Wash your hair upside-down?

[Norai]

It had never occurred to me to wash my hair upside-down until I saw this video, but I tried it and it works really well for me! I don't have one of the handheld shower things that this lady has, but it still works okay without.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwnlC12W8vk

It does make for a little bit more tangling, but my scalp gets SO much cleaner this way that I can actually go twice as long in between washing, so I figure it's helpful. :)

She makes a really good point that it is very hard to get shampoo up and under and close to your scalp when your long hair is wet if you wash it standing normally - all the weight from the water keeps you from getting your fingers up and under your hair and getting your scalp clean.

So far I'm really liking it!

[AgnesONutter]

With my waist long hair I don't find I have any problems getting to my scalp standing normally. I just turn the shower off, tilt my head slightly backwards and approach my scalp from the underside. I do a one quick shampoo with just a little, little bit of shampoo then a rinse, then a proper shampoo of the scalp (I don't bring it down my lengths at all, unless extremely dirty). I do condition my scalp, because my scalp tends to get dry and conditioner helps with that as long as it is rinsed out properly.

Sometimes, I do wash upside down such as when I'm doing a deep conditioning treatment and rinsing it all out but generally I find my hair tangles that much more after being upside down that I just get out of my clothes and shower again.

[Elainehali]

Admittedly she's got a lot of good advice. I'm probably too lazy to do a separate hair washing and then shower though.

[RoseRedDead]

I do wash my hair upside down. It's not always convenient and sometimes my back doesn't like it, but I don't have a detachable, hand-held shower head...

[halo_tightens]

I always wash my hair upside down, and have for my whole life. I just can't stand doing it in the shower for some reason.

I kneel by the bathtub and stick my head under the actual tub spout, no shower attachment. Now that my hair is longer and would easily go down the drain, I just hold the length in one hand when I'm running water on my scalp. It's easy then to move backward and let the length go through the flow of water too.

I honestly hate washing my hair any other way than this, lol. I'm a stubborn ol' coot, set in my ways. ;)

ETA: I'm such a nerd. I just saw that this is post 1234 and LOLed!

[TammySue]

Another upside-down hair washer here. :D

[Carolyn]

I couldn't bend over the side of the bathtub for as long as she did. I used to wash my hair upside down in the kitchen sink. I did that for years before I got a hand held shower thingie. Now I sit upright in the tub and wash it. I get horrible tangles washing upside down. I even used to flip my hair forward and detangle and comb it forward when I was standing at the kitchen sink. Even that didn't eliminate the tangles. Now that I have a working dishwasher again, I sometimes have an empty sink and could go back to forward washing. I've never been able to avoid tangles. When I wash sitting in the tub or standing in a shower I have very few tangles.

[Gypsy]

When I was a kid, that was the only way my hair got washed, with me standing on a stool bent over the kitchen sink and my mom washing my hair with the sink sprayer.:)

[Darkhorse1]

Been doing this since I was 13 and LOVE it. For me, it's the easiest, best way to wash my hair. I just put my head under the faucet and wash. It's helped immensely with keeping my scalp clean. Since I wash my hair at night, it works for me :)

[clichepithet]

I love how 'clean' my scalp feels when washing upside-down. I miss it, as I used to when it was shorter (APL or less) - but it just gives me mad tangles anymore (and therefore not worth it to me), so I'm with AgnesONutter there and just come at it backwards. Also, love my "Color Applicator" from Sally's, since the nozzle is long and thin, I can dilute the mess out of my shampoo and keep adding water here and there direct as needed.

[Roseate]

Washing upside down is the one sure way to give myself cray-zee tangles. To get to my scalp, I dilute my shampoo until it's just soapy water and use a squeeze bottle to get it where it needs to go. I wish I had a hand-held shower head, though, that makes rinsing so much easier!

[mrs carol]

I also wash my hair upside down. I don't have too much problem with tangles. I have a hand held shower thingy and it makes it easy.

[Fairlight63]

I also wash my hair under the faucet in the tub. I put a bowl over the drain so that my don't go down the drain. I have washed my hair like that so long. Makes it easy to plop my hair after washing also because all of my hair is already forward. Also if adding an acv rinse it is easier to just bend over the tub then it is not all running down my back.

