How to wash your hair.
April 27, 2017 11:36 AM   Subscribe

Because you (if you're a woman) are probably doing it wrong wrong wrong.
posted by JanetLand (70 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
As a curly-haired person, I only got as far as this -- "Step 1: First detangle hair with a quality brush," -- before I started laughing uncontrollably. By the time I got to "I don't love conditioners," I understood quite clearly that this article was not meant for me or mine.
posted by ourobouros at 11:46 AM on April 27, 2017 [77 favorites]


Because you (if you're a woman) are probably doing it wrong wrong wrong.

Isn't that the default pitch for ... practically anything?
posted by McCoy Pauley at 11:47 AM on April 27, 2017 [125 favorites]


Well of course if you're a women you're doing it wrong, according to a guy. Whatever it is you're doing, it's wrong wrong wrong.
posted by happyroach at 11:49 AM on April 27, 2017 [23 favorites]


As someone with hair so straight that the idea of having to brush tangles out is mysterious, I'm not sure it's written for me, either.
posted by tavella at 11:51 AM on April 27, 2017 [7 favorites]


Yeah, no. I have sensitive skin, including a sensitive scalp, and oil is not good for it. I will stick with my non-plant-based synthetic conditioners.

I might try whip-drying my hair, though.
posted by muddgirl at 11:52 AM on April 27, 2017


As a mostly bald person who has to wait until May for his free article count to reset, it's probably not for me either.
posted by ubiquity at 11:53 AM on April 27, 2017 [32 favorites]


I've involuntarily gotten into so many freaking conversations wherein people try to explain to me why you aren't supposed to wash your hair every day and man, I've been washing my hair every day for 40 years. It looks fine.

What a weird coincidence that this man sells his own line of hair products retailing at over $40 each to help facilitate this proper hair washing process.
posted by something something at 11:53 AM on April 27, 2017 [29 favorites]


I like the part where they're shilling $50 palm oil in the second step.

But hey, it's got lavender oil in it...which you will promptly wash out when you shampoo it, sooo.... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But I'll be sure to give this a try this weekend with some of the coconut oil I've got hanging around my bathroom.
posted by offalark at 11:54 AM on April 27, 2017 [4 favorites]


Though he's right about never comb wet hair. And the drying technique is interesting, though I usually just put it up in a towel turban while I'm dressing and then let it air dry.
posted by tavella at 11:56 AM on April 27, 2017 [3 favorites]


I'm a guy with thick, wavy hair. I use Brylcreem. Yes, they still make it. If you a little, you won't look like Jerry Lewis. This stuff is like magic. Just thought I'd throw this in. You can find it near men's shaving supplies, not usually near hair gel/spray.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 11:57 AM on April 27, 2017


Christophe Robin whinnies about 'Poo.
posted by mochapickle at 11:58 AM on April 27, 2017 [20 favorites]


What about the repeat step?
posted by peeedro at 11:58 AM on April 27, 2017 [3 favorites]


The oil is a conditioner, just not a hugely effective one at bonding to the hair the way some synthetics are. But it's there to do the same sort of job, reduce tangles and prevent frizziness and split end damage from getting worse.
posted by bonehead at 12:00 PM on April 27, 2017


I'm not looking for more volume and actually weighing my hair down a bit is what I am after. I cut at least a foot off my hair a few months ago so it is just above my shoulders and it seems like it doubled in volume. I condition my whole head now, concentrating on the ends, but hitting the crown, too.
posted by soelo at 12:03 PM on April 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


it's obvious that this guy has spent years perfecting a method that camouflages his sadomasochistic desires

'a Moroccan tip' my ass
posted by Foci for Analysis at 12:06 PM on April 27, 2017 [5 favorites]


I have pin-straight hair that tangles like mad. My routine is to shampoo, use conditioner on ends, rinse and towel, and then gently comb through with a detangling comb. Then bend over and massage scalp with fingertips for 3 minutes, which not only helps dry my hair, but gives me crazy lift and volume at the root with zero blowdrying or product. My hair looks just fine. I have oily skin, so I can't really skip a day and have my hair look fresh (my face is oily too--I'm just oily, oh well!) but I might give that vinegar spritz tip a try.
posted by Autumnheart at 12:06 PM on April 27, 2017 [3 favorites]


I use Brylcreem. ... If you a little, you won't look like Jerry Lewis.

