There’s one inquiry in particular we hear whispered in a hushed tone throughout the salon fairly often: “Am I washing my hair correctly?”
If this is you, we wanted to first say, there’s no shame here! And you’re not alone. Somewhere along the way, the old adage of lather-rinse-repeat got a little muddied and unclear, and a good number of us have sat in the shower at one point or another, mid-shampoo with soap suds floating through the air, thinking to ourselves, “Is this right?”
So today, let’s get back to the basics of shampooing techniques with Kel.
–Make sure your hair is fully saturated with water before applying shampoo—the nape, the crown, the temples… all of it. Find your ideal temperature, but remember: the water does NOT need to be boiling lava hot for this to be effective! Our hair is pretty fragile; let’s avoid roasting it with water (read this in bold if your hair is color-treated). A nice and comfortable warm is perfect.
–The amount of product your hair needs is personal and can vary based on factors like hair density and the hard/softness of your water. If you’re using KEVIN.MURPHY products (we recommend it!), keep in mind they are pretty concentrated, so a little goes a long way. Start small and add more if needed.
–After emulsifying the shampoo between your hands, distribute it evenly all over your scalp, taking extra care to get your crown. (Our crown tends to hold the most oil and dirt, so we really want to make sure we’re giving it a little extra attention.)
–Once it’s all distributed, the key is going to be movement. For many, shampooing consists of slathering a glob of shampoo on top of semi-dry hair, briefly swirling it into the surface, and rinsing it away. We want to move beyond that, so the entirety of our scalp has shampoo massaged over it. Using your finger pads, create circular motions all around your hairline. Next, scrub down the full center line, starting at your forehead, lingering at the crown area, and ending at your nape. Then, still using the circular motions, get the sides of your head. Don’t forget to scrub your nape really well too. Repeat the sequence once more, just to make sure you got everything. (Sometimes it can be helpful to incorporate a bit more water after adding the shampoo as well, especially if you’re not getting much lather.)
–Typically shampooing is meant to be focused on your scalp and the hair closest to it, since this is where oil and buildup tend to accumulate. If you have longer hair, a gentle run-through on your mid-lengths to ends after scrubbing your scalp should be sufficient; the suds will run down and clean this hair anyway, so adding additional product will just dry it out. If, however, you have a more open cuticle, you can coat this area with a conditioner prior to washing for some added moisture protection.
–While rinsing, the pressure from the water often isn’t enough, so it’s important to keep up those same scrubbing motions to get all of the shampoo out of your hair. As an added bonus, aside from cleaning your scalp, scrubbing your hair also provides scalp stimulation, which is great for scalp health and hair growth.
–So long as you’re spacing out your washes, feel free to listen to the “repeat” portion of wash-rinse-repeat! Washing more than once is actually ideal for removing buildup, and starting with a clarifying wash, such as SCALP.SPA WASH or MAXI.WASH can make a ton of difference. This first wash likely won’t lather as much as subsequent washes. That’s totally okay and expected. Be sure to rinse well between each wash! (Fun fact: Washing every day is cautioned against because it can result in your hair being overly stripped of its natural oil, resulting in dryness. If you are currently an everyday washer, try spacing it out to every other or every third day, using FRESH.HAIR in between to soak up any oil and keep you feeling clean. If dry shampoo alone won’t cut it for you, get a co-wash, like RE.STORE, to sub in between shampoo days!)
–Once your hair is all squeaky clean, after your final rinse, gently squeeze out any excess water and you're ready to condition.
Happy shampooing, and stay tuned for Part II: How to Condition (Correctly)!