The main reason that I do it is because I live up north & the house is so cold in the winter that I dread getting in the shower & freezing to death. In the summer I will go to washing my hair in the shower when it is warmer in the bathroom.

[Animae]

I wonder if this would work standing under the shower. because I don;t have enough room to stick my head under my faucet, and I don't think the people I live with would love me washing my hair in the kitchen sink.

[Loreley]

I wash my hair this way when I'm in a hurry but I don't like it because my hair gets extremely tangly. After a washing it standing I can detangle it easily, but after washing it upside-down it takes a lot of time and cause more demage. And I can't reach the ends well.

[Masara]

I sometimes wash my hair upside down but it takes me a lot longer the comb through after and I don't seem to be able to rinse the top of my head as thoroughly as I would like.

[KatKeRo]

I wash upside down in the shower. I rinse right side up though.
I have been doing it like this a long time.

ETA: And I toweldry upside down again.

[Svenja]

Upside Down washer? Guilty!!! :D :D :D

[Dreams_in_Pink]

I recently started washing that way! What i do to prevent tangles is to bring my head upside-down and comb hair before wash. Since it's combed, it doesn't tangle :)

[Gulbahar]

I recently started washing that way! What i do to prevent tangles is to bring my head upside-down and comb hair before wash. Since it's combed, it doesn't tangle :)
I do the same. And it's not difficult to bend over the bath tub for a long time if you've done this all your life.

[serious]

I wash my hair upside down too, but still haven't find a way to prevent tangles.:(

[Theobroma]

Another upside-down washer here! I do mine under the tap in the bathroom basin, and have done so all my life. I never have much in the way of tangles from this method -- as someone else already said, combing out your hair upside-down before washing helps to prevent them.

[Finoriel]

I don´t see the point in washing ones hair upside-down. I did sometimes do that with shorter hair, maybe until reaching BLS, but back then I could still wash it in the sink, too :wink:.
But I much prefer right side up washing now. When doing this I have literally NO tangle issues as opposed to a knotty birds nest. And until now I always managed to get my scalp reasonably clean. I just lift my length up a bit to prevent the weight-down-issue and be able to easily lift the scalp hair enough to get my fingers under the top layer. Wet hair at my length is just too heavy to be washed upside down comfortably :p my back and neck would hate me for bending over for that long with this weight attached. Also it´s just more convenient to wash my hair when I´m in the shower anyways imo.

So even if someone has some good points in doing something another way :wink: it´s not necessary to change a method which works for oneself, just because there are good arguments for doing things differently. The important thing is to do things the way which work for oneself. There´s not THE miracle method which works equally well for everyone :wink: which is good, otherwise we´d have nothing to talk here :silly:.

[Pixna]

I love how my hair turns out when I wash it upside down. BUT, I don't have a hand-held shower thingy and it kills my back to be hunched over like that. I like to leave conditioner on while I'm attending to other shower duties, and keeping my head down (and having water and conditioner run into my eyes) is painful. I also get mad tangles when I wash my hair upside down. I haven't given up on the idea altogether, though, because my scalp really likes it. I just need a solution to all these other problems! :lol:

[Caldonia Sun]

I've always washed my hair kneeling over the bathtub with my head under the spout. Works for me. I like my shower at night before I pop into bed and I don't want a wet head, so I wash in the morning.

[LoversLullaby]

I've never tried washing upside down, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to give it a try! I don't have a detachable shower head though, so I'm wondering how this will turn out... But it's worth a try I suppose. :)

[girloctopus]

I have to try this out if it gets your scalp much cleaner. I struggle with getting my scalp clean since my hair is thick and very dense at the roots, so if it works better, I'm sold!

For those without handheld shower heads installed, I found a tub adapter shower head at Walmart for fairly cheap. It has a thing that fits over the faucet spigot tightly and it works pretty well. It was with all the other shower heads and I think it was around $6 USD.

