My Hair Routine
Four steps, and the first one happens before you even get in the shower.
I get asked about this more than almost anything else, and I think it's because the first step is the one nobody expects. So I'll start there, and I'll be honest with you about the step I skip and the product I don't personally use, because I'd rather you end up with the right thing than the most things.
Step one: serum the night before
This is the one that surprises people. My hair serum is a pre-wash treatment, which means it goes on before you wash your hair and then gets washed out, rather than going on after as a finishing oil the way most hair oils are sold.
I part my hair and work it into my scalp first, then run what's left down the strands, and then I just go to bed and forget about it. It soaks in all night and nourishes both the scalp and the hair itself, and in the morning it washes out. If you don't want to sleep in it, thirty minutes before a wash is genuinely enough to be worth doing, so it can just as easily be a thing you do while you're making dinner.
Step two: wash twice
I know that sounds like a lot, and I promise it isn't about being thorough for the sake of it. The first wash is lifting the oil and whatever else has built up, and the second wash is the one that's actually cleaning your scalp and hair, which is why skipping it leaves people feeling like their hair still isn't clean.
This is the single biggest reason people decide bar shampoo doesn't work for them, and it usually isn't the bar's fault at all. It's that the bar only got one go at a head of hair that needed two.
There are three shampoo bars, and they do genuinely different jobs rather than just smelling different.
Rosemary + Thyme is the everyday one that suits most hair types and makes it feel fuller and softer.
Charcoal + Lavender is the clarifying one to reach for if your scalp gets oily fast and you're washing more often than you'd like (or you use a lot of hair product).
Shea + Oat is unscented, and it's there for the people whose whole problem is fragrance.
Step three: conditioner bar, if you want it
Here's where I'll be honest with you, because I don't always do this step and I'd feel odd pretending otherwise. Some weeks my hair doesn't seem to need it and I skip it entirely, and nothing bad happens, and I've stopped feeling like that's cheating.
When I do use it, I keep it on the ends and stay away from the roots, because the roots are where the heaviness comes from and it's very easy to overdo. Lavender + Orange is the richer one for dry or thick hair, and Grapefruit + Bergamot is the lighter one if your hair gets weighed down easily.
Lavender + Orange, for dry or thick hair →
Grapefruit + Bergamot, lighter →
Step four: conditioning mist, then brush
After I've towel dried, I spritz the conditioning mist through and then brush it out, and this is the step that turns brushing from a fight into a thing that takes about forty seconds. If you have anyone small in your house who cries about their hair being brushed, this is the one I'd try first.
Rosemary Conditioning Hair Mist →
The one I don't use
The hair balm isn't in my routine, and I want to say that plainly rather than quietly including it because it's mine and I'd like to sell it.
It's too heavy for my hair. If yours is curly, or if it just drinks moisture and keeps asking for more, it's genuinely lovely and it's who I made it for. It also works as a wash-out mask if you'd rather use it that way, which is how I'd suggest trying it first if you're not sure whether your hair wants it.
If you only change one thing
Try the pre-wash oil step this week, even if everything else in your shower belongs to somebody else. The order of a routine matters more than the products in it do, and that first step costs you nothing to test.
And if you're not sure which shampoo bar suits your hair, I wrote a short quiz that'll get you there faster than I can in a paragraph.
Find your shampoo bar in 4 questions →
What do I use in between wash days?
Not one to wash every day? I got you! I also try to go as long as possible between washes, which is genuinely good for your hair! I can usually squeeze about 3-4 days out between washes, and the only thing that saves me is my dry shampoo.
Rosemary + Thyme Dry Shampoo →
Questions I get a lot
Does the serum make my hair greasy? Not once it's washed out, no. It's going on before a wash, not after, so the greasiness has somewhere to go.
Can I use the serum if I wash my hair every day? You can, though you'd be doing it more often than most people need to. Thirty minutes before a wash is enough, so it doesn't have to be an overnight thing.
Do I really have to wash twice? On a day you've used the serum, yes, or the first wash will just be lifting oil and you'll be left wondering why your scalp doesn't feel clean. On a normal day you can get away with once, though I still usually do two.
Is the conditioner bar necessary? No. I skip it plenty of weeks. Start without it and add it if your ends tell you to.
What if I have curly hair? Then the balm is probably for you, and the conditioner bar almost certainly is. My hair is not curly, so I'd rather point you at the people in the reviews who have it than pretend I know what your wash day is like.