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Reverse hair washing. Tried it?

(51 Posts)
shysal Wed 27-Jul-16 15:54:00

This seems to be the new trend. Conditioning before shampooing is said to increase volume and make hair softer. I have stock-piled my usual products so won't be using the ones sold specifically for this routine, but might give it a go. Since having Polymyalgia Rheumatica my thick, wavy, previously greasy hair has become very dry and frizzy. Rather than employing phoenix's head-in-a-bag technique I think it is worth a try.
Has anyone tried it and does it make a difference? I usually apply a leave-in conditioner afterwards, do you think I should still do this or would it defeat the object?

shysal Wed 27-Jul-16 15:55:38

www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/beauty-hair/news/a26161/reverse-hair-washing/

gillybob Wed 27-Jul-16 15:56:56

Seems a bit crazy to me shysal. You wouldn't put your clothes through a fabric conditioning cycle before you had washed them would you?

Having said that my hair is pathetic so maybe I have got it all wrong.

DanniRae Wed 27-Jul-16 16:16:03

My daughter gave me a free sample of this product but haven't got round to using it yet.

DaphneBroon Wed 27-Jul-16 17:27:09

Not new, I fear and sounds a bit silly! I do remember it from my teens and oddly enough it came back to me yesterday morning when I washed and conditioned my hair as per usual in the shower, reached for my shower gel to do the rest of me and promptly squeezed a generous dollop over my hair. Duh!
One way to sell more conditioner as it gets washed down the plughole!

TheMaggiejane1 Wed 27-Jul-16 18:00:02

My hair is fine and goes flat very easily so conditioners weigh it down too much. However, if I don't use a conditioner I can't get the comb through it when it's wet. For years now I've shampooed and rinsed in once, then put the conditioner on for a while. After that I rinse my hair and put a tiny bit of shampoo on and rinse that off. It works well for my hair but then everyone's hair is different.

phoenix Wed 27-Jul-16 18:05:39

The last thing I need is more volume! My hairdresser has to razor mine to get rid of some of the bulk.

It is also very fast growing, seems to need cutting every month, although I try to drag it out to 6 weeks.

BlueBelle Wed 27-Jul-16 18:13:49

I use shampoo and conditioner in one so wouldn't work for me

ninathenana Wed 27-Jul-16 18:59:20

the last thing I need is more volume
Oh, if only sad

HildaW Wed 27-Jul-16 19:00:28

I've done it several times....in shower....poor eye sight and similar bottles!!!

SueDonim Wed 27-Jul-16 21:03:47

I've tried it. It left my hair lank and dull and needing washing the next day. Back to normal routine after that for me!

Anya Wed 27-Jul-16 21:24:39

Me too Sue I tried it a few times but no good.

I did use up the shampoo, but the 'right way round'

Cherrytree59 Wed 27-Jul-16 23:26:02

Hi yes I quite often put condition first as I have very fine hair
The conditioner does the job of conditioning hair, but it also smoothes down the hair cuticles which is good for frizzy types of hair, but not good for my fine hair.
So when I shampoo after conditioning the cuticles are 'roughed' up which helps with volume.
I am at present using aTresemme (sp?) Which is conditioner on first and then shampoo.
It works ok, gives a bit of volume.
But I don't think any better then using other brands in reverse.
I think depends on hair type

Cherrytree59 Wed 27-Jul-16 23:28:57

Oops. 4hould be ' I quite often put conditioner on first'

Jalima Wed 27-Jul-16 23:35:34

Yes, mine has to be 'thinned out' too otherwise it looks as if I have been pulled through the proverbial hedge backwards.

I tried using argan oil on my hair before shampooing, after shampooing (just a touch) and both ways ended up with thick, greasy hair.
Perhaps I'll try the 'conditioner first' for a change.

Aussie Miracle seem to be the only shampoo and conditioner that work well on my hair, and I have tried all kinds of more expensive ones (containing jojoba, nuts, silk protein, argan oil etc etc).

