Hair Care - Reverse Washing Your Hair

Have you heard of reverse washing your hair before? I have been wanting to post about it for a while A couple of years ago I was on Pinterest and an image of a woman's long, silky, shiny hair caught my attention so I clicked on it and it lead me to a post on reverse washing.  It described to me the process of fully wetting down your hair, using conditioner in your hair with mainly focusing on the ends (to add moisture and seal in those ends) and letting the conditioner sit for about 5 minutes, and then shampooing your hair with focusing on mainly the roots and scalp as the oiliness mainly comes from your scalp.  I had already been asking my hairdresser what I could do to get my hair to look smoother and silkier so when I saw this I figured that it was an idea that wouldn't cost me anything to at least try.  The hardest part for me was to put conditioner on my hair first because it was so ingrained in me to shampoo and then use conditioner.  I did this the first time and was amazed at how wonderful my hair felt after.  I was worried that by shampooing after, the conditioner and its effects would be washed away.  My hair was smoother, silkier and had even more volume.  At that point it was normal for me to wash my hair about 3 times a week. I stopped washing my hair on a daily basis years ago because I had read and been told how bad it is to wash your hair on a daily basis.  Hair is fiber and the more you wash it the frizzier it is going to get and the worse it is going to look.  Especially the longer your hair is because the oils from the scalp do not travel down the shaft as quickly.  The next time I washed my hair like normal - shampooing first and then using conditioner.  I was shocked at how my hair didn't feel near as wonderful and didn't style as nicely.  That is what converted me to fully changing over to this method. Now, the only time I shampoo first, is if I make a mistake and grab the shampoo first instead of the conditioner.  I have found that I can even go a day longer between washes because my hair feels/looks great, which means that I only usually wash my hair twice a week now!

So as I was getting ready to do this post today, I decided to google reverse washing since it has been a couple of years since I first read about it.  I was amazed to find posts that as more women are trying it, it has become quite the trend!  Women with fine limp hair, describe their hair as shinier and having more volume.  Those with thick hair, describe their hair as feeling healthier, looking shinier and less frizzy (I am one of those).  It seems like a win win situation doesn't it?  The hardest part those of you that wash your hair daily, may be to get used to having not to wash daily and for others to get into the routine of grabbing your conditioner before the shampoo!

I will also share that I let my hair air dry so that it isn't suffering extra heat damage since I use a ceramic straightening iron on my hair.  However, I also find that with the reverse washing, I also find that after my initial styling I only spend a few minutes each morning smoothing my hair with my iron to get ready for the day.

I also use a little leave in conditioner that has a UV protectant in it to protect my hair a little more from the sun.