A little dab'll do ya!
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:13 PM on April 27, 2017 [4 favorites]


Though he's right about never comb wet hair.

Hahano. I use a wide-tooth comb, but can only comb my (curly) hair when it is wet. This is another thing that differs by hair type, thickness, etc.
posted by eviemath at 12:15 PM on April 27, 2017 [34 favorites]


I use Brylcreem. ... If you a little, you won't look like Jerry Lewis.

A little dab'll do ya!


But what if you don't have a pork pie hat?
posted by eviemath at 12:17 PM on April 27, 2017


I used to have a super-short pixie. Several years ago I ran out shampoo (or maybe went camping and didn't want to pack it.) Anyway, I just used plain Ivory bar soap on my hair and haven't used shampoo since. Not even now that I've grown it all out again. I wash my hair daily and I look just beautiful.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 12:20 PM on April 27, 2017 [2 favorites]


I loved The Hairpin's take(s):
1
2
posted by emumimic at 12:22 PM on April 27, 2017 [25 favorites]


Count me as another brush-free curly-haired lady snickering into my coffee. I'll just continue merrily doing the opposite of what this dude says, and not just because if my hair had any more volume I'd be drowning in noise complaints.
posted by esoterrica at 12:27 PM on April 27, 2017 [17 favorites]


I dunno, man. None of the stuff people recommend to do to one's hair ever works the way it's suggested it should on my hair. When I was in freshman biology in high school, we compared hairs under the microscope. A weave hair was the thickest, followed by a strand of a guy friend's super-thick hair, followed by—far, far thinner—one of my strands. My hair was, at the time, a third the width of the thickest hair. Accordingly, I've learned to expect that none of the tips I get from anyone will actually work to do much to volumize my hair or make it really shine for longer than about 5 minutes. I wash my hair with 2-in-1 shampoo (and repeat) most days. If I go a day in between, sometimes I'll wash it with St. Ives body wash instead for the first rinse. Then I brush it and use a little product to make it do what I want. It'll never do what I really want, but I'm over it.
posted by limeonaire at 12:28 PM on April 27, 2017 [2 favorites]


(if you're a woman)

I read the whole thing to find out how men, by contrast, got to be so good at the high-level skill of shampooing that they all know this stuff already. is it by instinct or are they taught it in secret Gentleman's Clubs, unlike women, who have to read up on hair techniques in a vulgar forum like the New York Times.

but the answer was nowhere to be found.

how DO men know about all this hair oil and detangling technical nonsense, that women are so ignorant of that they must read about it in the papers? is it just fellow's intuition and one of the masculine mysteries, that men never need to be instructed because they just know?
posted by queenofbithynia at 12:32 PM on April 27, 2017 [59 favorites]


I do feel like there's got to be a better solution for washing my hair as it's so greasy, it really needs to be washed every day and I've tried so many natural gentle shampoos to try and get it less greasy but it never changes. I'm using the Chagrin Valley shampoo bars at present because I liked that they let you sample a whole bunch of types for a reasonable cost. My hair is softer now, but just as greasy and the results are a bit inconsistent. I think I'll try Autumnheart's scalp massage method cause I would like more volume, although not badly enough to actually blow dry and style my hair. I like hearing that maybe sulfate-free doesn't work for everyone; maybe I'll try that again. Bah, it's so expensive to try all these things and there are so many variables, like maybe that shampoo would have been fine with a apple cider vinegar rinse, or with a water softening filter or a scalp massage. My husband keeps suggesting his trimmer but I'm not quite ready for that drastic a step yet.
posted by carolr at 12:38 PM on April 27, 2017 [2 favorites]


There Is a Right Way to Wash Your Hair Mind Your Own Damn Business

but it probably won't get you published in the NYT.

