1. Tips For Shampooing
Steam your hair before shampooing it: The pores on your scalp are often clogged with oil and dirt.. The best way to cleanse them away is by steaming your hair. To do so, soak a towel in hot water and wring out the excess water. Wrap this towel around your head and leave it on for 20 minutes before jumping into the shower.
Massage steamed hair before shampoo: After steaming your hair, gently massage your scalp with your fingers for a few minutes. This can help loosen up the dirt and buildup and also root out the weak hair strands from your scalp.
Use cool or lukewarm water: You know how they say using heat styling tools on your hair too frequently can damage it? Well, the same holds true for hot water. The heat from hot water can strip off natural oils and leave your hair cuticles open, thus allowing all the moisture to escape from it. On the other hand, washing it with cool or lukewarm water can help close the cuticle and lock in the moisture, thus giving you shinier and smoother locks. It can also help reduce frizz.
Use paraben and SLS free shampoo: I’m sure you must have heard some buzz about how you need to start using shampoos that are free of sulfates (SLS) and parabens. While parabens are added as a preservative, SLS helps in forming a lather. Both these chemicals have long been known to cause skin irritation and allergic reactions (1). But recent studies have found that parabens can also be carcinogenic and an animal study has linked sulfates with severe eye damage (2), (3). So, it’s best to use organic shampoos that are SLS and paraben free.
Apply shampoo only on the scalp: The purpose of shampoo is to cleanse and remove the dirt, dead skin cells, and product buildup from your scalp. Rubbing shampoo on the lengths of your will only strip it of its natural oils and leave it looking dry, dull, and lifeless. So, take a quarter-sized amount of shampoo and massage it into your roots and scalp until it lathers up. Gently massage while shampooing: When lathering the shampoo, gently massage your scalp with your fingers, moving in a circular motion. This easily cleanses away the dirt from your scalp. The massage will also help improve the blood circulation to your hair follicles and boost hair growth (4). what to do with hair after the shower: The massage will also help improve the blood circulation to your hair follicles and boost hair growth. Don’t wash your hair daily: Most shampoos contain chemicals that can make your hair extremely dry and brittle if used daily. So, it’s best to wash your hair no more than twice or thrice a week to maintain its health and optimum moisture level. Do not stretch shampooing time: Your hair is in its most fragile state when it’s wet. So, ideally, you should shampoo and condition your hair within 15 minutes of wetting it to keep damage and breakage at the minimum.
2. Tips For Conditioning
Condition your hair with oil before shower: To stop frizzy hair after shower, a good way to condition and moisturize your hair the natural way is to massage it with hair oil. Massage some coconut, almond, or olive oil onto your hair and scalp an hour before you wash it. This oil will penetrate your hair shaft and nourish it from within to give you softer, shinier, and frizz-free hair (5).
Towel dry before conditioning: This step may sound a bit tedious to you but it’s what you need to do to get frizz-free hair after shower. After shampooing your hair, wrap a towel around your head to soak up all the excess water and then apply conditioner. The conditioner will get absorbed into your towel-dried hair much more easily and prevent it from frizzing up. Similar to a sponge, the less water is absorbed into the hair the more room there is in the hair to absorb hydrating conditioner.
Don’t use too much conditioner: Applying too much conditioner will weigh your hair down and make it look super greasy and difficult to keep hair straight after a shower.
Do not apply conditioner on the scalp: You’ve probably already heard this a million times, but I’m still going to reiterate it once more – don’t apply conditioner to your scalp. This is because it will form a build-up on your scalp and clog your pores, leading to reduced hair growth and increased hair fall. If you do apply to the scalp, be sure to thoroughly rinse it out. Applying conditioner to the scalp is like applying washable lotion to dry skin. If the scalp is dry, put conditioner on it but be sure to rinse it out well.
Don’t leave the conditioner in for too long: If you think leaving the conditioner on your hair for extra time will moisturize your hair more, then you are dead wrong. Conditioners work quite instantaneously when the wet hair cuticle is swollen and open. So, there’s no way that the conditioner can penetrate further than it already has when you first apply it. In fact, leaving the conditioner on for too long can actually make your hair greasy.
Deep condition every two weeks: You need to deep condition your hair at least every 2 weeks, especially if you have curly or kinky hair as these hair types tend to dry up pretty quickly.
3. Tips For Drying
Microfiber towel/Cotton t-shirt: You may not be aware of this, but terrycloth towels soak out the moisture from your hair while removing excess water, thus leaving it dry. Besides, the texture of these towels can also frizz up your hair and cause breakage. A better option would be to use either a microfiber towel or a cotton t-shirt that is gentler on your hair and doesn’t strip all the moisture out of it.
Don’t aggressively rub your hair while drying it: A majority of women either rub their hair vigorously with a towel or coil it up in a towel hat to dry hair after shower. Both of these methods of drying hair are disastrous as they cause knotting, frizzing, and breakage (6). The correct way is to use a cotton t-shirt or a microfiber towel to gently pat dry your hair to remove all the excess water and let it air dry the rest of the way.
Avoid using a blow dryer: The heat from a blow dryer can damage your hair and cause split ends the same way that other heat styling tools do (7). So, it’s best that you avoid using one as much as possible. However, if you absolutely need to use a blow dryer to dry your hair, then it’s best to use it in a low-heat setting.
4. Tips For Detangling
Detangle when there’s conditioner in your hair: Another great way to avoid losing too much hair is to detangle your hair in the shower after you’ve applied conditioner to it. Just run a wide-toothed comb – not a brush! – through the lower half of your hair to remove all knots and tangles easily.
Detangle your hair when it’s semi-dry: If you lose huge clumps of hair when you’re brushing it, it’s probably because you’re doing it right after you step out of the shower this will break the hair. Your hair is delicate and most prone to breakage when it is wet (6). So, wait until your hair is about 70% dry before you detangle it with a boar bristle brush or a wide-toothed comb. Though it is safe to brush your hair when it is completely dry.
[ Read: Best Hair Care Tips And Ticks ]
5. Some More Things To Keep In Mind
Apply a leave-in conditioner after drying your hair: If the question “How to get rid of frizzy hair after a shower?” has nagged you throughout your life, here’s an answer to it. Just apply a bit of leave-in conditioner or smoothening serum after your hair has dried partially. If you have particularly dry hair, make sure you use a product that is alcohol-free as alcohol dries out your hair even more.
Limit using hair care products: Avoid applying too many hair styling products like hair sprays, mousses, gels, etc on your hair as they tend to build upon your hair and scalp, clog your pores, and ultimately lead to hair fall. Keep showers short: Try to get in and out of the shower as quickly as possible because the longer your hair is sopping wet, the longer it is in its fragile, breakable state.
Is it okay to comb my hair in the shower? Yes, it is actually a great idea to comb your hair in the shower after you’ve applied conditioner to it as it reduces breakage. How often should I condition my hair? You should condition your hair every time you wash it, which should be about 2 or 3 times a week. How do I keep my hair from getting frizzy after a shower? You can keep your hair from getting frizzy after a shower by drying it with a microfiber towel and applying a leave-in conditioner. Is it normal to lose a lot of hair in the shower? It’s normal to lose 50-100 strands of hair in a day (8). This number may go up when you’re washing your hair. You should start worrying when you see this number increasing more and more, your ponytail starts feeling thin, or when you can start seeing your scalp on certain parts of your head.
