How to build a haircare routine that works for you (in four easy steps)
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Beauty & skincare
Reading time: 6 minutes
Wash away haircare overwhelm & lock down your routine with our guide to the essentials for healthier, stronger-looking hair
Your skincare routine might be set in stone – cleanse, tone and moisturise morning and night come hell or high water – but your haircare routine may be a little more ad hoc, with skipped-over hair wash days, heat styling and over-processing all taking their toll on your locks.
Enter the “skin-ification” or the “skin-tegrity” of hair, something many of us are looking to prioritise, according to the 2022 Boots beauty trends report. Centred around haircare innovation and using effective active ingredients to help support the condition of our scalps, as well as the hair fibres, this is less a trend and more a new way of life – think sustained hydration, follicle stimulation and overall hair health and strength.
For a fresh start on your haircare routine, look no further than our guide, which explains what can be stripped back and what you should add for a haircare routine that will help make you and your hair happier and healthier.
Step one: scalp scrub
According to the Boots beauty trends report 2022, searches containing the term ‘scalp’ more than doubled on boots.com this year, compared to last, so it’s clear more attention than ever before is being paid to scalp health. This is why we’re starting our haircare routine here. ‘Your scalp is the foundation to great hair. You wouldn’t ever try to build anything on a bad foundation, so your scalp is the key,’ says Adam Reed, hair stylist and founder of Arkive. ‘It’s so often forgotten, because it seems like a complex thing to look after, but by including easy and simple steps into your routine, you can start to look after it – exfoliation, moisturisation and brushing are all necessities.’
To help create the perfect canvas, a scalp scrub or exfoliator can be a great pre-cleanse step. In our experience, you don’t have to use one every time you wash your hair – once every one or two weeks should still make a noticeable difference.
Try: Cantu Guava And Ginger Scalp Exfoliator
• Size: 177ml
• Cruelty-free
Guava, ginger and turmeric root are just some of the nourishing ingredients you can find in this scalp exfoliator. The fabulous formula gets to work, uplifting dirt, oil and other impurities from the follicles to provide relief for a dry and itchy scalp – apply a generous amount before shampooing.
Try: Arkive The Crown Scalp Scrub
• Size: 180ml
• Density: medium to thick
• Cruelty-free
• Certified B Corp
With a blend of oils, fruit enzymes and menthol, this scalp scrub nourishes and energises, making it the perfect pre-shampoo treatment and treat. Take your time when massaging it in to make your hair wash the ultimate self-care ritual.
Try: The Inkey List Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Scalp Scrub
• Size: 150ml
• Contains no animal derivatives
• Alcohol-free
• Fragrance-free
• Packaging 100% recycle ready
This gentle scrub is formulated with chemical (glycolic acid) and physical (castor beads) exfoliators to help slough through product build-up and dead skin cells, leaving your scalp feeling fresh.
Step two: shampoo
‘Shampooing is essential to help cleanse the scalp of grease, dust, products and dead skin cells, keeping the foundation for hair growth healthy,’ explains Dr Sharon Wong, consultant dermatologist and hair and scalp expert at The Inkey List.
A good starting point? ‘It’s important to understand your scalp and hair type and any specific needs you may have,’ says Dr Wong. ‘These factors will dictate how often you need to wash your hair and whether you need particular types of products.’
If you have a tendency for dryness and dandruff, Dr Wong recommends looking for a shampoo with anti-dandruff actives, such as salicylic acid, ketoconazole and piroctone olamine.
‘For oily scalp types you may want to consider a shampoo containing ingredients for oil-control, such as tea tree, and clay to mattify,’ she suggests.
As for how often you should wash your hair, one size doesn’t fit all. ‘There are many factors that can determine the frequency of hair washing besides scalp and hair type, including the use of styling products and lifestyle factors, such as your exercise routine,’ says Dr Wong.
