The Best Wash Day Routine From A Hairstylist

If you’re looking for the best hair wash day routine, fret not! Because you’ve come to the right place. In this article, I’m going to walk you through my regular hair wash day routine as a hairstylist. Now, I’m a blonde, so there are some products listed here that are specifically for blondes. But this post will still be helpful for all hair types and colors!

In the video above you can watch and follow along with my regular hair wash routine on Youtube, but I do get a little more detailed in this blog post!

Typical Wash Day Routine

Below I’ll walk you through my hair wash day routine, broken down into 5 simple steps!

***Since I’m sharing the products that I love to use with you guys, this page includes affiliate links to these products. If you take action and purchase a product through clicking one of my links, I’ll make some commission money from it at no extra cost to you. This enables me to be able to continue giving you awesome hair tips, so thanks! ***

1. Shampoo & Condition

Let’s talk shampoo and conditioner! Believe it or not, I actually use 2 different shampoos and two different conditioners. And I’m not including deep conditioning treatments either!

Since I’m a blonde, I use a purple shampoo and conditioner to maintain the tone of my hair. This helps to reduce unwanted yellow tones from blonde hair.

The second shampoo I use is a scalp care shampoo. Since I’m a rather oily person, I like to use a professional grade medicated shampoo and conditioner that will stop my scalp from getting too oily or producing dandruff.

Sometimes I swap out the scalp care shampoo for something else, especially if I want to test out a new product. But I do use the scalp care set the majority of the time.

Now when using 2 shampoos, you can either shampoo your hair twice, or mix them together. Since Olaplex purple shampoo is pretty concentrated, I like to mix them together and save myself a step.

But if my hair is pretty dirty OR I am doing an Olaplex no. 3 bonding treatment, I will use them separately. Olaplex no. 3 needs to be shampooed out, so I will use the scalp care shampoo, no. 3, and then my purple shampoo before moving on to my conditioners.

And I always mix the conditioners together to create a purple, scalp care conditioner.

Click here to determine how often you should wash your hair based on your hair type

Click here to learn the best deep conditioner for your hair type

Products To Try:

• Mizani Scalp Care Shampoo: https://amzn.to/3ZhfIup
• Tea Tree Scalp Care Conditioner: https://amzn.to/41d7EgN
• Olaplex Purple Shampoo: https://amzn.to/3ZnR1MI
• Olaplex Purple Conditioner: https://amzn.to/49kwqxk
• Olaplex no. 3 Treatment: https://amzn.to/3ZCMhEo

2. Using Towels Properly

The very next step on your hair wash day is actually very important! It’s crucial to make sure you’re using towels properly to avoid damaging your hair. Hair is extremely fragile when it’s wet, so this is where we need to use extra caution.

You should never use a large bath towel to wrap your hair into a turban. A large towel when wet is extremely heavy, which can put a ton of pressure on your hairline. This is a common reason why you may have breakage around your hairline.

You also want to avoid rubbing your hair to dry it. You should always blot your hair with a towel to absorb excess water, and never rub it aggressively.

Click here to read about the top 10 causes of hair breakage and how to stop it

Products to try:

• Small Microfiber Hair Wrap Towel: https://amzn.to/3Vno2Yu

3. Leave-In Products

Our next step involves leave-in products before brushing your hair out.

I always use a minimum of 2 leave-in products on my hair before a brush even touches it. This is as important as applying moisturizer to your face after washing it.

I will typically use a spray leave-in, as well as a cream based leave-in. But sometimes I will use an oil based leave-in as well! If you have finer hair, choose the spray and the cream. But if you have frizzy prone hair, choose the cream and the oil.

Now leave-in conditioners have a plethora of benefits. Some including are:

• Reducing frizz
• Shortening blow dry time
• Smoothing the cuticle
• Adding moisture
• Increasing shine
• Protecting against heat, UV rays, and humidity
• Detangling the hair
• Making hair more managable
• Strengthening the cortex

I also use a third leave-in product that is specifically for blondes. These are violet toning drops that I can add to specific areas of my hair that may still have some residual yellow left over.

Products to try:

• Keratin Complex Keratin Obsessed Spray: https://amzn.to/3D8BMQe
• Olaplex no 6: https://amzn.to/3OCc5u9
• Amika Violet Drops: https://amzn.to/3Vp9gQG
• Wet Brush Detangling Brush: https://amzn.to/49nClSu

4. Blow Drying Your Hair

Next onto blow-drying! Now if you don’t blow dry your hair currently, I highly suggest you still read this section instead of skipping over i, because there are a lot of benefits to blow drying your hair!

I find that my hair is healthier when I blow it dry because it smooths the cuticle, distributes product evenly, eliminates the need for ironing (which is worse for your hair), makes hair more manageable, increases volume, as well as allows you to go longer between washes!

I recommend using a boar bristle brush over a nylon brush because they’re gentler on your hair and they also will pull oils and product down to the ends of your hair that need extra moisture! They are proven to increase shine and reduce breakage whereas a nylon brush just can’t compete.

I also suggest allowing your hair to air dry a good 75-80% of the way before you begin blow drying. This will DRASTICALLY reduce the amount of time you need to spend blow drying your hair, as it only takes me about 5-10 minutes!

I also find that the hair is less frizzy when it air dries most of the way before hitting it with the dryer.

Click here to see my tutorial for learning to blow dry your own hair

Products to try:

• Dyson Hair Dryer: https://amzn.to/41iT5br
• Shark Hair Dryer: https://amzn.to/4gfaTIK
• Spornette Boar Round Brush: https://amzn.to/4fZsJja

5. Wash Day Finishing Touches

On a regular basis I do not iron my hair to keep it healthy and avoid causing excess heat damage. With using the products I mentioned above combined with my blow dryer and boar brush, I can avoid using an iron altogether.

So the very last step on my hair wash day routine is to seal the style with a dry conditioner. Now most of the time when I mention dry conditioner, no one has heard of it before. But let me tell you that it is a secret gem in the hair product world!

Dry conditioner will seal your cuticle reducing frizz, eliminating flyaways, as well as preventing static electricity!

I like to use this after I use dry shampoo as well to eliminate that gritty feel and make your hair much softer.

Click here to learn more about dry conditioner

Products to try:

• IGK Dry Conditioner: https://amzn.to/41h7uF6
• Kenra Dry Conditioner: https://amzn.to/49kyG7M

Conclusion

In this article, I walked you through my typical hair wash day as a hairstylist.

My usual hair wash day routine includes:

1. Using 2 shampoos and 2 conditioners
2. Using towels properly to avoid breakage
3. Using 2-3 leave-in conditioning products
4. Air drying the hair 75-80% of the way, then blow drying with a boar brush
5. Sealing the cuticle with dry conditioner

Leave me a comment if this was helpful for you, or if you’d like other similar types of content! And as always, make sure you subscribe to make everyday a good hair day!