Should I Wash my Hair in the Kitchen Sink or Shower?

Natural Hair By Victoria Davis 3 Comments

Hey Curlies,

I think about this subject every time I wash my hair. Should I be washing my hair in the sink or the shower?

During an earlier version of this post I wrote…

“The last couple of weeks I’ve taken all of my products to the kitchen sink and flipped my head over the sink, face down, to wash my hair.
Ultimately this is just me being lazy because I don’t want to get into the shower twice within 2 hours. (One for the initial wash and condition. Two for the final rinse of the deep conditioner). That all just seems to be too much for me….)
Well, my kitchen sink flipping days are over.
There is a huge advantage of washing your hair the correct way, using a downward motion. I then thought, “I am washing my hair in a downward motion when I am at the sink, so it must be okay”…wrong!”

I still find this to be true, but over the years I’ve learned the loop holes to this rule.

Should I wash my hair in the sink or shower? - ClassyCurlies.com

Yes, you still want to wash your hair in a downward motion, meaning the direction your hair normally hangs (down toward the shoulders and back), but now that my hair is longer, here’s a secret.

With much longer hair, I don’t always have to wash my hair in the shower because I can essentially treat the kitchen sink like my shower with these two items:

Shampoo spray hose
Shampoo brush

Because my hair is longer, there is no need for me to “flip my hair over the sink.” I can now split my hair into two halves, lean over the sink and wash using the hose. The attachment allows me to catch the water stream without having to try and fit my head under the sink (causing the flipping method).

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But if you have shorter hair, you may want to continue washing your hair in the shower…here’s why:

KITCHEN SINK WASHING

You’ve also piled your hair up toward the top of your head which isn’t the normal way that hair flows. So to undo that damage, you try to comb your hair in a downward direction to detangle after your washing session and, it’s hard isn’t it? It’s because your hair has been piled on top of your head during the washing phase. This can cause breakage and cause you to have a very low tolerance with your hair.Usually your face is facing the sink, not toward the ceiling as in a salon (which is the correct sink method) and you are actually not smoothing the hair cuticle downward, but in the opposite direction. During this process, you’ve actually moved your hands down your hair in the wrong direction causing frizz and roughness. It is hard for your strands to absorb and retain moisture if your cuticles are being rubbed the wrong way.

SHOWER WASHING

As you wash your hair in the shower you have control to where products are placed. It is actually a lot more comfortable than the flipped over kitchen sink method. Since the water in flowing in the downward motion, so does your hair when it is rinsed.

One warning about the shower, do not pile your hair up on your head while washing and conditioning. Do not try to reenact the shampoo commercials on TV, this is not realistic for hair.