One thing we can all agree on is that no matter how different our hair is, it's important to have a good washday routine for healthy hair growth. This article should be read after familiarizing yourself with general  hair health information. Articles about hair health can be found on our website. 

One of the most important things about creating a wash day routine is learning about your hair, this includes learning the hair structure, learning about porosity and ph, learning about how the hair absorbs products. The reason this is great base information is because a combination of these are what fundamentally inform what kind of products you should use and how they should be used to provide maximum benefit. 

This article will give a brief explanation of critical determining factors and the best way to go about product selection. 

The first thing that one needs to be mindful of when going to buy hair products is their curl pattern.

The curlier the hair strands are the more saturated the products are, with some ingredients not being ideal to use. Straight hair gets oily and greasy quicker and thus meaning whatever products used on the hair need to be able to get rid of build up. Curlier hair doesn't get enough hair oils on the strands and thus makes the hair much brittle and prone to drying, this then means that any wash day products used need to not strip the hair and retain moisture.

It's important to remember that product build up and dry scalp are different issues that can be dealt with separately. If your hair gets product build-up easily, you might need to lessen the amount you use on your hair or review your whole washday routine. Using the incorrect product or using products incorrectly can easily lead to product build up. When it comes to dry hair, dry scalp and/or dandruff, it's important to find the root cause of the issue and go to a professional if needed. An article covering this is on the website. 

The above mentioned is therefore crucial to your pre wash and washing step. When using a pre wash product also known as pre poo, you need to be aware of product build up and the next step which is washing the hair would need a deep cleansing shampoo. Some hair types can get away with using silicones in their shampoo but curly hair often needs shampoos with no silicone in it as that would be too much stripping of the hairs natural oils.

The second important part to choosing the right shampoo is based on your hair needs. Deep cleansing and exfoliating shampoos are best for when in need of a deep clean following a lot of product build up; whereas creamy shampoos are best for dry hair strands. It's important to remember that all shampoos are formulated to clean your hair and scalp.

Brands often say what hair type their products are suited for and once you are equipped with this information you can then look at the different sub-categories. These vary from hair porosity to general hair struggles. Hair porosity in simple terms means how easily your hair can absorb and retain moisture. Doing a hair float test can help determine your hair porosity. High porosity means your hair quickly absorbs water but can easily get dry. Low porosity means your hair takes a while to absorb water and it takes a while to dry. Normal porosity means it takes a fair amount of time to absorb and vice versa.  

The washday steps that follow are highly affected by hair porosity. When conditioning and deep conditioning - you would need to use heat to help the products work better if you have low porosity, however if you have high porosity you would need to help keep the hair strands hydrated and moisturized. The type of conditioner you use is often based on other hair concerns like dryness, weak strands and protein treatments. The process is the only thing that differs when creating this part of your washday routine. 

The next washday step would be drying.This is one step that anyone can choose how to do and is not determined by anything. One thing that is always advised is to moisturize the hair while it is still damp. The premise is that the hair needs to seal in water and even though most hair products are made with water as the first ingredient, it is often not enough. Once the hair is at a desired dampness, moisturizing would be next. This next step as well is not determined by anything else other than what works for you. There are different methods of moisturizing such as LCO or LOC. The one thing that is advised is to start with liquids and end with sealants, this could be an oil or a thick butter. The reason we use sealant is to trap the water in our hair. 

When it comes to styling, the type of products used are important to take note for each hair type. Gels can often be drying and thus people with curlier hair would need to ensure that the hair is thoroughly moisturized before applying gel. Curling creams can be ideal for people who have dry hair as they are often water based and have moisturizing properties. 

In all of this the most important thing to be aware of is how your hair responds to different methods, creating the ideal washday routine does not happen overnight and sometimes you make a couple of mistakes. But that's all okay, this journey is yours to learn from and always remember that the journey is different for every person.