Sustainability made simple

Reverse Hair Washing: Benefits and Drawbacks

reverse hair washing
Foto: CC0 / Pixabay / StockSnap

Reverse hair washing is an easy way to take your hair to the next level. Switch up your routine to get softer, shinier, and more voluminous hair.

Reverse hair washing is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Changing the order of your routine and conditioning your hair before shampooing has many benefits for limp and lifeless strands. You might find your hair shinier, smoother, and more voluminous after just one wash. The reverse hair washing routine is recommended especially for people with thin, fine, or very greasy hair.

Reverse Hair Washing Pros and Cons

Reverse hair washing can work well for those with oily, straight, or fine hair.
Reverse hair washing can work well for those with oily, straight, or fine hair.
(Foto: CC0 Public Domain / Unsplash / Velizar Ivanov)

The main benefits of reverse hair washing are regarding your hair health and appearance. Coating your strands in conditioner before washing with shampoo helps your hair retain its natural oils, rather than stripping them away. Your more dry ends are then protected from the shampoo. Most, if not all, of the conditioner will wash out in the shampooing process, but the hair will be soft and silky smooth. Plus, your hair won’t be weighed down by the conditioner as can happen with conventional shampooing. This helps to increase volume. In the long run, reverse hair washing benefits your hair health as the increased moisture will prevent split ends and breakage, resulting in stronger strands.

Reverse hair washing may not work for everybody, however. Those with dry, coarse, or curly hair may benefit more from ending their hair washing with conditioner. Those with very oily or straight, fine hair will benefit the most from reverse hair washing because it helps to harness the natural oils. 

How to Reverse Hair Wash

Reverse hair washing may feel weird, but you'll get used to it.
Reverse hair washing may feel weird, but you'll get used to it.
(Foto: CC0 / Pixabay / PublicDomainPictures)

When it comes to reverse washing your hair, we recommend an organic, natural shampoo, free of sulfates and parabens. The best option is to either make your own shampoo, or look into zero waste shampoo bars, as these will benefit your hair, and the environment. 

  1. Wet your hair and apply conditioner to the bottom half of your strands.
  2. Let the conditioner sit for a three to five minutes while you do your other shower activities. 
  3. Wash your hair with shampoo, focusing on the scalp. The suds will wash out some of the conditioner, but you don’t need to really work on scrubbing your ends. 
  4. Rinse your hair thoroughly before drying.

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