Whenever my hairstylist asks me about what I’ve been using to wash my hair, I always slump down in the chair and avoid making eye contact. That sad truth is that I usually buy my shampoo and conditioner when I’m at the grocery store because that’s really the easiest thing to do. I end up reaching for something I’ve decided will work for me based on a commercial, not based on what my hair actually needs. The last time I saw my stylist, Jaime Robinson of Hair Maiden salon, she didn’t even bother asking. She just handed me a bottle of Hairstory’s New Wash and said, “You need this.” When your stylist insists that you break up with your shampoo, you take heed.
You May Also Like: This $6 Coconut Oil-Infused Comb Is Magic
Because I have straight, fine hair, I feel like I have to wash it every single day or it starts looking and feeling like a greasy mess that’s screaming for a wash. I’m super jealous of women who can go two or three days between washes and still have gorgeous, manageable hair. I thought that wasn’t possible for me because my hair starts to get weighed down on day two. Because I’m tired of constantly washing my hair in order to revive it, I was excited to try this an all-in-one “anti-shampoo.”
The idea behind New Wash is that less is more. You don’t need the typical shampoo plus conditioner combo to get your hair clean. In fact, the whole point of New Wash is to ditch shampoos that contain harmful ingredients like sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) that act as a detergent to “clean” your hair by stripping it of everything, both good and bad, including natural oils that keep your hair healthy. New Wash doesn’t strip out the good stuff and contains natural fatty cleansers and essential oils (like evening primrose, jojoba seed, sunflower seed and peppermint) that leave your hair clean and manageable without damaging it or drying it out. You don’t need to use conditioner or masques after washing, which Hairstory’s founder (and Bumble & Bumble founder) Michael Gordon says are “band-aids” for the damage caused by shampoo.
After just one wash, I became a believer. New Wash doesn’t lather up, so I first massaged it into my scalp and then ran it through my strands to let it do it’s magic. After that first wash, I could instantly feel, and more importantly see, a huge difference in my hair. What was most surprising was that even without conditioner my hair was clean, soft and full of body. And it lasts too; my new hair made it through a sweat session at the gym and dried right back to its new beautiful, bouncy, healthy-looking state. For the first time ever, I could skip a rewash and still have that manageable second-day hair I envied so much. Thanks to my stylist’s not-so-gentle nudging, I was able to call it quits with my shampoo and conditioner and my hair has never felt or looked better.