[DARKMARTIAN]

˙˙˙˙ʎlʇuǝnbǝɹɟ ǝʇınb uʍop ǝpısdn ɹıɐɥ ʎɯ ɥsɐʍ I....:D

[Squeak toy]

I do not wash upside down due to the tangling but holding my length up while upright has helped me to get to the scalp better. I would like a handheld shower handle though.

[Thinthondiel]

I've tried this a couple of times, when I was younger, but I always felt it was much more difficult to wash my hair that way.

Anyway, my scalp turns flaky if it gets "too" clean every time I shower... apparently it needs a bit of sebum so that it doesn't dry out (I realised that while I was doing WO), so I normally just dilute some shampoo and pour it on the canopy.

[ButterCream]

I wash my hair upside down too and have as long as I can remember.

I don`t have one of those thingys you can put on the sink.
I just stick my head under the tap because the tap is placed high enough, so I can stick my head under it and can rinse and get the hair wet without any problems or hitting the tap with my head.
When I am done I just pat my hair so dry it doesn`t drip to much and use a wide toothed (is that a word? :o) comb and carefully comb it. The teeth on the comb are so wide I never experience any tangling at all. It is like a centimeter and a half between the teeth.
Works out great for me at least.

[Schefflera]

Goodness. A centimeter and a half between the teeth of a comb? I'd never get my hair untangled.

[beachlover]

I'm going to try this.

[misspriss]

I frequently rinse upside down, when I CO. I never have tangling issues, but I only do it when my head is slathered in conditioner. I started because I would always run out of hot water while the conditioner was still on my head, so I would rinse it cold with the handheld shower. Then I decided it keeps the conditioner off my back, so I started doing it almost all the time.

[Angeletti]

I have an extendable shower head like hers and love it, it's nice because you can just wash the top of your head real quick if you don't want to wash the ends

[LoversLullaby]

˙˙˙˙ʎlʇuǝnbǝɹɟ ǝʇınb uʍop ǝpısdn ɹıɐɥ ʎɯ ɥsɐʍ I....:D

And this post made me giggle quite a lot. :D

[adiapalic]

I don't wanna poo-poo on anything, but it's actually not that difficult to work shampoo around the nape of the neck to clean it properly while standing. Also, hair has a natural canopy for water to run down, and so long as water runs down the hair shaft, washing upside or standing upright should work either way. :)

[Pixna]

I don't wanna poo-poo on anything, but it's actually not that difficult to work shampoo around the nape of the neck to clean it properly while standing. Also, hair has a natural canopy for water to run down, and so long as water runs down the hair shaft, washing upside or standing upright should work either way. :)

I agree. I actually don't have a problem getting my hair or scalp clean standing upright. However, my roots seem to get an extra lift when I wash my hair upside down. Still, the drawbacks and challenges of doing so keep me in the upright position. :)

[ButterCream]

Goodness. A centimeter and a half between the teeth of a comb? I'd never get my hair untangled.

After switching to that comb my hair gets less damage and tangles, so I love it. It works for me at least;)

[ohwhataday03]

I hate washing my hair in the shower and it is funny that other like washing in the kitchen sink. It seams like everytime I wash it in the shower it breaks off more.

[Norai]

I don't wanna poo-poo on anything, but it's actually not that difficult to work shampoo around the nape of the neck to clean it properly while standing. Also, hair has a natural canopy for water to run down, and so long as water runs down the hair shaft, washing upside or standing upright should work either way. :)

I don't know it must be my hair type, but when I take a normal shower my hair kind of "glues" itself to my scalp, and trying to get my fingers up and under it pulls on things and is generally not effective. Particularly at the spot just behind my ears, I never seemed to get that spot completely clean until I started washing upside-down.

The earlier tip about holding your hair up while upright is a good one - I'll have to try that next time as well.

[Laylah]

I can't wash this way- it gives me HORRIBLE tangles. I also have the problem of the hair sticking to my scalp when washing upright, so my solution is to tilt my head backwards so that the water pulls my hair away from my scalp and not onto it- if you know what I mean.

[Debra83]

I ALWAYS washed my hair upside down over the tub until I read here about having a bath AND using the spray hose to wash your hair too (shower/bath combo). I LOVE that. So much easier to keep untangled that way. So, if I'm having a bath, I do that. If I'm not having a bath, I go over the side of the tub.