Jalima Wed 27-Jul-16 23:37:04

poor eye sight and similar bottles
Why don't they write SHAMPOO and CONDITIONER in huge letters on the bottles?

Maggieanne Thu 28-Jul-16 10:34:43

The one place you can't wear glasses, in the bathroom, so frustrating when you buy a new product, I even use a magnifying glass because the wording is tiny. I've tried the new Tresemme products and like them, my hair is very fine but they won't suit everyone.

Conserve Thu 28-Jul-16 10:40:34

I use a china graph pencil and write on a large 'c' or 's' on the bottles in the shower.

sue01 Thu 28-Jul-16 10:42:44

I have lots of very fine hair. It's fairly short and spiky - think 70s Rod Stewart - so I don't use conditioner.

I do however colour my hair and get a squeezy tube of conditioner with my Nice 'n Easy.

Was throwing it away until I read that its fab for putting on your legs before you shave them... and guess what ... it is !!

SandyD Thu 28-Jul-16 10:44:27

I have fine thin hair and have spent £s on different products to try and thicken it. I take Viviscal supplements that do help but my hair still needs something to boost the thickness. I have been using a product from Victoria Health that is a cleansing conditioner called Hair is Fabric (HIF), this comes in a tube and is a thick cream. As I have short hair I only need less than an inch to get a good lather. It is left on the hair for 3-4 minutes before rinsing and I find it does help a lot. I do still use a volumising mousse or blow dry lotion before drying.

Why is ageing such a nuisance, what with thinning hair and everything going south!!!!

mcculloch29 Thu 28-Jul-16 10:49:57

I've not tried it, although I could have done, I have put conditioner on first before now.
Many brands have the bottle caps for conditioner at the bottom of the bottle and those for shampoo at the top. Not all do though, my favourite Aldi coconut shampoo & conditioner is one that I have confused in the past.

SandyD Thu 28-Jul-16 10:57:18

Regarding my earlier comments, I omitted to say that the Hair is Fabric product is called Volume Support.

cc Thu 28-Jul-16 11:22:54

I've got fairly fine, straight hair which is thinning as I get older. I colour it regularly in a vain attempt to fend off the years, so it really needs some conditioning. I find that the colour shampoos and conditioners don't work for me at all - the non-sulphate shampoos don't really cleanse and the conditioners leave my hair "claggy". I did try this "reverse hair washing" once when my hair was very dry after colouring, but found that despite lathering it thoroughly my hair was lank afterwards.

Overall I've found that the best solution is to use a small quantity of a normal shampoo (twice) and to use very little conditioner. I rinse well then rinse again with my head hanging down to make sure that it is very thoroughly rinsed out. If I can't get the comb through my hair afterwards I use the Aussie non-rinse conditioning spray.

Personally (sadly!) I don't have a a problem with hair that is too thick so I use Elvive collagen shampoo and conditioner which make it feel thicker.

PS2000 Thu 28-Jul-16 11:28:30

Hi everyone, I've tried this tresemme product and think it's great!! I have bottle blond fine hair but have lots of it, normal heavy conditioners don't work as they weigh the hair down but this product is really good for fine hair it gives it body and l can easily get the comb through putting the shampoo on last?

icanhandthemback Thu 28-Jul-16 11:42:11

Funnily enough, I did this by accident yesterday and my hair does seem better today. I long for the thick hair I had as a youngster and I'd also like to walk around without long strands of multicolour hair coating my clothes.
Sue01, we definitely need more info on conditioner for legs. Do you use it like a shaving foam or condition, rinse and then foam? I'm getting quite excited at the thought of using up the many tubes of conditioner which hang about waiting in vain to be used up!
I won't use Tresemme on principle as the UK version seems to trigger my eczema but the US one doesn't. As most shampoos cause me problems I was really pleased to think I might be able to find out which ingredient was missing in the US one so I could avoid it. Tresemme agreed it was a different recipe but point blank refused to identify the difference. I think that is just plain mean so I won't use it any more.