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Why how you wash your hair impacts your style

Photo credit: Agata Pospieszynska for Harper's Bazaar
Photo credit: Agata Pospieszynska for Harper's Bazaar

From Harper's BAZAAR

When it comes to styling your hair, you might consider your hairdryer, straightening iron or any number of products to be the most important element in your routine, but, as the celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin reveals, the real secret might actually lie in how you wash it.

"A lot of times, shampoo can make your hair feel kind of stripped. It might be clean but kind of fluffy and frizzy," explains Atkin. That can leave your tresses without the healthy-looking gloss most of us are searching for, leading to an overuse of product, as well as a difficulty when styling.

The in-shower routine


"It's all about starting with the right product in the shower because that is going to make or break your whole routine," says Atkin. "What you need is something that cleans your hair but most importantly keeps it really hydrated."

For anyone with noticeably dry hair, the idea of boosting hydration probably sounds like a good idea (and you might be on the search already). Atkin though suggests that all hair types could benefit from such formulas - yes, even if your primary concern is a lack of volume or thinning tresses.

"I don't know very many people who don't need hydration from their shampoo and conditioner because there are so many factors that can make it drier." These include the environment (for example pollution and humidity), whether the water in your shower is 'hard' or 'soft' and if you use hair dye.

"I'm all about teaching individuals about embracing their natural hair so they aren't a slave to product," Atkin continues. "For that, you need hair to look its best, and hydrated hair looks healthy. That way you can use a little blast with a diffuser to help encourage natural texture or a styler for gentle waves, but you don't need to use tons of products to fake shine because it is naturally there."

Choosing the right product


The trick is to look for ingredients in your shampoo and conditioner that add hydration and boost shine, without weighing it down. This will automatically make your natural hair texture look healthier, whether it is poker straight or you have coily curls.

That said, the exact ingredients you need will differ according to your hair type, as Atkin explains:

"Across the board, people tend to be quite overwhelmed about what type of shampoo and conditioner they need. That's why we recommend focusing on whether your hair is fine, medium or thick, so it gets the ingredients it needs most."

To help you discover your hair type, there's a 'hair quiz' on the Ouai website (the haircare brand owned by Atkin) that will walk you through it, before advising you which of the brand's formulas (for fine, medium or thick hair) you should use. Or, try the tests we recommend below.

For hair that is neither very fine or thick, Atkin suggests choosing a vitamin-rich formula to boost shine - for example Ouai's new Shampoo for Medium Hair, which contains kumquat extract, a fruit rich in vitamins A, B and C. Then, for thicker hair, shea butter is still one of the best ingredients for deep hydration.

As for individuals with very fine hair, who might still be recoiling at the idea of anything that might weigh hair down, step away from dehydrating sea sprays in the search for added volume. Instead look to strengthen your hair (with ingredients such as biotin and keratin), before applying conditioner to just your lower mid-lengths and ends.

Post-shower

Once out of the shower, Atkin has a few tricks up her sleeve to keep moisture locked in too. First of all, "try switching your cotton towel for a Aquis Turban Towel and use a silk pillowcase - I love the one from Slip - to avoid the cotton taking moisture out of your hair. Tools that dry your tresses as you style them, such as Dyson's Airwrap, can help minimise heat damage."

For even more hydration, supplement your usual conditioner once a week for an intensive hair mask. Bazaar recommends Ouai's Treatment Masque or Pureology's Hydrate Superfood Mask, especially if you have coloured hair.

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