How to wash your hair

by Alex Webber aka Glitter Eyes

Yes, you deliciously dirty urchin. We mean you! Unless you're not washing your hair as a statement, or because you're backpacking, you have no excuse - and you'd be surprised how many people don't properly care for their hair on the utmost basic level. So here are a few of the basicest hair care tips of all to get you on the right track...

Buying stuff to make your hair clean and well-behaved

When buying shampoo, conditioner or styling products, make sure you get a good quality brand. I personally think Tresemme works well for my hair, but be warned - very cheap hair products which claim they are used in salons generally aren't. What they usually do is coat the hair follicles, which makes your hair look in better condition but is actually stopping your natural hair oils from doing their thing. Unless you're working with natural hair products, you tend to get what you pay for, and a bottle of shampoo for £8 is guaranteed to be better than a bottle for £1.29. Next time you're in a hairdresser's, ask the hair stylist what sort of hair you have. Even if you can't afford their expensive shampoos, you'll know exactly what to look out for in the supermarket. If you style your hair, heat protection and conditioning serum are a must-have. Also, make sure you do your research before buying styling products as some brands take forever to get out.

Washing your tresses

Shampoo - Follow the instruction religiously as too much shampoo can cause dandruff and can be tougher to rinse out. Don't just pull your hair and apply the shampoo to only one side of your hair. Gently rough up your hair to work that shampoo into both sides. The key word is gentle - treat your hair as the hairdresser would if you were paying them to do it and they didn't want to make any costly mistakes. Hair doesn't like being pulled about. If you can bear it, try not to wash your hair in very hot water - the hair follicles prefer water that's lukewarm.

Conditioner - Once you've rinsed the shampoo out, add the conditioner and leave it on for a few minutes before following with a rinse.

Drying - Before drying, run your hair under some cool water. This will make your hair shinier as it closes the follicles. Use heat protector before using a hairdryer (if you use one. If not, you don't need hair protector, just a nice fluffy towel).

Straightening or Curling - Use heat protector again. Use a clip to pull your hair into thinner chunks. This will make it easier to curl or straighten and gives a better result. It's better to take small segments of hair and pass a straightener slowly over them once or twice that it is to grab a huge clump, mistakenly thinking you're saving time, and straighten that huge clump four or five times - that's very distressing for hair, you know.

Day care for pretty hair

Like your eyes, try not to expose your vibrant locks to too much sunlight or they'll get dry and damaged.

Even if you like a bit of rough, your hair loathes it. Don't pull your hair about too much or brush it excessively with over-fine combs, especially if it's either thick, or fine but very plentiful.

If you're working or studying anywhere near fire, chemicals, nasty sticky messy things or sweat (eg. a kitchen, chemistry class, pottery class or PE), keep your hair pulled back into a bun, ponytail or plait. But don't pull too tight - avoid giving yourself a Croydon facelift.

If you go swimming, a swimming cap can keep chlorine from damaging your hair as much. It can also be a rather beautiful vintage style accessory, and make you feel like a beautiful chlorinated daisy.

Dye your hair with care

Professional - If you are going to get your hair dyed try to get it done professionally as salons are more caring with the dye. Ideally, go to a good, respected salon.

Dyeing your own hair? Don't forget to check the Mookychick tips for how to dye your hair.

Wait - When you do get your hair dyed, try to wait three days to let the dye soak in and your natural hair oils re-assert themselves before washing your hair. If you do feel the need to cleanse your hair, consider just going with a warm rinseusing conditioner instead of shampoo.

Brush your hair to show it you love it

Dry - Before brushing, let your hair dry as when hair is wet it stretches and brushing it when wet could cause damage.

Thick to Thin - Start with a rough brush and work your way up to a finer brush every time you brush.

Mookychick how-to guides for alternative hair:

• Emo hair tips
• Emo hairstyles - photos
• The history of alternative hair
• Make your own hair falls
• Punk / alternative wigs
• How to dye black hair blonde
• Removing henna from hair
• DIY Beauty for natural hair
• Make bad hair days a thing of the past

More alternative health and gothic beauty tips

• More: Health and beauty tips | Alternative style

Mission statement

Mookychick believes that climbing trees and riding giant turtles is more fun and girly than worrying about make-up. But if you want to worry about make-up instead of turtles? Fine by us. Be you feminist, kitten, punk, emo, indie, goth, witch, vegan, horror junky, intellectual, christian goth, corset queen, geek, unicorn, sea monkey... be you into alternative style, alternative health, spirituality, comics, manga, j-pop, harajuku or jock culture... we will always love you.