I also comb my hair when wet. It's fine and wavy, so if I comb it while dry it goes FLOOF and I resemble my Maine Coon.

I suppose now someone is going to tell my Coon that There Is a Right Way To Wash His Fur. His current method is to get in the shower with me. He licks it while wet, then runs around the apartment like a wet mop on paws. Is this The Right Way to Mop Floors? Eager NYT readers want to know.
posted by fraula at 12:56 PM on April 27, 2017 [25 favorites]


"First detangle hair with a quality brush," yeah, no. I haven't had enough hair to tangle since I was about 10. I threw out all my brushes and even combs many years ago. The Hairpin suggestion linked above might work for me, though I probably wouldn't land on my feet.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 12:58 PM on April 27, 2017


I do have a couple of giant bottles of almond oil laying around (briefly dated a massage therapist, and he felt inspired to gift me with two quart bottles of the stuff). It works well as a very light moisturizer (particularly for face), but I'm about to run out of conditioner, and I suppose I could give that "leave in overnight" tip a try, just to see how my hair feels about that.
posted by Autumnheart at 1:01 PM on April 27, 2017


(my face is oily too--I'm just oily, oh well!)

I wake up oily every morning! [snerk]

But all seriousness aside, this article reads a lot like the bogus shaving advice you find all over the tubes. It seems to boil down to (a) "I've never had to groom your particular body, but I can do it better than you" and (b) "You're not spending nearly enough on maintaining your miserable carcass."
posted by Flexagon at 1:03 PM on April 27, 2017 [3 favorites]


Given that zero posters so far seem to find this interesting, applicable to themselves, or anything useful at all, I'm interested in what the original poster found valuable enough about it to be worth sharing.
posted by Wolfdog at 1:06 PM on April 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


Y'know I still haven't quite figured out when to stop rinsing out the conditioner. I feel like I always think it's still in there, scrub it out a whole bunch, and then wind up with hair just as frizzy as if I hadn't used any. Even with leave-in conditioners! WTF someone help
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:09 PM on April 27, 2017 [2 favorites]


I'm interested in what the original poster found valuable enough about it to be worth sharing.

Valuable: nothing really. I found it interesting as another example of how people are constantly being told the "best" way to do the most mundane things, and then trying to sell you products on top of it.
posted by JanetLand at 1:10 PM on April 27, 2017 [11 favorites]


I find it interesting! I am interested in making fun of things like this, in general. but I love hair nonsense and Christophe(r) Robin and tales of how he washes his hair in the Hundred Acre Wood and I only wish they had included some quotes so I knew what Eeyore thinks of it all. "what is the point of washing your hairs," I bet he says, "you only have to do it again the next day, and the day after that. might as well lie down in an open field and wait for it to rain on you, it saves time."

and I was under the impression that argan and almond oil, as Robin recommends, only coated the hair whereas coconut oil, despite being revolting, actually penetrates the shaft, alone among unguents. but that sounds so dirty I hardly like to mention it.
posted by queenofbithynia at 1:14 PM on April 27, 2017 [10 favorites]


Hmmm. I'm a guy. A few months shy of 80. Hair is still long but now snow white. Strange women have come up to me and asked if they could touch my hair. ( my wife will attest)

Since 1955 I have used nothing but Dial soap to wash my hair daily and occasionally twice a day. And for 60 years my wife has been telling me this regimen is going to cause me to go bald.
posted by notreally at 1:20 PM on April 27, 2017 [34 favorites]


I'm sure some of the advice presented is useful to someone. But as a black woman with 3B hair, it's not in my wheelhouse.
posted by magstheaxe at 1:23 PM on April 27, 2017 [5 favorites]


Step 2: Before shampooing, apply a vegetable-derived oil to the ends of hair and brush to disperse.

Let me just stop you right there...
posted by Justinian at 1:39 PM on April 27, 2017 [3 favorites]


Fuck this guy and his tutorial. That's not "how to wash your hair." They're showing someone else washing your hair.

