Hair Washing - Which do you prefer & Why?

[25Nona]

Ok ladies,

As I have been reading through the threads and I've been noticing that many of you state that you wash your hair in the shower. This isn't anything that I haven't seen before, but I've never attempted to do it. Since I was a little girl I always washed my hair in the sink. Is there any particular reason why you choose one technique over the other.

So my question is....Do you wash your hair in the kitchen/bathroom sink or in the shower, and please explain why you do it. I'm fairly new but I'm taking my haircare game very serious and want to make sure that I'm doing everything within my control to do what's best for my hair.

 

[skyborn09]

I wash my hair in the shower in sections because it cuts down on tangles and its easier. You don't have to flip your head over and all that stuff like in the sink plus all the products you need are right there in the shower...just reach over and grab em' .

 

[StarrsNana]

Hi, I wash my hair in the shower now, but used to do it in the sink all the time. However, I learned that washing your hair in the shower allows for less disturbance of the hair. You want to have in hanging in its natural state while washing/conditioning so it won't tangle so much. Similar to the shampoo bowls at salons. My 2 cents

 

[EbonyHairedPrincess]

I wash in the shower. I usually put my hair in one plait and secure the end with a barrett to avoid tangles. The force of the shower gets all of the shampoo out.

If I don't plait my hair up first, I make sure that my hair lays flat on my back as much as possible to avoid tangles.

 

[BrownSkin2]

ITA with the other ladies. The water pressure also helps to detangle your hair while combing.

 

[fluffylocks]

Shower---

The only thing i like about the sink/leaning over the tub is that you can do it quickly instead of taking all your clothes off ect, i do this sometimes---but i hate leaning over, having to move my hair from hanging in front of my face to the back and getting tangles.....and i always miss a spot on my nape, or edges, and i really hate getting my shirt/bra wet or having to take my shirt off and getting my body wet/being all cold untill i get my hair off of my body.


With the shower i brought a shower mirror, and all i have to do is turn around and let the water rinse through, then i can go look in my shower mirror and see if i have any shampoo on my edges or anything. (Plus i have shower filter so i have water without anything in it that dries my hair out,---the one on my sink is too big so i have to take it off when washing in the sink)---The water helps detangle my hair without me even touching it, feels good on my scalp, and all i usually do after that is pull the bottom of my hair in a ponytail and let it dry.----And i like being able to wrap something around my hair, then drying my body instead of my hair wetting me all up.

 

[joemerald]

Well I do both. I divide my hair into four sections and twist them. I them wash and put deep conditioner in each (one at a time) at the sink. I let it marinate and then go to the shower to rinse section by section. This way I am not hopping in and out of the shower, and I am washing in sections to avoid tangles. Also I roller set each section at a time, still minimizing tangles. That's my story and I am sticking to it.

 

[Traycee]

I do wash my hair in the sink but not often....I prefer the shower for a few reasons....I able to wash my hair in the direction it naturally hangs ..So I have less or no tangles...Also the steam in the shower helps conditioner penetrate hair shaft....But mostly I wash in the shower 99.9% of the time because it feels so so so good, relaxing, and love getting out the shower feeling clean from head to toe..... ...Once you start you'll never go back

 

[Fine 4s]

Well I do both. I divide my hair into four sections and twist them. I them wash and put deep conditioner in each (one at a time) at the sink. I let it marinate and then go to the shower to rinse section by section. This way I am not hopping in and out of the shower, and I am washing in sections to avoid tangles. Also I roller set each section at a time, still minimizing tangles. That's my story and I am sticking to it.

co-signing with the above...

The only time I wash in the sink (by flipping my head down) is when my hair is braided. I prefer washing my hair in the shower b/c it's too much manipulation washing in the sink. Combing hair "against the grain" is a bad idea for my natural hair.

 

[foxieroxienyc]

I like the shower too, mostly because it's easier, and quicker. Again as mentioned your hair never really gets tangly if it's hanging down (mine never does), and plus I've been doing this since my mom stopped washing my hair in my teens, lol. I've been out of my teens for a long time now, sooooo it's just habit now. In any case, washing in the sink, I did try it once a few weeks ago because I was trying to avoid getting back into the shower... It was kinda awkward and a pain in the neck, lol.

 

[Soliel185]

My hair always fell into the drain and got tangled around the faucet. I just keep thinking about a: how gross the inside of that drain probably was and b: how much damage I was probably doing to by ends by constantly yanking them out of there and trying to untangle them from around the fixtures.

 

[BlondeByDesire]

Sink:

I'm a sink person always have been. You can wash your hair successfully in the sink and detangle just as good as with the shower. I take my time and section my hair when detangling and apply the conditioner. I've tried the shower thing - but honestly I hate jumping in and out when you have to a wash, rinse, deep conditionr and then back in to rinse. That's just too much for me. Also some of the products I use irritate my skin. As far your hair doing down the drain - I have one of those hair stoppers for the sink, so I never have that problem. I've done this well over 30 years and have never had a problem.

 

[Caramela]

The shower, hands down. I got too many tangles in the sink, plus it crept me out to see my hair falling into the sink hole... I started to think of all the gunk, germs and food particles that might be lying trapped there... just gross.

 

[stargazer613]

The shower.....any other way gives me horrible tangles.

