Good hair care is four steps, and most people get the first one wrong: shampoo is for your scalp, conditioner is for your ends. Shampoo lifts oil and build-up from the skin on your head. Conditioner reseals the cuticle on hair that is already months or years old and cannot repair itself. Swap them round - conditioner near the roots, shampoo scrubbed through the ends - and you get flat, greasy roots and dry, splitting tips at the same time.
The second thing most routines get wrong is frequency. Washing daily strips the scalp, which responds by producing more oil, which feels like it needs washing again. Here is the routine, how often to actually do it, and what to add for your specific concern.
The four steps
- Cleanse the scalp. Massage shampoo into the scalp with your fingertips, not your nails, for 30-60 seconds. Let the suds rinse down through the lengths - that is enough for the ends.
- Condition the ends. Apply from the mid-lengths down, squeeze out excess water first so it is not diluted, and leave it for two to three minutes before rinsing.
- Treat once a week. A mask or oil, used instead of conditioner that day, not after it. Doubling up just rinses most of it away.
- Protect. Heat protectant before any hot tool, and a leave-in oil on the ends. Most visible damage is heat and friction, not shampoo.
How often should you really wash?
| Hair type | How often | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fine, straight, oily scalp | Every 1-2 days | Oil travels down a straight shaft fast and shows immediately |
| Normal, medium texture | Every 2-3 days | The default for most people |
| Thick or wavy | Every 3-4 days | Oil takes longer to reach the ends |
| Curly or coily | Once or twice a week | The cuticle does not lie flat, so it dries out fastest |
| Coloured or bleached | As rarely as you can manage | Every wash takes some dye with it |
If you are washing daily now, do not jump straight to weekly - the scalp needs a couple of weeks to adjust, and dry shampoo is what gets you through the gap.
Which product for which concern
| Concern | What to add | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Frizz | A sealing oil on damp hair | Mid-lengths and ends only |
| Split ends | A weekly repairing mask (plus a cut) | Mid-lengths and ends |
| Brassy blonde | A violet mask, weekly at most | All over, rinsed on time |
| Faded colour | An oil formulated for coloured hair | Mid-lengths and ends |
| Flaking, itching | A leave-on scalp treatment | Scalp only |
| Thinning | A scalp serum | Scalp only |
| Greasy roots fast | Dry shampoo, and wash less often | Roots |
Five mistakes worth fixing first
- Brushing hair when wet. Wet hair stretches and snaps. Detangle from the ends upward with a wide-tooth comb.
- Rinsing conditioner immediately. It needs two to three minutes of contact.
- Heat tools with no protectant. The single biggest cause of visible damage.
- A hot tight ponytail every day. Constant tension at the same spot thins the hairline over years.
- Chasing repair instead of preventing damage. Hair is not living tissue. Nothing rebuilds it; you protect what is there and cut what is gone.
Eight in-stock picks, one per concern
$18 to $78, with the concern each one actually solves.
Curly and wavy hair
Kerastase Curl Manifesto Moisturizing Shampoo for Curly Hair - Hydrating & Nourishing, 8.45 fl oz
$45.18 · Beauty Care Bag
A moisturising shampoo built for curls, which need far more moisture and far less stripping than straight hair. Curly hair is drier by structure - the cuticle does not lie flat, so water escapes - which is why a clarifying shampoo on curls so often ends in frizz.
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Damage and split ends
Kerastase Resistance Extentioniste Masque - Repairing Hair Mask for Longer and Stronger Hair, 6.76 fl oz
$68.01 · Beauty Care Bag
A repairing mask for fragile hair that keeps breaking before it gets long. Nothing reseals a split end - it has to be cut - but a mask like this reduces the breakage that creates the next one. Use it weekly in place of conditioner, not after it.
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Brassy blonde
Kerastase Blond Absolu Masque Ultra Violet - Neutralizes Yellow Tones, Enhances Blonde Hair Color - 200ml
$78.48 · Beauty Care Bag
A violet mask that neutralises yellow tones, because violet sits opposite yellow on the colour wheel. Use it once a week at most and rinse on time - left on too long and too often, violet pigment builds up and leaves pale blonde looking faintly lilac.
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Coloured hair
Kerastase Chroma Absolu L'Huile Chroma Eclat Hair Oil for Colored Hair - Luxurious Nourishment & Protection - 75ml Refill
$67.38 · Beauty Care Bag
An oil for coloured hair, which is more porous than virgin hair and so loses both moisture and dye faster. This is a refill, so it is the cheaper way to buy it if you already have the bottle.
