Rinsing

Learning to rinse your hair is one of the important skills when it comes to hair care and sadly underestimated. I think most people usually just rinse standing up and letting the water hitting the top of their head and washing down. It’s not a very efficient way to rinse though! The water pretty much bounces off the top layer of the hair and you’re not getting the product out. Even when the water in the drain stops bubbling, it’s not really rinsed clean.

Some people have no problems leaving conditioner and products in their hair, some even keep from rinsing conditioner completely out. I’m not one of them. Rinsing thoroughly clean can make a huge difference in shine and manageability of your hair.

One of the first things I had a real light bulb moment with when I started learning about proper hair care was to bend forwards and use the showerhead to rinse directly at the scalp and hair. You have much better control, you can spot the bubbles better and you can rinse much more concentrated. Use the pads of your fingertips to massage the scalp and comb gently to get all parts of the hair rinsed.

For loosening up lots of product like after henna or cassia, it can be a good idea to do a “mermaid soak” before rinsing. That’s where you get in the bath and let the water gently loosen up the bulk before rinsing and manipulating.

I like starting out my rinsing with bending over the tub and directing the showerhead upwards on the scalp and length. I prefer getting some focussed rinsing done on my hair before stepping in the water. Once I get wet, I get cold from focussing the water on my hair and not body.

Another thing I like to do is leaning forward and resting the top of my head on the wall. When I direct the water on my hair, I can get it nice and flattened against the wall and rinse it very efficiently.

Don’t forget that water can be a real help when it comes to detangling and shaping your hair. For my final rinse, I do it according to what I’m going to do with my hair next. If I’m getting my hair wet before a deep conditioning, I bend over and let the water help pulling my hair up and ready to be wrapped up with conditioner on top of my head. If I’m going to put it up and get on with my day, I make my parting, and then rinse it backwards behind my shoulders ready to towel dry and be put up. It saves me manipulation and pre-smoothes the hair.

For apple cider rinses, I prefer to actually dip it in a bowl in the shower. ACV has a normalising effect on the skin and scalp and this way I can get the entire scalp in the bowl.

I have always been sceptic of cold final rinses. The theory is that the cold blast will make the little “fish scales” on the hair strands surface clamp shut and increase shine. However, wouldn’t the cuticles return to normal as soon as the cold hair returns to room temperature? And wouldn’t that make a cold and uncomfortable rinse unnecessary? I’m not going to preach that my scepticism is right and cold blasts are wrong though. People whose opinion and experience on hair care I respect and value swear on a final, cold blast. I still want to put my theory down and leave it up to any reader to consider the thought.