Your shampooing method could be the culprit behind your greasy hair.
There’s a plethora of advice on how to correctly wash your hair, and it can often be contradictory. The best approach can depend on various factors such as hair type, thickness, and length, and what works wonders for one person might not work for another.
However, according to one hairstylist, there’s a common mistake that many of us are making. If you wash your hair daily to prevent it from looking oily, you might be falling into this trap, too – and it all boils down to your shampooing technique. Hairstylist Hannah, who specialises in bridal hair and special events, shared her insights in a TikTok video.
She believes that “most people’s hair problems would go away” if they knew how to wash their hair properly. According to Hannah, most clients who sit in her chair “do not know how to wash their hair correctly.”
She explained: “People tell me they have to wash their hair every day or it gets greasy. Some people do have oily hair but for most people, it’s getting greasy so fast because you’re not actually washing the grease out of your hair. That’s why it gets so greasy, because you still have grease in your hair when you wash it.”
How to wash your hair correctly
Hannah detailed the correct technique for washing hair, emphasizing starting with a completely “soaking” wet head — this includes thoroughly drenching both scalp and hair. For those with thick or long locks, it may mean moving hair parts aside to ensure even the underneath gets well-saturated.
Then, grab a shampoo amount comparable to a 10p coin, work it up into a lather in your hands, then apply it all over your scalp. Hannah admitted that it might not appear sufficient or suds up initially, but she stressed the importance of trusting this method.
She specified: “The reason why shampoo of that amount is lathering is because your hair is dirty. I’ve said it before; I’ll say it again. It’s like when you’re cleaning a pan that you cooked bacon on, and you’re scrubbing it all over with soap, and it’s not lathering because it’s greasy. You have to wash that first layer of grease off, and then you go in again, and the soap lathers perfectly – it’s the same concept [with your hair].”
Once the shampoo is distributed across your scalp, Hannah advised thoroughly working it in “all over.” She observed some of her clients only shampoo their crowns, neglecting the back and sides. If the first shampoo application didn’t foam as expected, she recommends rinsing out entirely and repeating the process.
The specialist advised: “Rinse it out really well. Make sure there’s nothing left in your hair. Then you’re going to do the same thing again. Take a small amount of shampoo, lather it in your hands, spread it all over your head, and really work it in. The second shampoo should be lathering, but if it is still not, then repeat for a third time.”
She emphasised that hair isn’t truly clean until the shampoo foams up adequately without needing extra product. For a thorough cleanse, she recommended repeating the process as often as needed, followed by a final rinse before moving on to condition just the ends.