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Frizz and dullness
Kerastase Gloss Absolu: Anti-Frizz Hair Oil for Ultimate Shine & Smoothness - Tame Frizzy Hair with Luxurious Kerastase Hair Care.
$54.55 · Beauty Care Bag
Frizz is usually dehydrated hair pulling in moisture from humid air. An oil works by sealing the cuticle so that exchange slows down. Apply it to damp mid-lengths and ends - never the scalp, and never to dry hair first, where it will sit on top and look greasy.
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Flaking and itchy scalp
Kerastase Symbiose Anti-Dandruff Hair Serum - 90ml Overnight Treatment for Dandruff Relief & Scalp Care
$68.01 · Beauty Care Bag
An overnight scalp serum rather than another shampoo, which is the right format for the job: a dandruff shampoo is rinsed off within two minutes, while a leave-on treatment stays in contact with the scalp for hours. Applied to the scalp, not the hair.
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Thinning and shedding
Pure Growth Hair Serum
$24.99 · Pretty farm girl
A scalp and hair oil serum in a dropper bottle, applied directly to the scalp. Worth setting expectations honestly: topical serums support the scalp and reduce breakage, and sudden or patchy shedding is a medical question for a doctor, not a product one.
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Between washes
DRY SHAMPOO
$18 · Bravo Sierra
The cheapest item here and the one that changes a routine most, because the single most common hair mistake is washing too often. Dry shampoo absorbs oil at the roots so you can stretch to every two or three days - but it is not a substitute for washing, and left to build up it causes the flaking it appears to fix.
Shop now →The short version
Shampoo the scalp, condition the ends, treat weekly, protect from heat, and wash less often than you probably do. Browse hair care for the full range.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I wash my hair?
It depends on your hair type and scalp, not on a universal rule. Fine straight hair with an oily scalp usually needs washing every one to two days; normal medium hair every two to three; thick or wavy hair every three to four; curly or coily hair once or twice a week; and coloured or bleached hair as rarely as you can manage, because every wash removes some dye. If you currently wash daily, reduce gradually - the scalp takes a couple of weeks to settle and will feel oilier at first.
Should conditioner go on the roots?
No. Conditioner belongs on the mid-lengths and ends, which are the oldest and most damaged part of the hair. Your roots are new growth and already coated in natural oil from the scalp, so conditioner there just weighs hair down and makes it look greasy. The reverse is also true: shampoo belongs on the scalp, and the suds rinsing down through the lengths are all the cleansing the ends need.
Can split ends be repaired?
Not genuinely. Hair is not living tissue and has no mechanism to rebuild itself, so a split end can only be cut off. What products can do is reduce further breakage and temporarily smooth the cuticle so splits are less visible - which is worth doing, because a split left alone travels further up the strand. A trim every eight to twelve weeks plus a weekly mask is the realistic approach.
Is dry shampoo bad for your hair?
Used as intended it is useful; used as a replacement for washing it causes problems. Dry shampoo absorbs oil at the roots so you can stretch the gap between washes, which is good for the scalp. But it does not clean - the oil, dead skin and product are still there - and repeated layers build up into exactly the flaking and itching it appears to fix. Use it for a day or two between washes, not for a week.
What order should hair products go in?
In the shower: shampoo on the scalp, then conditioner or a mask on the mid-lengths and ends. Out of the shower, on damp hair: leave-in conditioner or heat protectant first, then oil or serum on the ends, then styling product. Scalp treatments are the exception - they go directly on the scalp, usually on dry hair and often overnight, because they need hours of contact rather than minutes.
Why is my hair frizzy?
Frizz is usually dehydrated hair drawing moisture in from humid air, which makes the cuticle lift and the strand swell unevenly. The fix is sealing moisture in rather than fighting the weather: condition properly, use a weekly mask, apply an oil to damp mid-lengths and ends, and avoid over-washing and high heat, both of which strip the cuticle that would otherwise lie flat. Rough-drying with a towel also causes it - squeeze with a cotton t-shirt instead.
Related guides
- Best Hair Pins for Updos and Wedding Hair — once the hair is healthy, how to actually pin a style up
- Which Face Serum Do You Need? — the same approach for skin: one active per concern
- Winter Skincare for Dry Skin — what to change about all of it in winter