We’re start off with the correct answer to the question. No, you should not use your nails when shampooing your hair. The process of shampooing our hair is one of the most basic fundamentals of beauty.

In fact, we all go through or shampooing routine thinking it’s the ultimate care part of haircare. But what if you’re making some shampooing mistakes that can cause damage to your scalp and hair?

The good news is that these are easy mistakes to rectify and have you on your healthy hair journey in no time. With this in mind, here are a few tips to remember when shampooing your hair.

Don’t Use Your Nails When Shampooing, Do This Instead

  Soak The Hair First

Damp hair is not going to be good enough. Instead, you need to saturate your hair with warm water. Saturating your hair will open the cuticles as well as allow the shampoo to works it way into each strand. You can then better remove product buildup and dirt.

  Use Small Amount Of Shampoo

If you don’t have thick or long hair, just a dime-sized amount of shampoo should be fine. Some shampoo bottles instruct you to rinse and repeat. But doing so can potentially dry out your hair.

Instead, to remove excess oils, you could mix sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to the shampoo in your hand. Since it has fine grains, it will help to remove some of the oils from your scalp. Your hair follicles can then breathe allowing your hair to grow.

Also, shampoo your hair is a bit of a misnomer. In essence, it’s the scalp that needs to be cleaned. So, you should not lather shampoo into your lengths or ends but rather apply it to the scalp and root. This means to the very top of your head and into the crown at back. Then, just simply run the excess lather over the mid-lengths.

  Don’t Use Your Nails When Shampooing

Even though we’ve been taught to use our nails when shampooing our hair, that’s not correct. So if you find yourself really scrubbing at your scalp with your fingernails, stop! Friction can weaken the hair follicles and sometimes rip them right out of the scalp.

Seeing that this can also cause damage and frizz to your hair, use the soft pads of your fingers. This is a much better way to gently massage the shampoo into the scalp in circular motions. It will also increase blood flow.

  Squeeze Out Water Before Conditioning

If your hair follicles are filled with water, it won’t be able to absorb the nourishing ingredients in the conditioner. After shampooing and rinsing, use your hands to gently squeeze the water from hair. At this point your hair should be damp and not soaking wet. Then work your conditioner into the lengths and ends.

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