It has been almost year since I last posted my scalp and hair care routine, I thought it was about time to do an update since it has changed a bit since then!
First things first, my hair is VIRGIN again! No more annoying dry, bleached ends. Alongside healthier ends, I find with my current routine, my scalp is less irritated, and my hair surprisingly stays moisturized and rarely feels dry. The best part is, this routine is more simple!
About my Scalp and Hair:
- Type 1 – pretty straight hair, but I’m not sure the specifics. Am I 1a, 1b, or 1c?
- Medium strands.
- Low porosity.
- Scalp is traditionally oily, I like washing my hair every other day. I don’t like using hair powder and dry shampoo as it causes buildup and irritates my scalp with longterm use.
- Hair typically gets dry as days pass, but lately it’s been staying moistured (maybe because of the warmer weather).
- No more bleached ends, they are finally healthy and rarely experience breakage.
My Scalp and Hair Care Routine
With wet hair, I lather the shampoo bar and focus the application on my scalp and roots, and just repeat this process until my entire scalp is sufficiently covered. I then massage my scalp for a minute to make sure the shampoo has a chance to do it’s thing to break down the oils and because it feels good to give my scalp a light massage. After that I rinse my hair then move on to either a pyrithione zinc (PZ) shampoo or conditioner.
1-2x a week, I will use a PZ shampoo to treat my scalp. Last year I used the Innate Life Scalp Treatment, but I found it was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable on my scalp, and it was just a pain to have to shampoo my hair 3 times. The PZ shampoo is a lot easier to use and has proven to be very effective! I used to use Head & Shoulders for years until I threw my scalp into turmoil when I started bleaching and dying my hair. My current go-to PZ shampoo is AG Hair Control Anti-Dandruff Shampoo with 2% PZ. I find this to be non-drying and it is also pH balanced for the scalp. After shampooing, I massage around two pumps on my scalp and I find this enough since the cuticles are now lifted and the mileage is just better after a first wash. After making sure my entire scalp is sufficiently covered in the treatment, I massage my scalp again for a bit and leave it in for a few minutes while I do my body care, then rinse.
Once shampoo and/or PZ treatment step is complete, I finish off my hair wash with Upfront Cosmetics Conditioner Bar. I wet it and massage the bar first to get the lather going, then I massage the bar directly on my hair. I keep doing this until I feel like my hair is sufficiently coated in conditioner and I can easily run my fingers through. If I didn’t use a PZ shampoo that day, I would wrap my hair in a bun and do my body care routine. Otherwise I would just rinse it out after.
After showering, I ring out my hair and wrap it in a hair towel (gift). I find this has been the best way to remove as much water as possible from my hair and I find it shortens the amount of time I need to blow-dry.
Once I let my hair out of the towel, I apply a heat protectant since I don’t like airy-drying my hair that much. Note, I have air-dried my hair for years prior and I have not seen a signficant difference in the quality of scalp and hair. My current go-to heat protectant is IT 12-In-One Amazing Leave-In Treatment (gift). I really like the scent of it, it reminds of Nerds candy and it makes my hair feel really soft and not weighed down. I spray only the mid shaft to ends of my hair and lightly run my fingers through, making sure it’s well coated. Sometimes I also apply a moisturizing spray on my scalp, I’m currently using the Innate Life Neroli Hair Primer. While I do like the list of moisturizing ingredients in the formula and that it does not weigh down my hair, I really dislike the scent – smells like Bermagot and Citrus.
After I apply the heat protectant and hair primer, I then begin drying my scalp with hot air, holding the blow dryer at a distance. Because I removed a lot of the water, my hair dries pretty quickly despite it being long. I usually focus on making sure my scalp is dry and I just lightly dry my hair strands. Once I finish drying my hair, I apply Innate Life Rose Elixir Hair Oil. This is the only oil serum I have ever liked for my hair and I have repurchased it a few times since I first tried it.
Last step, I brush my hair with the Tek Oval brush. I like the rounded ends because it’s gentle on my scalp. I start at the ends and work my way up to prevent extra hair fall. Sometimes I take an extra amount of time to massage my scalp.
That is pretty much it for my go-to scalp and hair care routine. Here are some extra steps I’d do if my hair is feeling dry.
I still like having the Briogeo Rosarco Milk Leave-In Conditioner on hand because it’s a light mist that I can use on dry hair, and I think it would be useful come the summer months when I’m outside more and my hair is more susceptible to dryness from sun exposure.
I also occasionally incorporate hair masking in my scalp and hair care routine. Back in the winter, I tried the Capillary Schedule so I was masking on every wash, rotating 3 types of hair masks. I found it very helpful at keeping my hair moisturized, to the point that I didn’t need a hair protectant when drying my hair. Now that it’s warmer, I just reach for a mask once a month because I have not really been experiencing an oily scalp and dry hair when I do not wash on my normal schedule.
Products I Use for my Scalp and Hair Care Routine
Upfront Cosmetics Shampoo and Conditioner Bar
https://upfrontcosmetics.ca/collections/haircare-1
AG Hair Control Anti-Dandruff Shampoo
https://rstyle.me/+Z1gntCIyGJvy7u1DxQhrcw *
The Body Shop Hair Towel – it was part of a gift box I got for my birthday, but there’s a really cute strawberry one they sell
https://rstyle.me/+d9yGodOwbpdjUdUxYJyEDQ *
The Innate Life Neroli Hair Primer
https://theinnatelife.com/collections/scalp-treatments/products/test
It 12-in-One Amazing Leave-In Treatment *
https://rstyle.me/+D3NjVevLqVC4y0037o4aRQ *
The Innate Life Rose Hair Elixir
https://theinnatelife.com/products/rose-hair-elixir
TEK Wooden Oval Brush
https://rstyle.me/+JdKmryfn92r4Z_wzQAWy7w *
Briogeo Rosarco Milk Leave-In Conditioner
https://rstyle.me/+GQWRiIrQ1Lpeu-JuakpVlA *
The Hair Routine Moisture Treatment
https://www.thehairroutine.com/products/moisture-treatment
*Affiliate links. If you use one of these links to make a purchase, I earn a small commission. Thank you so much if you decide to use them!
As always, I hope you find content like this helpful and informative!
xo, M
Related Content to my Scalp and Hair Routine
Scalp and Hair Care Routine 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR-ALeOkKrk
Capillary Schedule
https://www.instagram.com/p/CKPNFWGL19O/?igshid=4dw9qyhomgr6
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CMDFVcAn4gB/?igshid=1fpn0za0mu178
Hi, thanks for your advice ! I have low porosity thick straight hair and I feel like nobody talks about this type ! All the videos and articles are for the low porosity hair are about curly ones…
Mine are so dry and I do everything (organic) to help them, but still desperate…
Give the Capillary Schedule a try, I was impressed at how moisturized my hair felt by the end of the month!