Are You Washing Your Hair Wrong?

Long ago and far away I believed that my hair would only get squeaky clean if I washed it every single day with a fancy shampoo that claimed all sorts of stuff about its super powers. Said shampoo would lather into a headful of bubbles which meant it must be working, right?

What always perplexed me was why my hair looked so “blah” even with the fancy shampoos and why, after just a few hours, it was an oily mess on my head. Oh, and let’s not forget the dandruff. How was I getting dandruff with all this oil?

From the time I was able to purchase my own hair supplies until about 5 years ago, I tried just about every commercial shampoo on the market. Even the natural ones. Nothing took my hair to the place I wanted it to go. It wasn’t until AFTER I had my daughter that I went full blown hippie and started learning more and more about natural hair care.

I tried several methods. No Poo’, Co Poo’, washing with honey, natural shampoos that were free of everything and anything bad, herbal hair washes, and more. I even created my own coconut based shampoo recipes (which I still do love by the way).

But even after having found some more natural ways to care for my hair, I was STILL washing my hair wrong. And I had no clue just how much of an impact that had on the inner health and outward appearance of my hair.

A few weeks months back I gave you the low down on my early experiences with the Morrocco Method line of hair care products, one of my favorite affiliate partners. I was pretty blown away by it all. In the short time I had used their products, I noticed a HUGE shift in my hair and scalp. Shocking really.

Yes, their product line did have a lot to do with how amazing my hair looks and feels now but more importantly, I learned to wash my hair properly. Because guess what? Just like many or even most of you, I was doing it all wrong!

How You Are Washing Your Hair Wrong

Product choice aside, let’s look at how the average person washes his or her hair. Most likely, you get it wet. Then you dump on your cleansing product of choice, give a quick scrub, rinse it off and maybe follow up with a conditioner. You do this day in and day out. Likely, you stick with the same shampoo each washing as well.

Sorry folks, but you are doing it all wrong. And your hair isn’t happy!

How To Make Your Scalp and Hair The Happiest They Have Ever Been

It isn’t complicated to make your head happy but more importantly healthy! Your hair and scalp just need you to take a couple of extra minutes to show them some love in the form of proper washing.

First, you are probably washing your hair too often. Unless you get into a really dirty situation, your hair is happiest when you give it a break. Now, I am not an expert on YOUR hair so you have to find the perfect balance but for me, washing my hair every 2—3 days is perfect. In cooler weather I can go 3-4 days even. You will need to experiment and see how often you absolutely need to wash your hair but try to at least give it a day in between washings. And certainly avoid washing it more than once per day.

Did you know that if you are brushing your hair and scalp correctly and constantly, you will find that you may only need to wash your hair once or twice per week? More on that in a future post as I am still learning more about this!

Second, you are probably only shampooing your hair once each time you wash it. This is a very ineffective way to wash your hair. In fact, it might be doing more harm than good. Shampooing twice is the secret to happy hair and a scalp that smiles.

The first shampooing loosens up dirt, oil, dead skin cells, and other microscopic debris. Not only does this gunk stick to your scalp but it gets stuck in your hair. If you only wash once, it is likely that some of this debris will get pushed back into your hair follicle openings clogging the system so-to-speak. If you do not get all the debris off of your scalp and out of your hair, you basically are making new hair growth difficult, damaging oil glands, upsetting the fall-out/regrowth cycle of hair. THIS is why you end up with unhealthy hair.

The second shampooing not only ensures that all that nasty gunk gets fully removed from your scalp and hair but it also stimulates blood flow to your scalp, opens up the follicles, and allows maximum nourishment to penetrate deep into each strand. If you skip that second shampooing, you miss out on all those benefits.

The third thing you are probably doing wrong is with the actual application of the shampoo. You can’t just dump it on and expect it to work. You also don’t want to put the shampoo on and then scrub it in so hard that you damage your hair and scalp in the process. With each shampoo application, you want to apply the shampoo directly onto your scalp. With your fingertips, gently massage it in for a full minute or more. You can gently rub the rest of your hair after the scalp massage but don’t overdo it. No need to rough your hair up!

After shampooing, be sure that you rinse thoroughly. Any shampoo left behind will cause problems for your oil glands. You want those babies to be able to do their job to the fullest potential. After all, when they are in tip top shape, they produce the oil your hair needs to stay soft and properly nourished. It is advisable to finish with a cold water rinse to seal the oil glands and hair follicles.

The fourth and final key to properly washing your hair is to rotate shampoos each time you wash your hair. The Morrocco Method’s five shampoos were formulated specifically for this. I wholeheartedly endorse their system but even if you do not use their products, you still need to rotate your shampoos.

You see, hair gets lazy. It gets used to the products you use quickly. They will stop working within weeks if you use the same thing day in and day out. The PH of your scalp gets upset. So mix it up! Keep your head on its toes. Each time you shampoo, rotate through a few different shampoos. Right now, I have all five of the Morrocco Method shampoos in rotation and my hair LOVES it! But you don’t need that many. Rotating between 2 or 3 shampoos should work for most people.

I hope you found this post enlightening and that you give this hair washing method a shot! I think you will be blown away with the changes in the health of your hair and scalp, no matter what shampoo line you are using.

The folks at Morrocco Method want you to give their products a try. So they are offering my readers a great coupon. Here are the details:

• Coupon Code: Rastahair33
• 15% off any product
• One per customer
• Good for 30 days (expires 11/03/14)

Happy shopping!