Common Mistakes to Avoid: How to Shampoo Your Hair Correctly
We’ve all been shampooing hair since childhood, this makes it difficult for us to believe that we may have been doing it all wrong. Turns out, a simple lather, and rinse is not enough to fulfil our lengths’ needs. Especially these days when we’re engulfed by pollution and other external aggressors. Learning how to shampoo hair the right way is one of the easiest yet effective ways to improve your hair health.
How to shampoo hair the right way?
Shampooing hair may seem complicated at first, but once you have a proper routine it all comes down to consistency. Here are a few simple steps to break down how to shampoo hair the right way:
Step 1: Drench the lengths
The first step, that one may not pay all that heed to, is getting those lengths under the shower. Make sure that you’re wetting those lengths thoroughly before shampooing hair. From cleansing to lathering, to rinsing it off, having a wet scalp and mid-lengths makes matters effective.
Step 2: Getting the shampoo right
Once you know how to shampoo hair the right way, the battle’s half won. A crucial step, shampooing hair can make or break your entire regimen. This is why it is important to consider your hair’s fineness, density, and porosity before you squeeze the product out of the bottle. If you’re shampooing hair with clarifying, surfactant-rich products, make sure you go easy on the quantity. These shampoos tend to foam a lot and even small quantities can be sufficient for a wash.
Step 3: Emulsify
Instead of throwing it onto your scalp directly, many people believe in emulsifying products before shampooing hair. It’s as simple as adding a few drops of water into the squeezed products and creating a foam on your palms. Shampooing hair this way may help the product slide down the hair easily. It also aids even distribution of the shampoo around your scalp. Make sure you’re shampooing hair lengths only with the foam that trickles down. Don’t apply shampoo directly on your lengths and ends unless it’s designed to treat them. When you’re using anti-dandruff shampoos, such as Redken’s Scalp Relief, make sure you keep the product on for 5 minutes before washing it off.
Step 4: Condition
Now that you know how to shampoo hair, it’d be remiss of us to not talk about conditioning. Conditioning your lengths and ends is the essential successor of shampooing hair. Make sure you only use the conditioner on your lengths and ends and leave it on for a few minutes. Wring out the water from your hair before using the conditioner. If you’re struggling with weak, dry, and damaged lengths, make sure you invest in a repairing product such as the Redken Acidic Bonder Concentrate conditioner. Use the conditioner only on your lengths and make sure you don’t get it on the scalp.
Step 5: Leave-in treatments
From time to time, when you need that extra dose of moisture after shampooing hair, try a leave-in treatment. Be it a mask or an oil-in serum, leave-in products are a great way to achieve silky smooth hair that is free of frizz. If you blow dry your hair often and end up with unmanageable frizz, try Redken’s Rebel Tame Cream to get smooth, frizz-free hair while protecting it from heat. After shampooing hair you may notice that they’re more fragile than usual. If weak, breakage-prone hair is your concern, try the Anti-Snap Treatment by Redken.
Step 6: Drying
While air-drying hair is one of the best things you can do post-wash, leaving it wet for too long can spell trouble. Especially so when you’re surrounded by humidity. Everything you’ve gained by learning how to shampoo hair may be in vain if you don’t dry it out well. If you have thicker, highly porous hair, it may absorb too much moisture and turn more prone to breakage. Try using microfiber towels and heat protectant sprays, like Redken’s Thermal Spray, to dry them out partially at least. Now that you know how to shampoo hair carefully and properly, you can wish for perfectly healthy lengths after every wash. However, even with a surefire regimen in place, there are quite a few mistakes you can make while shampooing hair. Here are some you can try to avoid.
Mistakes to avoid while Shampooing Hair
- Using the wrong products
- Consistency
- Washing too much
- Wrong temperatures
- Brushing wet hair
We’re often bent on achieving flawless lengths without really figuring out our hair concerns. So the first mistake you might be making is not taking a moment to think. So before you start shampooing hair, it’s best if you get to know its density, its thickness, its porosity, its strength. This will help you invest in the right set of products. It’s equally important to know your scalp, whether it’s oily, dry, sensitive, or flaky. If you think your hair faces multiple types of damage and needs strength and repair, try Redken’s Acidic Bonder Concentrate Shampoo to care for all concerns at once.
You may know how to shampoo your hair correctly and have all the right products to do so. However, if the results are still missing, it’s probably your consistency. Much like skin care, hair care products take effect over time and switching between shampoos may not be your best bet. Give the products a while to work and stay true to your regimen.
If you’re shampooing hair way too often, you may be causing more damage than repair. Shampooing hair excessively each week may land you with dry lengths and scalp troubles. In case you’re wondering how to shampoo hair that’s too oily, clarifying shampoos is your answer. Try investing in shampoos that help you clear all scalp buildup while moisturising your lengths, like Redken’s Hair Cleansing Cream. If your scalp is simply oily and irritated, try the Amino Mint Shampoo by Redken. With a pH-balanced formula, the shampoo is perfect for adding strength to your hair with Amino acids.
While we’re all guilty of enjoying near-scalding showers from time to time, they can be very detrimental to our hair health. Make sure you stick to lukewarm water while shampooing hair to prevent brittleness. You can also get in a splash of cold water after conditioning to close off the cuticles.
We usually don’t think of this while asking how to shampoo hair, but brushing wet lengths can be highly damaging. Make sure that you are running a wide-tooth comb through your lengths before stepping into the shower. This will keep you away from tangles while shampooing hair. You can also detangle your hair gently with your fingers while conditioning it. However, it’s best to keep away from all sorts of combs and brushes till your hair is completely dry.
Conclusion
With everything that you’ve learnt about shampooing hair, you can go on to build your own hair care regimen with Redken products to get shiny, healthy lengths after every wash.