Hello Friends! Today I'm going to walk you through my routine for hair wash day!! There is nothing like the fresh and motivating feeling of having clean hair, but I'm a strong advocate for letting it get a little dirty. I usually wash my hair once or twice a week depending on what my schedule looks like.
How often should you wash your hair?
Hair tends to develop a routine which dictates how fast and how often oil is produced. So if you wash your hair everyday, it's going to be a bit of a journey to get your sebaceous glands under control.
Sebaceous glands are oil producers in the scalp. When you wash your hair with sulfates or detergents it cleans all the natural oil the your scalp, this sends a message to the oil glands to produce more. The scalp is trying to provide nutrients and moisture to keep the hair and skin healthy.
If wash days are spaced out, the oil sitting on the hair and scalp will cause the sebaceous glands to stop working as hard. With the scalp not producing as much oil, the hair won't be greasy between washes and will reap the benefits of moisture. Once you start to "train" your hair you'll find where you're comfortable.
Professionally, I recommend washing two or three times a week. There are so many different hair types that you have to get to know your hair by slowly spacing out how often you wash.
If your hair is damaged, around day two or three without a wash you can expect to see dryness in your ends. Theres nothing a little oil can't fix! Applying some oil in the ends of your hair will hydrate and smooth them.
It's important to see how your hair acts and reacts to different routines and products to determine your schedule. Don't be discouraged if it doesn't click overnight!
Holy Grail Tip: Using a clarifying shampoo once a week does an amazing job at cleaning any product build-up and giving you volume.
What Shampoo do I use?
If you barely wash your hair like me, using a clarifying shampoo is a great move. My Favorite is Biolage Clean Reset, it smells amazing and a little goes a long way.
Alternating this shampoo and Joico Body Luxe (which may or may not be called Joi-full now??) ensures that my hair doesn't get too comfortable with a product. Using the same shampoo for a long time might lead you to feel like it's not working anymore. So when in doubt, mix it up!
Honestly, the smell of a product matters most for me. Both of these shampoos have delightful aromas so whichever I pick just depends on my mood that day. The Joico shampoo is new to my routine and I am a huge fan of the volume it gives me. My hair is naturally straight but if you have any texture, this shampoo would enhance it.
You can wash your hair with conditioner???
If I feel like my hair is getting too dirty halfway through the week or it's a mess from being in a bun, I will wash my hair with conditioner.
You read that right, conditioner.
Scrubbing your scalp with conditioner can cleanse and nourish the hair at the same time. A good massage and a good rinse are important here.
Sitting around a bonfire is my favorite thing to do this time of year— but I hate the way my hair smells after... Co-washing (conditioner washing) is an amazing solution that doesn't strip the natural oils from the hair.
Naturally, I gravitate to Biolage again because it smells so good and there are no parabens or ingredients that harm the earth. Biolage HydraSource provides great moisture without being too thick and heavy.
Oil attracts oil so scrubbing with conditioner can refresh your hair without stripping and drying it as most detergents do. Co-washing is a gentle rinse so some natural oil still remains.
Leave in products with Moisture are SO important.
Since I only wash my hair once or twice a week—I like to be sparing with products upfront. My hair used to be thick and long but I fried most of it off in hair school so I focus on moisture. It's been about two years of babying my hair and avoiding heat most of the time in hopes that it will grow.
I use a cocktail of Joico's Defy Damage Masque and Protective Shield. This combination has proved to keep my ends hydrated and smooth. Air-drying is the best method since no heat is involved, but the protective shield does have heat protection if you prefer to blow-dry.
I'll add dry shampoo throughout the week, and sometimes mousse if I'm looking for texture!
I hope you enjoyed reading, or maybe even learned something!
I'm so excited to share what I know about hair and beauty—and all the tips and tricks I've picked up as a stylist! I hope you're having a wonderful day!
With love,
HBL