Technical Post: Washing Hair

Hair Washing

Before washing anyones hair, ALWAYS do a consultation with your consultation notes. This is to first of all cover yourself as a hair stylist, but also to determine any contraindications and any diseases to check that it is alright to work on the hair. This will also tell you what products you need to use, based on the hair type, whether it is natural or dyed, and whether the client has any allergies or is on any particular kind of medication. Whilst you are doing the consultation check the hair for any contraindications such as psoriasis or head lice. When you are satisfied that you can proceed with the hair:

-Make sure your client is gowned, and wrap a clean towel around their shoulders, to catch any water that may drip down.

-Sit them down at the basin and lean their head back and check that they are comfortable.

-Turn on the water and check the temperature yourself, before checking with your client that the temperature is alright for them.

-Begin to wet hair, starting at the roots. Place your hand on the forehead/hairline to prevent any water dripping onto the face.

-Once all the hair is sufficiently wet, apply a small amount of shampoo and start working it through the hair, starting at the roots. Massage it into the scalp and work your way down to the ends of the hair, working it into a rich lather. Make sure you shampoo the base of the scalp/hair as well!

-When you have sufficiently lathered up the hair, begin to rinse, starting at the roots again.

-Repeat the shampoo process to make sure the hair is completely clean- when the hair squeaks, you know its clean!

-When you have rinsed out the shampoo, gently squeeze the hair  from mid-length, to get out the excess water.

-Next, squeeze a 50p amount of conditioner into the palm of your hand, and start to work it through the hair, starting mid-length and working it down to the roots. Massage it towards the scalp.

-Using a wide tooth comb, begin to comb through the hair, starting at the ends and working upwards.

-Rinse out the conditioner thoroughly, as any buildup will cause the hair to droop and you will not be able to style it properly. By running a comb through, you can see whether there is any conditioner left in the hair.

-Gently squeeze out any excess water, get your client to sit up slightly, and wrap a towel around the hair and walk them over to the hair station.

-Once you are back at the station, comb through the hair again, and blast dry the hair with the hairdryer on medium heat until you only have about 10% of the water left in the hair.

-It is at this stage that you can apply any products, such as serums etc, before proceeding to blow drying the hair.

As I have never washed hair professionally before, I found it really interesting learning about the proper procedures and all the health and safety involved. I did struggle at first as Terri-Anne’s hair is very thick, but once I got used to her hair, I found it a lot easier to manage it.

Health and Safety

*Always make sure your model is gowned, and that all mirror lights are switched on.

*Work stations - keep your work station tidy at all times. Put away anything you do not need to avoid knocking things over or spilling things.

*Always make sure wires are out of the way so no-one trips on them.

*Always keep your hands sanitised.

*Make sure to check your hands on a regular basis as Dermatitis can affect us more because we constantly have products on our hands. Use a barrier protective moisturiser to help avoid getting dermatitis, you can also help stop this by making sure that you wash and dry your hands correctly.