[KarpatiiSiv]

I've washed my hair upside down all my life and never have a problem with tangles. Have tried washing my hair in the shower but really don't like doing it that way - hate the feel of wet hair sticking to me.

[ArienEllariel]

haha, fat chance. My hair absolutely loathes being washed upside down. It's a surefire way to make it a massive tangly mess and break off lots of hair while trying to detangle it.

I like the concept, but my hair doesn't cooperate. :/

[Isabel]

I have the habit of finishing my hair wash by rinsing with cold water. Supposedly rinsing with cold water instead of warm water helps seal cuticles. Since I'd eventually have to bend down and rinse my hair upside down anyway just to avoid completely standing in a cold shower, I've taken to doing the whole process of washing my hair upside down.

[Dientje]

I get my hair clean enough standing up, I just dilute the shampoo so it gets everywhere easier. Standing upside down usually results in soapy water running over my face, which is something I really don't like, and in massive tangles.

A few months ago I stayed in a house where the showerhead was fixed to the wall, aproximately at the height of my shoulders so I couldn't possibly wash my hair standing up. Still I sat down on my knees instead of bending over to wash my hair.

[Amelia]

haha, fat chance. My hair absolutely loathes being washed upside down. It's a surefire way to make it a massive tangly mess and break off lots of hair while trying to detangle it.

I like the concept, but my hair doesn't cooperate. :/

I can really relate to this comment. I only do this in an emergency: i need to wash my hair before going out and don't have time to step into the bathtub.

Otherwise my hair doesn't go along with it at all. It get tangle, it's a nighmare. I already have loads of volume, and while trying to get my hair untangled, it get puffier that it already is.

[Newniepg]

How funny! I am the opposite, I always used to wash my hair upside down and until I came to LHC it never occurred to me that you could wash it properly any other way. That said, an awful lot of things never occurred to me until I found these forums!

[3azza]

I do it whenever i'm in a hurry and need only my hair to be washed over the sink, but i try to avoid it because i get more tangles this way.

[dropinthebucket]

I've been washing upside down since switching to demineralized water in a jug. (I worry a little bit about the plastic, although it gets recycled.) My water is so hard, I was getting dull, lifeless hair, and it was so brittle and dried out from the water. Now I just bend my head over the tub. I'm also using way less water in general this way, because I used to take a shower, even though I didn't really need it, ya know?, just because I wanted to wash my hair, or I stayed in longer so my hair could get washed and conditioned and washed. My hot water bills have gone way down! So I feel good about it, though at first i thought, what a PITA - less energy usage, less water usage, nicer hair.

[Katrina]

I always wash my hair upside down. Almost always have. I don't even have a bathtub. I just bend over and have my rubber boots on, because I don't like to wet my feet (especially in cold water) while washing my hair :D.

Some people get more tangles this way. I guess I'm lucky because I get less of them. I tried to wash my hair upright 2-3 times, but it felt very uncomfortable and I got so much more tangles. My neck and back hurt. They are very stiff and I can hardly bend my back backward at all. It's also easier to get the shampoo to my scalp when washing upside down.

[LunarAurora]

I always wash my hair this way because I only have a bathtub (not a "real" shower) so it is much more practical to me ! The hair is more tangly and i have to comb it when wet because of it, but this method seems really good for the scalp.

[papillion]

I always wash my hair upside down. Fill the sink with water, then bend over and put my hair in it, and use a jug to tip water over the back of my head.

I hate washing my hair when I'm standing upright. I despise showers, and on the rare occasions where my only option is to wash my hair in the shower I've always found that I can't work the shampoo into my scalp properly so I never get my hair clean enough.

[HotRag]

I used to wash upside down, but now I wash, sitting upright in my tub.

I put shampoo and water in a bottle which was for scalp steroid liquid. Extremely good to applicate with.

Then apply to dry hair (lengths are wet and in conditioner by then). Since there is not overly wet, I can reach the scalp. Have to lift a bit, but not at all as much as when I first tried and did not dilute.

