Most people think of shampooing as just the first step in their hair care routine – cleansing. However, this product not only cleanses your locks but also cares for them. Nourishing shampoos combine these two functions – they gently cleanse and nourish hair with useful ingredients. According to Lunesi experts, these products are becoming increasingly popular because they offer even better hair care. But do you know how to properly use nourishing shampoos to get the most out of them? We’ll discuss this in this article.
What should you do before washing your hair?
Before applying shampoo, it’s important to properly prepare your hair. Before you even get into the shower, comb your hair thoroughly and carefully. This is essential to prevent tangling during washing, reduce breakage, and ensure more even distribution of the shampoo. Once or twice a week, you can use a wash-off mask, such as one based on oils: apply it before washing and leave it on for the time specified in the instructions.
It’s important to thoroughly wet your hair – there shouldn’t be any dry or barely damp areas. This is essential for high-quality removal of dirt, and also because the shampoo won’t lather well, requiring more.
Remember to wash your hair with warm, not hot, water to avoid over-drying your scalp and hair. Regular exposure to hot water can cause dryness, itching, breakage, and dull color.
As for the amount of shampoo you need, it all depends on the length and thickness of your hair. If you have a short haircut or a bob, a pea-sized amount is enough to create a lather. For medium-length hair, double or triple this amount, and for long hair, use up to 10 ml.
Important: don’t use too much nourishing shampoo; this won’t enhance its effectiveness, but it can actually have the opposite effect by drying out your scalp. If you end up with a lot of lather that’s difficult to rinse out, use less shampoo next time.
The correct technique for applying nourishing shampoo
Here’s a quick step-by-step guide:
1) Pour a generous amount of product into your palms, add a little water, and lather the mixture. Even premium and gentle nourishing shampoos should not be applied neat to the scalp – the surfactants they contain can be too harsh for it.
2) Apply the shampoo to the scalp and roots. There’s no need to distribute it on the length – the lather that flows down is sufficient for thorough cleansing of the strands, especially since it’s the roots and scalp that tend to get the most dirt.
3) Massage your scalp for a couple of minutes. Use gentle finger movements without applying excessive pressure, and avoid scratching yourself with your nails. This massage improves the nutrition of the hair follicles, helps the shampoo’s active ingredients penetrate the scalp, enhancing their action, and stimulates local blood flow, which makes the hair stronger, and it grows faster.
4) Leave the shampoo in your hair for 1-3 minutes, maximum 5. Since this isn’t a regular cleanser but rather contains nourishing ingredients, it’s important to give them time to work. These shampoos may contain oils, niacinamide, plant extracts, keratin, panthenol, peptides, and other ingredients that should be left on the scalp for a while.
5) Rinse thoroughly with running water, making sure there’s no foam left. Otherwise, instead of smooth, strong, and thick hair, you may end up with itchy, dry, and lacking volume.
How many times should you apply nourishing shampoo? Advertisements usually say twice, since the first time you only rinse away impurities, and the second time the active ingredients begin to work. This makes sense, but not always. Trichologists recommend washing your hair twice if you don’t wash it daily, use styling products, or have an oily scalp. In other cases, one wash is enough for thorough cleansing, and the active ingredients will definitely work, as you leave the shampoo on your hair for a few minutes.
As for the frequency of washing your hair, there are no universal recommendations – each is individual. If you have dry skin, you can use a nourishing shampoo 1-2 times a week, 2-3 times for normal skin, and 4-5 times for oily skin. However, focus on the rate of contamination: wash every day if necessary, without sticking to a specific schedule.
What should a good nourishing shampoo be like, and is it sufficient for complete care?
Specific active ingredients should be chosen according to your skin type and hair needs. We recommend looking for products with collagen, amino acids, niacinamide, plant extracts and oils, and vitamins. Complex shampoos that deeply nourish and moisturize, making hair more elastic and soft, and protecting it against negative external influences are effective. To enhance the effect, use masks and conditioners, tonics and oils, preferably from the same brand and line.