I have long, thick hair that often gets weighed down and I suffer from product build up, often resorting to using bicarb to eliminate my greasy hair. I also straighten my hair with GHDs 95% of the time, which means the ends are always in need of conditioning. The condition of my hair is better since investing in a GHD air hair dryer, but I'm always looking for thrifty ways to improve my hair. I have to wash my hair every two days without fail, and sometimes i have to rely on Batiste dry shampoo to make it through the second day. So how can reverse hair washing help? Here, I explain:
Reverse hair washing
You've probably seen talk of reverse washing your hair all over the internet and social media these past few weeks, and most of the articles I've read mention that it is great for fine hair. Of course, my hair is anything but fine. I once made the mistake of buying shampoo for fine hair because it had pink sparkles in, but it did not do good things to my hair. The idea behind reverse hair washing is to use conditioner first (applied to wet hair), leave it on as long as you normally would condition, rinse with water and then use shampoo. So exactly the opposite of how you would normally wash your hair. And the science bit? Your hair still gets conditioned, but the shampoo leaves your hair extra squeaky and removes the residue left behind by the conditioner, making it lighter, easier to manage and gives you more volume. I'm definitely not in need of more volume, so I was slightly skeptical, but I had nothing to lose.
I washed my hair on Wednesday morning. I was working from home, so I thought if it turned out horrific I could just jump in the shower again and forget this whole nonsense. I don't want to get preachy about this, but even in the shower I noticed a difference. I needed a lot less shampoo to get a lather going, and my hair was lighter. Drying it took a few less minutes than normal, which is always a bonus, and once straightened, it looked great! It felt soft and manageable. And definitely no added volume, phew.
An added bonus was that my hair didn't need washing again until Saturday, without the use of Batiste! That's a whole extra day without washing my hair, whereas before, I was relying on Batiste to get me through my second day. Well I am converted!
Does it still work the second time? It did for me. Again, my hair is soft, doesn't feel weighed down and dried quicker than normal. This is definitely a keeper to my beauty regime, and even better, it's free!
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So have you tried reverse washing? I'd love to know how you found it.
8 responses
The first two lines of this blog pretty much sum up my life. I can usually get three days out of a hair washing though, but day three is a definite talc-job to freshen it up.
I’m going to try conditioning then shampooing next time and see what happens. I’ve obviously not been on the right parts of the internet lately as I’ve completely missed this whole revolution.
Hello yes, I’ve been doing it since October and it works great for me. I’ve also noticed lots of talk about it recently but I’m not sure why? It’s not a new thing lol. Glad it worked for you too.
I suppose it’s been picked up by the media and they’re going crazy about it. I’m happy to hear it still works for you! Looks like it may have longevity.
After reading this last week, I too have been reverse washing and let me tell you, my hair feels uh-mazing!! I (used to) suffer from product build up because my hair is getting quite thick and long now but only after a week, there is less product build up, my head is less itchy and my hair feels so smooth!!
Thank you for sharing this! xo
Oh I am so glad it worked for you! I also found the bi carb in my shampo (link in the post) works wonders!
Haven’t heard of this one! Deffo going to try it though. My hair is fine but its so frizzy and the condition of my hair is very poor due to all the dying and GHD straightening. I long for hair that dries naturally and longs lush but if I leave it to dry it just goes all over the place and is so frizzy 🙁
Miss Tulip x
The Thrifty Magpies Nest
My hairdresser says this is a crock. It might ‘feel’ ok but you’re not doing your hair any favours. Conditioner is used to smooth down follicles after shampoo. You might as well not use conditioner at all. That’s how bad it is for your hair. Have you thought about using mousse/foam type conditioners instead? Much lighter on thicker greasy hair.
Interesting. I’ll have to give it a try and compare. Thanks for the comment though.