I also have a shampoo/massage brush for scalp (bebop from Denman).

I also have my hair divided into two, having it in front of me.

[Messyhair]

I switched to upside down washing when my hair got long last time (I'm washing upright again while my hair is short). I only did it because conditioner makes my back break out in pimples, so this keeps the conditioner off my back. I'll be starting upside down washing again for the same reason - my hair is now touching my back again.

[jterij]

I probably wash upside down about half the time. Depends on if I need a shower or not at the time I wash my hair.

[jera]

Been doing this since I was 13 and LOVE it. For me, it's the easiest, best way to wash my hair. I just put my head under the faucet and wash. It's helped immensely with keeping my scalp clean. Since I wash my hair at night, it works for me :)

Me too Darkhorse. I always wash my hair upside down in the sink. :rolleyes: I find it gets my hair cleanest where I need it most - underneath where I get sweaty from exercise. :)

[Henrietta]

In Poland we use bathtubes generally, not showers, so I wash upside-down. I am standing next to the bathtube, leaning over it and wash, using a shower "pipe". Then I put a turbie towel, pour the water into the bath and taking a bath.
I don't know if CO will work for me this way, but we'll see. I will be putting conditioner standing and leaning over the bathtube but with my head up.
And my back always hurts, because it takes me about 15 minutes to wash and put conditioner. :(

[Beets]

In 2002, when I first heard about the Curly Girl routine, I washed upside down. I cut my hair in 2004, and forgot all about it, and I didn't remember that I liked it until I saw this thread! So thanks for posting!

[rchorr]

I've never cared for the upside down hair wash. I've washed mine in the shower for as long as I've had control over my hair. My back will hurt, and I have a harder time breathing upside down.

RCHORR'

[andryssa]

I prefer to wash my hair upside down. I bend over the bathtub and use a shower head which is not attached to the wall but can be manipulated with. This kind of washing is the easiest for me since we don't have a real shower corner. It also helps me wash my hair deeper than the upright way.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Washing upside down is the one sure way to give myself cray-zee tangles. To get to my scalp, I dilute my shampoo until it's just soapy water and use a squeeze bottle to get it where it needs to go. I wish I had a hand-held shower head, though, that makes rinsing so much easier!

I do this too, and I do have a hand held shower head. I would worry too much about tangles if I washed upside down, plus with knee length hair I would worry about it going down the drain...

[divinedobbie]

My hair would also become a living nightmare of tangles if I tried to do this. I can't even imagine. I wash standing up in the shower and have no problems but my hair is also not very thick so it's very easy to get the shampoo to my scalp. I can see how it would be a problem for thick haired folks.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

My hair would also become a living nightmare of tangles if I tried to do this. I can't even imagine. I wash standing up in the shower and have no problems but my hair is also not very thick so it's very easy to get the shampoo to my scalp. I can see how it would be a problem for thick haired folks.

It's not really, not for me at least, I dilute my shampoo with water and apply it all over my scalp using a nozzled dye applicator bottle. It works brilliantly to get the shampoo all over my scalp and a good lather.

[Cg]

I always wash hair inverted, and did so even when it was knee length and thick as heck. If you put a fine strainer over the drain, hair will not go down. I wrap the ends soaked with conditioner around one hand while I shampoo the scalp with the other. After rinsing the scalp thoroughly, I gradually unwrap and rinse the ends. No tangles, no problems, about 4 minutes total.

My caveat is that my sink is deep and the counter high, so no problems with an aching back. I expect if you have to lean awkwardly, it would be uncomfortable.

[Wavybrunetteuk]

This is going to be embarrassing, but I have to wash my hair with a bucket (shower doesn't work) so by default I always wash my hair upside down

[Xena1975]

I've always washed upside down because I get better water pressure that way making it easier to rinse and because I don't like getting water in my face.

[Stray_mind]

I often wash my hair upside down if i feel i need to wash my hair, but don't need to shower... Honestly i haven't noticed a big difference, But sometimes my scalp doesn't get rinsed enough with my hair upside down so i get some flakes and itchy scalp.. If you wash your hair upside down, you need to make sure you rinse off the shampoo/conditioner Really well.