Seriously! One of my biggest hair challenges is how to take instructional steps and do them to myself. Show us a tutorial where you're using shampoos and oils and things on yourself under a shower. Show me how to dry my own damn hair, especially without having salon mirrors to confirm how the back looks.
posted by cadge at 1:39 PM on April 27, 2017 [12 favorites]


I guess it depends on what you need your conditioner to do. For my fine straight hair, a light conditioner that only provides a little weight would be fine for daily use. I use the Living Proof Restore line (sulfate-free, also $$$ but excellent) and if I needed more oomph in my conditioning, their deep conditioning mask will serve that purpose.

But now this gets into the hocus-pocus of figuring out which special snowflake product is exactly right for an individual, and you can only really figure that out by trying it, and few people want to stack up a bunch of bottles of vinegar and coconut oil, clog their drain and stain their sheets for a regimen that might not work out.

I'd say that if whatever you're using is working nicely and your hair is healthy, then it ain't broke and you don't need to fix it.
posted by Autumnheart at 1:42 PM on April 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


Yeah, well, I stopped washing mine 3 years ago and haven't looked back. I scrub the roots with conditioner twice a week. My hair looks as good as it did when I washed and conditioned it every day. (Which is to say, it looks meh, but no one runs screaming from me, or even has any idea I'm doing anything different when I tell them.)

More beauty advice for me to ignore.
posted by greermahoney at 2:05 PM on April 27, 2017 [7 favorites]


See, that's what I want to do, greermahoney! I have chin-length, superfine hair. It looks like a lot, but when I grab it into a ponytail, there are toddlers with more hair than me. It's really pretty when freshly washed, but second-day hair is a disaster.
posted by mochapickle at 2:09 PM on April 27, 2017 [6 favorites]


So, I do the Morrocan tip and my hair is then bone dry and ready to comb? I think... not. So I just walk around with wet tangles until it air dries? Finger comb as I blow dry? I feel as though there is a step missing.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 2:39 PM on April 27, 2017 [2 favorites]


My hair is very fine and gets limp quickly if not washed every day. Washing every day doesn't seem to have hurt it. I get hair stylists commenting on how healthy it is.
posted by andraste at 2:46 PM on April 27, 2017 [2 favorites]


My hair is very fine and frizzy, but my scalp is incredibly oily. It gets gross if I don't wash it every day.

I tried the no-shampoo routine once while on a camping trip. I thought initially it worked really well, but it turns out that lake water is an amazing dry shampoo.

And, of course, I was camping, so no one expected me to smell good.
posted by steady-state strawberry at 2:51 PM on April 27, 2017




So, I do the Morrocan tip and my hair is then bone dry and ready to comb? I think... not. So I just walk around with wet tangles until it air dries? Finger comb as I blow dry? I feel as though there is a step missing.


you beat it back and forth with the towel, as in the video, until it doesn't know if it's coming or going and then beat it a little more to break its spirit. then it doesn't matter whether you let the sun and air do their work or cruelly blast it with a hair-drying device, it has no more will of its own and must submit whether it will or no. this is why Robin uses no styling products; there is no need to tame hair that has had all the defiance taken out of it. why gel it down when you can simply direct it with a firm word and it hastens to its place.

some people think you should rule your hair with love instead of fear but you can spot those people by the insolent way their hair hangs about their face. oderint dum metuant, as caligula said about his hairs.
posted by queenofbithynia at 2:58 PM on April 27, 2017 [37 favorites]


Well I found the article useful.

It reminded me that it is way past time for me to chop all my hair off again. (I generally cut it to a short bob for a year or two, but eventually get lazy and then before I know it it's been three years and my hair is halfway down my back and dammit it's *time*.) It's not quite the Hairpin's take, because instead I just end up dumping tons of shampoo and conditioner down the drain because hair 1/4 the length takes a lot less cleanser.
posted by nat at 4:00 PM on April 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


Is this better or worse than the writer's Mom Hair piece?
posted by Ideefixe at 4:19 PM on April 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


I don't know -- I thought it was okay. They mentioned his products but mentioned also you could just as soon use others. I felt like the subtext was you could probably get away with using olive oil if you lost your mind and wanted to sleep with oil on your head. Maybe get disposable pillowcases, I guess.

