Nenye
Ever gotten in the shower and wondered if you should wash your hair with hot or cold water? Well, we’ve all been there. After all, we just want to make sure our locks stay healthy and look shiny.
In addition to the shampoo and/or conditioner you use and how often you wash your hair, your choice of warm or cold water plays an active role in maintaining the strength and volume of your hair.
So, is it hot or cold?
When the hair roots encounter warm water, the pores of your hair follicles expand and open naturally. On the other hand, cold water causes the contraction of pores and keeps them tightly closed. This reduces hair loss by increasing the grip of your hair follicles on your hair shaft.
The thing is, both temperature options have their pros and cons. So let’s weigh them and see which one is better.
The impact of using hot water on your hair
Hot water is effective at dissolving dirt, grime and product buildup. It opens the pores of your scalp, allowing shampoo to efficiently unclog your hair follicles.
Warm water stimulates blood flow to the follicles, stimulating hair growth, removing excess oil and creating a thick texture that makes your hair look less flat and more voluminous.
The point is that hot water not only removes the buildup but can also strip your scalp’s essential natural oils, causing your hair to dry out. In addition, raised hair cuticles allow all the moisture to escape from your hair strands, resulting in frizzy hair, dandruff due to dryness, and hair loss.
The high temperature breaks the keratin and lipid bonds on your hair cuticles, causing the cuticle layers to crack and stand up.
This is what happens when you wash your hair with cold water
However, cold water seals the torn cuticle layers and restores keratin and lipid bonds. This heals the brittleness of your hair shaft and provides a soft and smooth texture.
Washing your hair with cool water helps retain natural oils and sebum, keeping the scalp and hair hydrated. In addition, open scalp pores are more likely to accumulate dirt, toxic pollutants, sweat, oil, and grease in your hair follicles. Washing your scalp with cool water can help close pores and maintain scalp hygiene.
The point is that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Excessive use of hot water causes stress to your locks, which can lead to frizzy, brittle and dry hair. Cold water, on the other hand, tends to trap moisture in the hair, resulting in excess moisture, making hair look flat, without volume.
Therefore, both hot and cold water have their specific effects on hair, and what matters is the order in which you use them. Consider starting with warm water (100°F or 38°C), and massaging the scalp with shampoo to remove the excess dirt and oil from your hair. Then you can rinse the shampoo with lukewarm water and apply conditioner. Finally, you can wash off the conditioner with cold water and let your pores close!
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