Let me tell you something that I see every single day in my salon. People sit down in my chair with dry, damaged, thinning, or just generally unhappy hair — and nine times out of ten when I start asking questions about their routine, the problem is not their products. It is not their genetics. It is not even their hair type.
It is the way they are washing their hair.
And the most frustrating part? A lot of these mistakes come from advice that is genuinely floating around out there being shared by people who mean well. So today I want to walk you through every single washing mistake I see regularly, why each one is actually hurting your hair, and exactly what to do instead.
Because when you get this right — and I mean really get it right — your hair genuinely gets healthier and healthier with every single wash.
Mistake One — Lathering Your Shampoo in Your Hands Before Applying It
I know. You have probably seen this tip everywhere. Lather it up first, then apply. It sounds logical. It sounds gentle even. But it is actually one of the worst things you can do and here is why.
When you lather shampoo in your hands before it goes on your head, it puffs up. And that puffed up foam gets trapped in the outer layers of your hair. It never actually makes it all the way down to your scalp — which is the one place it absolutely needs to reach. Because your scalp is where all the oil is. It is literally where the oil is produced in the first place.
If your shampoo cannot get down there to properly cleanse everything, your scalp health suffers. Your follicles can get clogged. And clogged follicles mean slower hair growth and over time even hair thinning. So this one really is worth taking seriously.
What you want to do instead is apply the shampoo directly to your scalp while it is still in liquid form. Press it firmly down before it has a chance to lather. By the time it starts to foam it will be expanding from the bottom up — from your scalp outward — which means all that oil and buildup has absolutely nowhere to hide.
Read: Find Your Hair Type
Mistake Two — Applying Shampoo Unevenly
This one goes hand in hand with the first. A lot of people just glob shampoo onto one spot and then try to spread it around. What ends up happening is certain areas get way too much shampoo — which dries them out — and other areas get barely any and never get properly clean.
Instead think of your scalp in three zones. The back of your head, the top of your head, and the sides.
Start with the back first because it is always the dirtiest. There is so much oil hiding back there and it needs the most shampoo. Pull the hair apart to give yourself better access and press half your shampoo firmly into that back section.
Then take half of what is remaining and press it into the top of your head. Whatever is left you spread across your palms — without lathering — and run it along the sides pressing it down to the scalp just behind the hairline.
Only once you have covered all three zones do you start actually working the shampoo in.
Mistake Three — Oiling Your Hair Before You Wash It
Okay this one genuinely makes me cringe every time I hear it because it is such a widely shared piece of advice and it makes absolutely no sense when you actually think it through.
The idea is that you load your hair up with oil before washing to moisturize it and prevent dryness and breakage. But think about what you are actually doing. Your hair is already dirty. There is already oil and buildup sitting on your scalp. And now you are adding even more oil on top of that and expecting your shampoo to still be able to clean all of it properly.
Only two things can happen. Either you use way more shampoo than usual to cut through all that extra oil — which leaves your hair even drier than before. Or you do not use enough shampoo and your hair never actually gets clean. Both outcomes are bad.
The solution is so much simpler than people make it. Wash your hair until it is completely clean. Then add your oil afterwards to moisturize. You get clean hair AND moisturized hair without wasting a bunch of product just to rinse it straight back out.
Read: Care of Hair
Mistake Four — Washing With Your Palms
This is something I watch people do all the time and it does absolutely nothing. That swirling motion over the top layer of your hair is not cleaning anything. The oil is deep underneath all that hair sitting right against your scalp and it is completely unbothered by whatever is happening on the surface.
The only way to actually lift and remove that oil is to get in there with your fingertips. Physically get to the scalp and break up that layer of buildup. Think of it like there are layers of oil that have been building up for days and you need your fingertips to get all the way down to the bottom layer and loosen it up.
It should not hurt. It should not irritate your scalp. But it should feel like you actually did something. Like your arms got a little bit of a workout. That kind of thorough scrubbing also increases blood flow to the scalp which is genuinely great for scalp health and for hair growth over time.
Mistake Five — Only Washing Once
This is the one I am most passionate about and honestly the tip that has made the biggest visible difference for so many of my clients over the years.
One wash is simply not enough to fully clean your scalp. Think about oil — like actual cooking oil. If you got it on your hands you know it takes more than one rinse to get that slippery feeling completely gone. Now imagine that same oil sitting between millions of strands of hair pressed against your scalp. One wash barely scratches the surface.
The first wash breaks down the initial layer of buildup and lifts some of the oil. But it is really the second wash that gets everything fully clean. That deep clean is what allows your hair to actually stay fresh and clean for four, five, six or more days depending on your hair type.
One wash and your scalp never fully resets which means it gets oily again faster and you feel like you need to wash more often.
I have had so many clients tell me they cannot believe how much longer their hair stays clean after I wash it at the salon compared to at home. The double wash is almost always the reason why. Once they start doing it at home themselves the difference is immediate.
Mistake Six — Not Squeezing Water Out Properly Before Conditioning
Before you apply conditioner you need to squeeze most of the water out of your hair first. If your hair is still completely saturated with water the conditioner cannot actually penetrate it. It just sits on top of the water and rinses away without doing anything useful.
You do not need to get your hair completely dry before conditioning — just use your hands to gently squeeze out the excess water. And please do it correctly. Run your hands downward squeezing as you go. Never scrunch your hair up into a ball, never twist it, never bunch it up at all. Any of that creates tangles and the longer your hair is the worse it gets.
Mistake Seven — Starving Your Hair of Conditioner
Almost every client I have ever had does not use enough conditioner. And the result shows up in ways they never connect to this habit — dryness, breakage, frizz, hair that just never seems to look healthy no matter what products they buy.
Here is how you know you have used enough. Run your fingers through your hair while the conditioner is on. Every single section should feel slippery. If any part does not have that slippery feeling it needs more conditioner. That feeling is your signal that the hair is properly coated and being nourished.
Spread it over your palms first rather than applying it in one big glob. Work it into your mid lengths and ends only — never near your roots. Applying conditioner near your roots mixes with your scalp’s natural oil and weighs everything down and makes it greasy much faster.
Once it is on clip your hair up and leave it for at least two minutes while you finish the rest of your shower routine. That time matters. Give it a chance to actually work.
Mistake Eight — Drying With a Regular Cotton Towel
You are almost done. Do not ruin it right at the end.
Put the cotton towel down. Those are great for your body but they snag and catch at your hair causing friction, frizz, tangles, and breakage. Switch to a microfiber towel instead. The difference in how your hair feels after is genuinely noticeable.
And the technique matters just as much as the towel itself. No rubbing. No scrubbing back and forth. Just place the microfiber towel against your hair and press into it. Let it absorb the moisture rather than forcing it out with friction. Press, hold, move to the next section. That is all you need to do.