Twice a week washing seems fine. That's what we have our daughter do, who is eight and has long, thick hair. I think I do every other day but in other circumstances (long story) I am going to the gym and running five days a week.

One thing I've found is that cheap ass conditioner diluted with water, distributed first at the ends and worked upwards, makes my hair pretty soft and manageable and lightly curly in a nice way. A small amount. Like four Tic Tacs, and my hair is pretty long. Then I just wipe my hands off on a random towel and tell myself that's not making for oogy towels.

I don't know, whatever. Maybe my hair sucks. Just touched it though and it seems soft like bunny but I mean, it's attached to your head. It's not like a hat you can return if you don't like it so I guess I'm biased.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 4:28 PM on April 27, 2017


you beat it back and forth with the towel, as in the video, until it doesn't know if it's coming or going and then beat it a little more to break its spirit.

Oooh the spirit breaking thing also works for cowlicks.

Thus concludes the entirety of what I know about human hair.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 4:30 PM on April 27, 2017


"You're not spending nearly enough on maintaining your miserable carcass." — this was my exact reaction to this, Flexagon!

Did not expect to read this article and be so furious that I can't even settle back into work. How dare this fucking guy declare himself the expert of all hair and give out advice that probably works just fine for some people but ignores great swathes of non-white, non-straight haired people and even a white straight-haired woman like me. My asymmetrical hair style — shaved side, pixie cut — that looks beautiful after using only conditioner for the past 5 years, thanks for asking.

Curse this man for reminding me that yet again, men have opinions on women's bodies and it always involves us not trying hard enough to please them. May someone, someday reach up and shove that blow dryer down his throat when he tries his One Weird Moroccan Tip for Hair Drying on them.
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 4:44 PM on April 27, 2017 [10 favorites]


Is this better or worse than the writer's Mom Hair piece?
The Mom Hair piece was super awesome for reminding me that there are benefits to not living in New York. Because seriously, nobody here gives a shit about your mom hair, which is nice.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 5:04 PM on April 27, 2017


I spent years and years trying to figure out what to do with my super-fine, a little bit thin, very dry, wavy/curly/flat/frizzy hair and apple cider vinegar was one of my bigger failures. I looked worse than Kramer after his encounter with the low flow shower head!

Olaplex (because I color my hari every six weeks) and leave-in conditioner have really, really improved my curls and keep everything really soft and nice. So nuts to not using product!
posted by Squeak Attack at 5:05 PM on April 27, 2017


"Mom hair"?
Look, asshole, I went into the hospital to induce labor on Friday night, and the baby wasn't born until Sunday morning, and he has decided daylight is the only time for sleeping, so, yeah, today is the first day I've brushed my hair in a week, and you can take your "Mom hair" and shove it.
"Mom hair." Dickwad.
posted by Adridne at 5:33 PM on April 27, 2017 [12 favorites]


I was entertained by all the times I'm supposed to flip my head upside down. I can't even handle once before I get woozy and need to have a little sit--my water bill would triple!
posted by epj at 7:04 PM on April 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


There is NFW that an almost homeopathically weak solution of five drops of vinegar in five ounces of water is going to do anything to "remove" (really, remove??) the oil on a scalp that's a day late for its twice-a-week washing. You're just going to have greasy hair that smells faintly like an Easter egg.
posted by HotToddy at 7:20 PM on April 27, 2017 [7 favorites]


It's so dependent on the water anyway. At home I have a good routine with specific formula shampoo, conditioner and then leave-in spray conditioner and a volumizing lotion. But I was recently visiting my parents and just used their Pantene 2-in-1 and a hairdryer: my hair was amazing: soft, shiny, bouncy. Like a commercial. If it tried that at home I'd have a tangled frizzy mess. It's the water!
posted by marylynn at 8:08 PM on April 27, 2017 [2 favorites]


I think that's just how Pantene works! The first few weeks make your hair look like a glitzy, wind-machined, HD miracle and then the parabens and silicones start to coat your hair and you end up looking like you are wearing the pelt of an angry wet marmot.
posted by mochapickle at 8:51 PM on April 27, 2017 [12 favorites]


Or maybe that's just me.
posted by mochapickle at 9:01 PM on April 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


My youngest has peculiar hair that is medium curly in a family of thick straight Asian hair and a white mom who is clueless with flat thin hair. I now own a hair blower thing, traditional hair dryer, a variety of brushes and combs, mousse, gels, and recently thanks to a kind mom, a bottle of argan oil. At a party, I asked about her daughter who had amazing curls and she walked me through her hair routine, and so far the argan oil is working well.

