wrap towel around it.
After maybe 5 minutes, I turn my towel around so I get a dry section where it's gotten wettest. Total time in the towel is maybe 10-15 minutes, as I seem to get diminishing returns after that. Take it down, either oil and comb it or just let it airdry and then comb. Either works, and because I'm careful to not scrunch up my hair all that much when I shampoo, the tangles are generally minimal. If the cat starts playing with the ends as they're drying, there might be a little more tangling. :)

ETA: I generally wash the next chance I get after I notice that the hair's looking a little greasy near the scalp. How often that is seems to vary with the season -- it's about every 2 days in the winter, and more like every 3-4 days in the summer.

[school of fish]

After loads of experimenting, I've settled on a very simple daily wash routine - here it is:

5 days a week it's CO: jump in shower, slather on conditioner from roots to tips, rinse out conditioner.

The remaining 2 days a week it's S&C: jump in shower, lather shampoo from roots to tips & rinse out, slather on conditioner from roots to tips, rinse out conditioner.

I'm probably one of those people who could shampoo and condition every single day and my hair would be just fine - in fact I did that for decades and my hair was always strong and healthy. I can't stretch washes, I tried and it was disastrous - my hair really does best with daily washing :)

As you can see from the variety of answers, we're all so different! It really is a very individual thing :D

[Nique1202]

I always feel like if I condition first I'm just washing out all the conditioner when I wash my hair, so I shampoo twice to get all my thick sebum out and then I put a good bit of conditioner on everything from the nape down, twist it up, and clip it out of the way until the end of my shower so it has time to soak in and do its thing.

[Frankenstein]

Mine is pretty simple - just lather a dime-sized amount of shampoo into my roots and scalp then rinse. I guess the suds run down the length but not enough to get it super clean. Then I apply a thin layer of conditioner from the ears down, detangle with a wide tooth comb, and add more conditioner. I let that sit for a minute or two then rinse.

[Hairkay]

I just massage my plaited/braided head, step under the shower, scritch a little while, let the water run then I'm done. I'll either put a t-shirt on the hair whilst I dress or just let it drip and air dry, adding a little oil on the hair ends. No shampoo or conditioner used.

[Llama]

I have always washed my hair the same way

-shampoo my scalp with a good amount of shampoo, rinse, shampoo my scalp again (never lathers the first time) and bring it down my length. Rinse. Put lots of conditioner on the ends and lightly on top. Rinse. Sometimes I will condition just the length/ends a second time.

My scalp gets very oily and I have hard water also.

[Groovy Granny]

1) I dilute 2 tiny pumps of shampoo with a big squirt of conditioner in 4 oz of water; apply it to scalp/massage it in.
Conditioner is applied to the ends, and then my whole head is rinsed.

2) Conditioner is applied to the ends and a wee bit on the roots, then rinsed

3) Up in a towel turban for 15 minutes, detangled and parted in the middle right down the back

4) 3 drops mineral oil is worked into my ends up to my ears on each side

5) Warm/cool blow dry to the scalp only in Winter; air dry the ends.

6) Summertime I air dry with my hair in a banana clip to accommodate my humid air curl explosion lol

[Simsy]

I found my hair handles stretched washes much better when I don't get it wet between washes. When I decide it's time to wash, I get it thoroughly soaked, then a good handful of shampoo and lather the entire length and scalp, scratching right down to the scalp. Rinse off thoroughly, and a handful of conditioner follows. This first conditioner is applied all over, scrubbed in on the scalp, and the length piled up for a few minutes while I do the rest of the body parts. Once I'm mostly done, pull the length down, work the conditioner through as best IO can, pulling sheds and breaks as I go. Then rinse out, making sure the water runs clear. If I feel the Mop needs a bit extra, another handful of conditioner is applied, lightly on top and worked heavily right through the length (about ears down). Finger comb through, rinse clear again and hop out.

The CWC tends to result in weird dry spots on me. I found adding a 2nd conditioner at the end was the most feasible way for me to work it. I use large amounts of oil while detangling after the shower, and during the week.

[bjr]

Mine's pretty simple I guess.
I wash my hair twice a week, oil it heavily before, and then wash my scalp and length with a sulfate-free shampoo bar. Yay chagrin valley :) If my hair is a little dry and frizzy afterwards, I'll add a little coconut or avocado oil, but otherwise I leave it alone until next wash; my hair is so fine that if I add more than a little oil it just gets all flat and greasy looking :(

[catasa]

This is my routine:

• Scalp wash every other day, full length wash every 6-8 days/every third to fourth wash
• Previously used diluted shampoo for scalp washing but have been having trouble with itchiness and foul-smelling sebum, so am currently experimenting with full-strength shampoos (mild or SLS ones) and medical shampoos
• When washing lengths, use a version of ROO method: apply about 5-6 drops of mineral oil to wet lengths in the shower, then add pure honey as conditioner on top of this. Leave in for a couple of minutes, then rinse out.
• After full length wash, fingercomb about 3-5 drops of pure mineral oil through streaming/dripping wet lengths, and stroke very little on the canopy, and scrunch a little.
• Fold a t-shirt around hair for about 5 minutes to soak up the worst wetness
• Air dry or blow dry on cool setting, always from above the head down along the lengths
• Clarify as needed (not much need for this with current conditioner-free routine)
• No cones whatsoever – not for any “religious” reasons but because my hair is very build-up prone, and I also dislike the plasticky feeling I get from cones

[Mirabele]

Before LHC my routine was shampoo every second day, thats it.
I learned a lot here. It was a lot to try and some things didnt work for me but i now seem to have a washing routine that works well.
I put a condishioner on my length before washing (on dry hair) and leave it for some time. Then i go to shower, wet my hair, put more cond on my length to protect from shampoo. Then i wash my scalp with diluted shampoo, rinse everything and if need, put some more cond on my length. I am stretching washes as well. Before LHC i had to wash every second day and my hair actually looked actually quite oily on the second day. I now wash every three or four days and my hair doesnt look that oily anymore. The important thing for me was to find out that mild shampoos didnt work for stretching washes for me, my hair was oily no matter how long i tried. When i got back to sls shampoos, i've been able to stretch washes.