I recently read an article where this girl with fine hair one day decided to try using conditioner first before shampooing her hair with mind-blowing results in the volume department.
Um, what?!
Conditioner and then shampoo? It goes against everything we’ve ever been taught – everything every bottle of shampoo and conditioner has ever told us to do. Shampoo says to “Lather, rinse, repeat. Follow with conditioner.” Conditioner’s instructions are to “use on hair after shampooing.” Telling me to use conditioner first is basically telling me the world actually is flat, the sun revolves around the earth, and all that science mumbo jumbo.
So I’ll admit it, I was very skeptical at first. Mostly, I was worried I’d end up with crazy static-y hair and have to hop back in the shower after I’d gone through the trouble of blow drying and styling, which wasn’t something I really had time to do.
But to be honest, I was pleasantly surprised.
The idea behind conditioning first is that it does all the great stuff conditioner does for your hair – smoothing, detangling, adding shine – but as you use shampoo second, you’re washing out the extra properties in conditioners that tend to weigh down fine hair like mine.
But even more than the order of applying products, how you use shampoo and conditioner can greatly affect the outcome of your hair that day. So here’s how to wash hair for more volume:
Conditioning
Grab a volume-savvy conditioner like Rusk Being Sexy Conditioner. Work it through your strands, but only mid-shaft to ends. Avoid the the roots – that’s where the bulk of your volume comes from. Rinse thoroughly.
Shampooing
Follow with Rusk Being Sexy Shampoo. Lather the product in your hands, then scrub it into your hair along your scalp line, the crown of your head, around your part, and under your head along your neck. That’s it. Don’t even touch the ends with shampoo. Rinse the shampoo thoroughly.
If you shampoo and condition in this way (and whether you use one first or the other), you’re focusing on different areas of the hair – the areas of hair each product was specially formulated to help with. Shampoo should be concentrated only on the roots and around the most oil-prone places (around your face and neck), while conditioner should only go on the middle of the strand to the ends to seal cuticles and leave your locks smooth without dragging down your roots.
It’s easier than you think to get volume into fine locks – you just have to be a little flexible and creative.