But my five year old is desperate for a hair straightener, and I'm terrified of using one against her tiny tender scalp, but then again, the daily weeping when the curl in the middle of her forehead won't lie flat exactly the way she needs it to for her 'look'.... I miss her phase of 1930s hairstyles with tiny curls. Right now it's 80's punk and she wants side ponytails and bangs and color streaks and skull clips.

Hair and hair care is - I don't remember ever getting my hair cut as a child or anything about having it washed, just hating having it brushed because of the tangles. My hair was always just left as a plain bob, no bother. Now as a mom, watching and helping my kids experiment with their hair and shampoos (the one who changes the most is a boy) is a strange tender delight.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 9:10 PM on April 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


He is Parisian, and nobody here believes in conditioner! The supermarkets sell four kinds of shampoo and one kind of conditioner. At the hairdressers they try and talk me out of needing it, or charge me extra...
posted by ellieBOA at 12:30 AM on April 28, 2017 [1 favorite]


And it's not just washing your hair.
posted by stinker at 12:49 AM on April 28, 2017 [3 favorites]


I think he had good points about a) being careful not to damage hair when it is wet, as wet hair is extremely weak, and b) needing to do more than a quick rinse to make sure all the residue has been washed out. Both points I learned relatively recently in my 3-decade female life.

As for not needing to shampoo daily, I think it's ridiculous. Every time I try it I end up feeling like a greasy, itchy, slob, and I've never seen any evidence of the situation getting better after some initial adaptation period. Maybe it works for some people, but to me it seems like one of those memes that catches on due to its novelty.
posted by mantecol at 2:46 AM on April 28, 2017 [1 favorite]


“That’s my most asked question at the salon now: ‘How do I wash my hair?’” said Mr. Robin, the star colorist who tends the locks of Catherine Deneuve and Tilda Swinton.

Possibly you're being trolled, Mr. Robin?

Alternately, you're completely misunderstanding the question, thinking that your clients are confused about the basic concept of hair-washing as if they are seven years old, when what they are really asking is "how do I wash my hair...so that this complex several-hundred-dollar color job doesn't fade out into a dull craptastic mess in two weeks?"
posted by desuetude at 7:39 AM on April 28, 2017 [4 favorites]


I tried almond oil overnight as a conditioning treatment (per the article) and I can't say it was great. My hair is lightly weighted down and manageable, which is one of the things I look for in a conditioner, but it still feels dry and staticky even after using a little product. At least it washed out easily enough, but I need a more moisturizing conditioner than almond oil can deliver.

As I was lathering up in the shower this morning, I harkened back to the line about bending over while shampooing to increase volume and circulation, and realized what an absolutely fucking stupid "tip" that was. (I didn't do it.) Who bends over in the shower while shampooing? You may as well just apply the shampoo directly into your eyeballs, and then aim the shower head straight up your nose to rinse.
posted by Autumnheart at 8:12 AM on April 28, 2017 [4 favorites]


You may as well just apply the shampoo directly into your eyeballs, and then aim the shower head straight up your nose to rinse.

Maybe that's the point. After all, if you're not suffering for beauty, then the beauty standards you're trying to follow aren't a good way to control you!
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 9:43 AM on April 28, 2017 [2 favorites]


You may as well just apply the shampoo directly into your eyeballs, and then aim the shower head straight up your nose to rinse.

