You’ve been washing your hair wrong your whole life

Hello, beautiful Grunge Goddess Soapworks lovers! 

My name is KayLa Apple, and I’m excited to be writing my second blog post for Grunge Goddess Soapworks!

Let me start off by saying that I’m not a licensed physician, or cosmetologist, and don’t play one on the internet.  HOWEVER, I have actively sold botanically based hair care products in the past, and consider myself a “crunchy momma”. No matter the products that are used, I’m a firm believer in personal education. You can say that I seek to know all-the-things pertaining to what’s in said products, and the proper way to utilize said products – especially when it comes to my two children with special needs who have allergies, sensitivities, and sensory processing challenges. 

SO, with that said, I’m so excited to share with you some of the tips and tricks that I’ve learned in the past few years that might help you and/or your children with their hair health. 

HOW TO WASH YOUR HAIR

I know, I know.. this title seems SO SILLY, but please bear with me – your hair depends on it! 

• • BEFORE YOU GET IN THE SHOWER:
    • Brush Your Hair
      • Trust me, your lovely shampoo bar will glide across your hair MUCH easier if your hair is not a tangled mess! 
    • Wash Your Hands
      • I know this seems silly, because you are going to be SHAMPOOING your hair in just a few minutes, BUT shampoo is designed to lather more and work better when there isn’t excess oil present. I’ve noticed that if I have lotion or oil presented on my hands, that I have had to use more product to obtain the same results.
  • SHAMPOO BAR:
    • Saturate the hair with WARM water (the wetter the hair, the better!)
      • Warm water is important when hair WASHING (shampooing/conditioning), because it opens the hair’s cuticle to allow shampoo and conditioner to do their job.
    • Begin by parting hair down the middle (continuing all the way down the back of the head). Take the shampoo bar and glide it all the way down the part of your hair – focusing on the scalp. Then, glide the shampoo bar all the way around the hairline (I start and end at my forehead).
    • Set the shampoo bar down (on one of GGS’s fabulous soap bar trays!) and in a motion that mimics putting your hair into a ponytail, begin to distribute the shampoo from the roots to the ends of the hair. Once completely covered in shampoo, GENTLY massage the lathered shampoo for about a minute or so, into the scalp, to ensure even distribution. 
    • I DO NOT rigorously scrub the scalp when shampooing.  I’ve learned that once the cuticle is opened up (by the warm water) it’s at a higher risk for damage and breakage. YUCK! Who wants to damage their hair cuticle and potentially cause unwanted results such as frizzy, unmanageable hair? I sure don’t! 
    • Let the shampoo sit for 2-3 minutes.
      • I personally let the shampoo sit on my hair for 3 minutes, every time. 
    • Rinse with warm water for at least 1 minute.
      • If your hair is super greasy or has buildup (due to other products such as hairspray, dry shampoo, etc.) I recommend repeating the washing process one more time.
        • The first wash removes buildup on the scalp/hair and the second wash actually cleans the scalp/hair. The shampoo should later up much quicker the second time – using less shampoo. 
• CONDITIONER BAR (used in conjunction with the Shampoo Bar)
  •  After your shampoo is completely rinsed, use your hands to GENTLY wring out your hair to remove as much water as possible.
  • Begin smoothing the conditioner bar over the hair until it feels slippery.
    • Oily/Greasy Prone Hair: I have oily/greasy prone hair and have used a wide range of high-end and low-end conditioners and have never been able to condition my scalp without feeling greasy at the end of the day. The oil present in the shampoo bar is enough conditioning for my scalp that I do not need to use the conditioner bar on my scalp – therefore I avoid the crown of my head and focus on the ends of my hair.
    • Dry scalp/hair: Condition the scalp!
  • Using a wide toothed comb, gently comb the hair to insure even distribution of conditioner.
  •  Let the conditioner sit on the hair for 3-5 minutes or longer for a mask-like effect.
  • Rinse with COLD water
    • Cold water closes the cuticle and seals in moisture from the conditioner – this will help your hair look shiny and healthy.
    • My kids won’t have anything to do with COLD water (understandably so!) – so I just do the best I can with lukewarm water, but always rinse my own hair in COLD water. I pick my battles. 
• COLOR TREATED HAIR
  • I know that there are mixed feelings on how to properly wash color treated hair, but this is my take away. If you want your color to last, and are comfortable with washing your hair in freezing cold water, then do so (following the steps above but replacing WARM water with COLD). I personally do not feel like my hair gets near as clean when I WASH and RINSE my hair in freezing cold water, so I follow the above directions for my color treated hair. I understand that it might be all in my head, but at the end of the day I have to do what works best for my hair type – and so do you! 

After incorrectly washing my hair for YEARS, I finally feel like I have hair care products and a system that works for myself (and my family) – and our hair is the healthiest it’s ever been.

I hope you found this helpful and informative! I so appreciate you hanging out with me!

Love, 

KayLa