When learning to style your waves, it is important remember that care starts in the shower.
I can use the same hair styling products day after day, but if my shower care is lacking, my waves will not cooperate.
Before I even get my hair wet, I do a check to see what it may be needing from my wash day. How it feels and how frizzy it may be, can make a difference in the products I reach for during my shower. If my hair is feeling frizzy or dry I may want to use an oil on my hair as a pre-poo to make sure I am protecting my already dry hair from cleansers. If my hair is feeling weighed down or if I have build-up on my scalp, I may skip the pre-poo and choose to do a clarifying shampoo. Once you’ve determined what your hair is looking for out of your wash day, you can start to gather your products together.
To start, you will want to use some type of cleanser to make sure you are starting with a clean slate to style your hair. There are three main categories of cleansers you can choose from: co-wash, sulfate free shampoo, and clarifying shampoos.
-
Co-washes are most often used for those whose hair can’t get enough moisture. I reach for these most often during the week.
-
Sulfate free shampoos are best for those who may experience build up or whose hair is easily weighed down. This is what I reach for at the beginning of the week.
-
Clarifying shampoos are only really needed every other month for most as these shampoos contain sulfates which can be very stripping to hair.
Once I’ve determined my cleanser the next step is to use a rinse out conditioner. This is more trial and error for most on what moisturizes your hair the best. For me, this is when I reach for something that is extremely thick and full of good fats for my hair to soak up. There are really two things you can use for your rinse out, either a deep conditioner or a traditional conditioner.
-
Deep conditioners are good for everyone once and awhile, some can get away with using them every wash day as opposed to others whose hair is easily weighed down may only want to use once a week.
-
Traditional conditioners can be found as a rinse out by trial and error and can be used by anyone. Those looking for more moisture in their rinse out should look for words like balm on their conditioners and those looking for less moisture should reach for those that are thinner in consistency.
The last but not least part of my wash day is a leave in conditioner that I use for the squish to condish method. This can be any type of conditioner that will not leave buildup. This doesn’t have to be a conditioner that is labeled specifically as a leave in though. Most any conditioner will work as long as your hair likes it. For myself, I reach for thinner conditioners that will easily scrunch into my hair but leave lasting moisture. For those with thinner hair, try a spray in leave in conditioner as these are incredibly lightweight.
Once I learned how to listen to what my hair needed before I started my wash day, I found that I had many more successful good hair days!
Check out my wash day essentials for more information on how I take care of my wavy hair!
For more helpful articles like this, sign up for our newsletter!
