Photo by Henri Pham on Unsplash

You’ve been washing your hair all wrong

You shouldn’t be using as much product as you think

Naomi Bennett
Sep 3, 2018 · 3 min read

Normally when you wash your hair, I’m guessing that you rub shampoo all over your hair, then rub conditioner all over your hair. This seems correct, right? Not exactly.


So how are you supposed to wash your hair?

According to Machiko Okada, dermatologist and esthetician in San Jose, for the healthiest hair, you don’t need to be using that much shampoo or conditioner. In fact, you only need enough shampoo to cover your roots. Putting shampoo over the shafts of your hair, which extends from the middle to the tips of your hair, actually doesn’t make much of a difference. Therefore, you are just wasting your shampoo by applying it there.

With conditioner, you should only apply it on the shafts of your hair, not on the roots. Since the natural oil in your hair is concentrated, conditioner can add an extra layer of moisture that you really don’t need, causing your hair to become quite oily.


Okay, But…

However, because there are so many different types of hair, there is no guarantee that this will work for everyone. Many people have very differing opinions on this method of washing your hair. However, as someone with hair that gets easily oily but dry on the shafts, I decided to give it a try for a week to see if it would work.

To test this method, I kept my shampoo and conditioner the same and I kept washing my hair at night. I always washed my hair every other day to see what it would look like on both days. I kept every other variable the same except for the way I washed my hair.


Results

I found that this method really worked for me. Overall, I found that my second-day hair was not as oily as it normally was, which was a big achievement for me. This meant that I did not have to wash my hair as often as I normally do and it still would stay fresh. The first day that I washed my hair, I did not notice that many differences. However, I found that my hair was slightly more voluminous and a minuscule amount less oily than normal.

My normal second-day hair without using the technique (It’s so oily, I know!)
Second-day hair after using the method for a month

What does this mean for you?

I definitely recommend trying this method out. It’s incredibly simple, and if it works, it makes a big difference. However, if it doesn’t work for you, that’s fine as well. Luckily, with this method, it is easy to return back to your old hair care routine and fix any changes that your hair may have experienced.

Try it out! Let me know what you think of this method and if you have any opinions on it!


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Naomi Bennett

Written by

Send me your beauty and hair questions, and I'll experiment them! Check out my blog here: https://naomiibennett.com/

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