"Why is my hair so DRY, but my bangs (or scalp) are so greasy??"
If you've ever asked yourself this question, we'll address this topic from a different angle:
Washing the scalp, NOT the hair.
And you'll love this method once you try it!
First, you must understand that the hair itself is generally dry. To look its best, it relies in big part on the sebum (natural oil) that your scalp produces. This is one of the reasons why straight-haired people's hair looks so shiny: The oils have a chance to *very quickly* glide down their hair, much faster than wavy or curly-haired people.
This lovely sebum is what most people turn away from – what they call "yechy, oily hair", but it really is a bountiful production of goodness that your scalp creates in order to protect itself as well as your hair lengths.
Sebum is made up largely of oils: squalene, esters of glycerol, wax, cholesterol and fatty acids. This lovely cocktail of goodness is produced by your scalp to supply itself with protection, and it's not found anywhere else on the body. It serves a purpose, and being quick to wash it off actually can do more harm to the scalp than good, because there is a whole layer of microbiota (Staphylococcus and Cutibacterium, to name two major gram-positive bacteria) that defend your scalp against harmful pathogens. So your scalp will rapidly produce more in order to defend and protect itself.
On top of that, when this sebum (oil) is washed off constantly, it doesn't have an opportunity to slide down and nourish your hair itself, protect it, help the cuticle close, make hair shiny and soft, and prevent frizz. This is why we recommend washing your scalp sparingly and not necessarily the hair itself.
See? Washing your hair less often can be good for many things! (on top of saving you a bundle and saving our environment with all that product being flushed down the drain).
Partial Hair Washing steps:
We recommend following these steps:
Protect the hair from too much water penetrating it, and by closing the cuticle before it is washed
Wash the scalp, not the hair
Rinse the whole head thoroughly (scalp and hair)
Follow by protecting the hair itself with a light conditioner and/or leave-in conditioner (depending on your hair type)
The Partial Hair Washing method is fantastic for people who:
Feel they need to wash their hair often – either because they sweat profusely or work in fields where their hair/scalp attract dust, paint, metal shards, or wood/sawdust, for example.
People with Afro/Textured hair, who want to rid their scalp of product build-up without necessarily removing all protective conditioner from their hair itself. This method can also protect their hair lengths from too much water penetrating it and causing hydral fatigue (the constant swelling of the hair cuticle, causing hair to become weaker and stretch).
Those who just want a quick bang/fringe wash without necessarily removing all the protective product they just spent so much time adding on their hair
Those with porous, dry, damaged, fragile hair who should truly not be using shampoo on their hair as often as it can be very drying/stripping.
People with limited time! Put the conditioner or hair mask on first – even on dry hair, while you're picking out your clothes for the day and getting ready – and then just wash the scalp, for gorgeously protected hair in a pinch!
Truu by Nature Tip:
Remember: If your hair needs a wash because you've put a lot of product on it – leave-in conditioners, gels, mousse, hairspray – then go ahead and wash all that product out. This method works great,
but not for everyone on a regular basis.
You know your hair best, but it's always nice to try a new method to see how your own hair responds to it.
Partial Hair Washing Tutorial
Step 1: Protect your hair
There are many reasons for your hair to be dry: Environmental damage (wind, sun, salt water, chlorine), styling (hair dryers, curling, straightening), hair type (porous, thicker hair, curly or wavy hair which is naturally more dry as the oils don't easily run down the hair shaft), water type (hard water can have an effect on hair by drying it since metal deposits can weigh down the hair and make it absorb too much salt), and/or treatment (colouring, bleaching, highlighting). It's estimated that over 80% of us have dry hair. It's a fact of life. Of course this will depend on the factors that we suggested above, but dry hair is very common – you're not alone and don't feel bad about it because it is easy to protect your hair and make it look healthy and shiny again!
If you're frustrated by your hairdresser suggesting you have "dry hair and should cut it" every time you see them, this method may very much help you, and could also help you avoid a $200 "professional product" spend.
Start by putting a generous glob of hair mask treatment or even conditioner on your hair while it's dry (we have a great one here for you! And it's all nature-derived and with a gentle dose of protein – check it out [HERE]). You will be probably using more conditioner on your hair when it's dry rather than when it's wet, but it's much easier to put on the hair shaft itself and avoid the roots this way, rather than when it's wet. Putting it on damp hair is good too.