Clearly you are washing your nostril hair wrong, Autumnheart. Here is my 8-point animated gif manual on how to do it right.
posted by offalark at 12:15 PM on April 28, 2017 [2 favorites]


"how DO men know about all this hair oil and detangling technical nonsense, that women are so ignorant of that they must read about it in the papers? is it just fellow's intuition and one of the masculine mysteries, that men never need to be instructed because they just know?"

I used to have long hair in high school, and right after I cut it all off, I learned that part of the nasty split ends was combing it when it was wet.

I got curls from my mom, and super fine hair from my dad (to the extent that more than one barber has called over a colleague to look at it). I hated it for a long time, since washing and conditioning like the bottle says just makes it all poofy, and conditioner gives me hella dandruff. I had no real hair role models in my family — my dad's side is all bald, my grandpa was of the shellacked pomade generation, and my mom's brother was a farmer who believed treating haircuts as an aesthetic decision was a sign of effete city morals. Sometime in my late 20s, musta read an article or something that mentioned argan oil, which my mom has to use because otherwise she gets a frizzy afro. I borrowed some of hers, a couple drops, and she gave me a bottle. It's hair magic for me. A couple years back, I had to replace it, and couldn't seem to find it. A black coworker told me it was only sold in hippy stores or "ethnic" hair care aisles in mainstream drug stores.

Like many cosmetic interests of men, it's something which a lot of guys are desperately insecure about, but the only socially acceptable options are silent stoicism and purchasing unsatisfying products until getting to one that is good enough. Women are expected to exert themselves beyond capitalism while being shamed for not being effortless; men are supposed to accept the brute comfort of spending money on products based on marketing copy alone.
posted by klangklangston at 2:28 PM on April 28, 2017


Interesting but reads more like a random list of hair tips than a process for an actual human. The overlap between women who can detangle their hair with only a hair brush and women who can get away with only washing their hair twice a week must be tiny.
posted by eeek at 6:31 PM on April 28, 2017


Twice a week washing seems fine.

As for not needing to shampoo daily, I think it's ridiculous.


The only thing I am 100% certain about regarding hair care is that different people have different needs and preferences.

Skin types vary. Hair types vary. Hair styles / preferences vary. At one end you have someone with an oily scalp and thin, fine hair that they want to volumize. At the other end, you have someone with a dry scalp and thick, coarse hair that they want to weigh down. Most people have some combination of traits (I have a dry scalp and very thin, very fine curly hair that I want to volumize).

Is it really so hard to believe that while washing every day / twice a week / once a week / never washing / only using conditioner / never using conditioner / etc might work best for your hair, doing something totally different truly works best for someone else?
posted by insectosaurus at 6:22 AM on April 29, 2017 [2 favorites]


While he's probably talking about my type of hair (mostly straight, medium-thick), he's obviously not talking to me - his drying technique isn't going to work on waist-length hair. (I can almost sit on my hair.) He's also got nothing to say to someone who bleaches & dyes her hair (aqua) and then lets it grow out until the roots are natural color, about 5" long, before going through the hassle of re-bleaching those and re-dying everything.

I will just have to suffer with my wrongly-washed two-tone hair.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:21 AM on April 29, 2017


Long, fine hair owner here (dunno about my scalp). How much time does this guy think I have for hair maintenance? Don't comb when it's wet? My hair tangles if I look at it funny; if I waited till it dried, I'd have dreadlocks.

I found a hair cutter who understands that my hair is going to be jammed under a bike helmet twice a day, and that in general I have no patience for blow drying, product or styling beyond combing it and putting it into a ponytail, and she cuts accordingly. Either I shower before work, when I will be putting on said helmet for my commute, or I shower before bed, when my damp hair will be on a pillow. I have cut back to washing my hair about once a week, and it doesn't seem the worse for the experience. I put Kiehl's leave-in conditioner on the ends about twice a week or whenever it's been out in the sun (like today after a long ride).

I actually wish my hair would go partly or fully grey, as it is my shot at having thicker hair (in my mind easier to deal with). The ten grey hairs that I have at the top of my forehead rudely stick out from the rest of their medium-to-light brown sisters.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 1:40 PM on April 29, 2017 [2 favorites]


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