 

[MrsJersey]

Definitly the shower for me. I just hate being that close to the drain...it kinda creeps me out. But I also avoid the crook in my neck from being hunched over and I always end up leaving soap on my hair line or nape when I use the sink.

 

[RosesBlack]

I wash in the sink. The water pressure from our showerhead sucks and tends not to get all the shampoo etc out.

 

[naturalgurl]

WOW, lots of shower people. 100% sink person here. I never get tangles and I wash my hair free style. I will have to move to the shower because my hair is getting longer and I can't stand for it go down the drain. Lately I've been plugging the sink which is turning into a pain because it fills up faster and faster lately. I choose the sink because the way I do hair treatments I'd be in and out of the shower three or four times. That's so aggravating and it discourages me from doing my hair. I think I don't experience knots because I do so many treatments! LOL!

 

[onejamifan]

The shower. I have never even tried washing in the sink. It just seems like my hair would be a tangled mess by the time I was done, so I've never done it.

 

[Misseyl]

The only time I wash my hair in the sink is when I'm having a relaxer, other than that, I usually wash my hair in sections in the shower

 

[vangrey]

up until i was about 16
my mom would wash my hair in the sink
lol...
currently i wash my hair in the shower
like some ladies have mentioned
the pressure from the shower
makes detangling so much easier
in addition my curls form better this way

 

[PeggyFair]

I never knew people washed their hair in the sink. I have always washed it in the shower. Since I bathe twice a day, it only makes sense.

 

[25Nona]

I wash in the sink. The water pressure from our showerhead sucks and tends not to get all the shampoo etc out.

Hi Ladies,

See, this is my problem, the water pressure in my shower is a mess, it comes down like a medium rain fall, and while it's OK to wash my body in, I don't think it would be good to wash my hair with. I get better pressure from the sinks. And as mentioned earlier by Marbel, I have one of the hair stoppers for my sink (picked it up at Bed Bath and Beyond for like 4 bucks) and it stops the hair from going down the drain. One important thing that I have learned from the forum so far about detangeling, is that it works so much better under running water. I always went by that saying that you have to detangle your hair after you put the condish on it to ensure that every stand is covered, but now even as I type that it doesn't make sense to me , and I know doing it that way I always would see hair in the comb, even though it was becoming less and less it was still lost hair that could have served me better on my head.

Ladies, I want to thank you so much for the responses, and please keep them coming. This has been helpful. Tonight is going to be wash night for me, I may give the shower a whirl to see how it goes.

 

[TLC1020]

Shower, less to detangle.. Although the sink would be more convinent..

 

[25Nona]

I never knew people washed their hair in the sink. I have always washed it in the shower. Since I bathe twice a day, it only makes sense.

Funny, cause for me it was the exact opposite. I know growing up as a kid, I would watch that "Prell", "Selsen Blue" and "Head & Shoulders" commercial on TV and would see the white women shampooing their hair in the shower, but I always figured that the way they take care of their hair it totally different than what we had to do to ours because of the textures. That is why I didn't realize that shower washing was something black women did (sorry to sound naive ) . I always knew we had to do so much more with our hair, wash, deep condition, treatments, etc...that it just never dawned on me. But when I got here to the forum and saw so many ladies doing it this way I was like , there has to be something to this.

 

[KhandiB]

I only wash in the shower, now rinsing out conditioner I almost always lean over the tub.

 

[SimpleKomplexity]

It's way easier to was your hair in the shower because your hair doesn't get tangled. It feels smoother, and it's easier to style in my opinion. THe only downside is that it is not at my convience! It takes too long for me to get ready for me to shower and wash my hair at the same time lol. I have to take all my clothes off and dry my body AND my hair, plus dtyle my hair. It's sooo time consuming so I only do it twice a week. BUT i think it's easier to wash in the shower. When you wash in the sink, especially the longer your hair is...the more problems. Your hair goes down the drain, it tangles, etc.

 

[LadyKaypnyc]

Both...If I'm doing a quick wash, I sometimes use the sink. If I'm going to detangle, I hope in the shower

 

[Roland]

I use the shower because it is easier and more convient. I just wash my hair and take a bath at the same time also when I woul wash my hair in the sink my clothes would always end up getting wet.

 

[chebaby]

I do wash my hair in the sink but not often....I prefer the shower for a few reasons....I able to wash my hair in the direction it naturally hangs ..So I have less or no tangles...Also the steam in the shower helps conditioner penetrate hair shaft....But mostly I wash in the shower 99.9% of the time because it feels so so so good, relaxing, and love getting out the shower feeling clean from head to toe..... ...Once you start you'll never go back

this is sooooooo true lol. i've only washed my hair in the shower once this last week. the most relaxing thing ive ever done. i co washed with HE LTR and there were no tangles what so ever. but 99.9% of the time i do the sink because thats all ive ever done and i dont have tangles because i know my hair and haow to handle it but since last week i agree the shower is sooooooooo much better

 

[SunnyDelight]

I prefer the shower. I mostly just use my fingers to detangle and the pressure from the water smooths my hair down. I can co-wash, rinse, oil rinse or whatever procedure I'm doing and then put my hair in a bun right in the shower without a comb or brush. All with the help of the water.