We also love using a conditioner bar for this, as it's super easy to glide down your hair without getting into the scalp. We like using our Bi-Phase Shampoo & Conditioner bar for this. It has shampoo on one side and conditioner on the other, but the conditioner side is just so fabulous and "glide-y" that it feels amazing and is so good for the hair!
Adding conditioner to your hair helps to close down the cuticle of your hair and further preventing shampoo from getting in there to dry it out (since shampoo cleanses all that extra protective oil that your hair needs to be healthy and look radiant!).
You'll be doing this part as your first step, BEFORE your hair is washed.
Don't forget the back of the hair and the ends of the hair! That's very important.
Step 2:
Prepare your scalp cleanser/shampoo.
In this reel on Instagram, we shared 3 different options you can create a method for using shampoo that is perfect for this Partial Hair Washing Method, so you can wash your scalp without washing your hair lengths – have you seen it yet? [HERE]. There, we shared an easy-to-follow video tutorial using 3 different options:
**Option 1: Dilute your own favorite shampoo
Shampoos you typically buy at the market/drugstore – that is, the typical mainstream liquid shampoos you're used to using – are fine to dilute slightly for this method. They WILL still cleanse your scalp by just combining them with water at a 50-50 ratio or even more. Seriously! Give it a try! Just keep in mind:
A) They may not foam up as much, but it will be gentler, and B) They will still clean thoroughly – and gentler is always a nice bonus!
Find an empty bottle with a nose nozzle on it or a pop-up lid like the one pictured here. This will make it much easier for you to pinpoint the scalp area rather than pouring the whole shampoo on your hair the way you've been used to doing.
Or, you can spread the shampoo on your hand and glide it under your hair and directly onto your scalp.
Truu by Nature Tip:
DO NOT dilute your whole bottle of shampoo at once.
If you're going to dilute shampoo by adding water to it, only dilute your store-bought shampoo for the one-time you'll be using it, otherwise you can compromise the stability and preservation system of your shampoo,
which can be very dangerous.
Dilute once, use it up, then discard the balance.
**Option 2: Use a shampoo bar
Shampoo bars are highly concentrated forms of shampoo in bar form. They are fantastic for Partial Hair Washing because you can foam them up on your hand with a little water, and then use that foamy shampoo to wash your scalp. Kind of like you're washing a baby's scalp – nice and gentle. And that's it!
Option 3: Use a powder shampoo
We actually created our powder shampoo for this reason, as it's very easy to powder the concentrated shampoo onto your hand and then slip under your hair onto the scalp. Brilliant! With a little water added onto it, it will foam up and lather without getting all over your hair.
Step 3:
Shower as usual, and THEN rinse your
whole head throughly.
At this point you will shower as usual, but your head is all done! You've washed your scalp, you've protected your hair, and the process of "washing, rinsing, adding conditioner, then rinsing out" is much simpler already, see? You will not need to add conditioner after and your hair will be protected, shiny, while your scalp will be clean!
There is no need to rinse out with cool water as the hair cuticle is not affected by hair temperature but by the pH of your hair product. Hot water will thin out any fat – like when you're adding oil to a frying pan and you see it get more "liquidy" or when you're washing your dishes and find fats are easier to wash with hot water.
Step 4:
Conditioner or leave-in conditioner.
This step will really be up to your hair type and the hair protectant (mask or conditioner) you've used. If you feel your hair is just fine, then don't feel you need to add anything to it after Step 3 (I personally love adding a light leave-in conditioner to my hair on a daily basis! While some people with fine or thin hair may not need to).
And that's it!
At Truu by Nature, we've tried this method many times with people who have different hair types, and it works GREAT! We're also always on the lookout for ways of saving our environment by making better, environmentally-friendly products that are going to work for your hair while being flushed down the drain less often...
We believe in being mindful about what we put ON our bodies as much as what we put IN it, and this is why we created our nature-derived products. This Partial Hair Washing method makes total sense, and we urge you tro try it – at least once per week!
We suggest trying it out yourself and letting us know what you think – Add your comments below and pop in your questions – and happy hair days ahead!
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