For a dry scalp and dandruff
Try: Head & Shoulders DERMAXPRO Boosting Strength Anti Dandruff Shampoo
• Size: 300ml
• Bottle made of 40% recycled plastic
Dry scalps need more than just moisture. Infused with piroctone olamine, caring aloe, bamboo extract and vitamin E, this targeted formula helps support the skin barrier, maintain the scalp’s natural balance and, with regular use, make flakes a thing of the past.
For all hair types
Try: Simple Kind to Hair Gentle Care Shampoo
• Size: 400ml
Suitable for all hair types, this dermatologist-approved shampoo is brimming with shine-enhancing goodies, including vitamin B5 and camomile oil. Simply massage through your lengths to help restore and replenish hair’s natural shine.
Step three: conditioner
‘While shampoos are for the scalp, conditioners are for the hair fibres,’ says Dr Wong. Softness and shine tend to be their main objectives.
‘Foaming surfactants in shampoos can be drying and so applying conditioner is needed to help keep most hair types healthy,’ she advises.
Much like your shampoo, your hair type and specific needs, such as dryness or damage, can provide a useful guide as to which (if any) conditioner to use. ‘Those with a very oily scalp and hair or those with very fine hair may not require a conditioner or should choose one that is lightweight to avoid weighing down strands,’ Dr Wong recommends.
‘Textured hair on the other end of the spectrum is often very dry at the ends and so conditioning is a very important step after shampooing.’
For fine hair
Try: Boots Ingredients Volume Conditioner with Acacia Collagen
• Size: 250ml
Formulated with acacia collagen and niacinamide to help hydrate and moisturise hair without the heaviness, this conditioner helps leave hair feeling strong and soft, while looking smooth, volumised and healthy.
For oily, textured or thicker hair
Try: Twisted Sista Intensive Leave In Conditioner
• Size: 354ml
• Free of sulphates, parabens and mineral oil
Dry curls? This deeply hydrating no-rinse pick could be just what you’re looking for. As well as providing valuable moisture, it detangles and helps prevent frizz. A triple threat. Apply and work through lengths with a wide-toothed comb, before moving onto your styling routine.
For dry hair
Try: Maui Moisture Revive & Hydrate Shea Butter Conditioner
• Size: 385ml
• Vegan*
• Free from sulphates, silicone and mineral oils
You need only look at this conditioner’s ingredients label to see how nourishing it is. Aloe vera juice is the first ingredient, and with other conditioning goodies, such as coconut water, shea butter, coconut oil and pure macadamia oil, it helps saturate dry hair with vital moisture. It’s a dream for parched hair.
Step four: TLC (targeted luxury customisation)
Now you’ve got the foundation sorted, take your routine to the next level by adding in treatments and other extras to target your hair’s specific health and styling needs. From hair masks and hair oils to deep conditioners and heat protectors, here are five of our favourites to see you through to your next hair wash.
For dry and over-processed hair
Try: L’Oréal Elvive Hydra Hyaluronic 72h Moisture Wrapping Mask
• Size: 300ml
Time for some ‘me time.’ Leave this deep conditioning hair mask on post-cleanse and the hyaluronic-acid infused formula will help lock moisture into every strand. It’s like a hyaluronic acid serum for your hair.
For heat-styled hair
Try: Bumble and bumble Bond-Building Repair Styling Cream
• Size: 150ml
• Safe for colour and chemically-treated hair
Powered by the brand’s Honey Bond-Building Complex, this multitasking heat protectant helps protect your hair against heat up to 230°C, as well providing light hold and reducing frizz and flyaways. We love a hard worker.
For textured hair
Try: Arkive The Good Habit Hybrid Oil
• Size: 50ml
• Vegan*
• Cruelty Free
• Certified B Corp
‘Hair oiling is beneficial for most hair types as a deep conditioning treatment, but it is particularly suitable and recommended for textured hair,’ explains Dr Wong. ‘The curliness of the hair shaft in textured hair means sebum distribution to the ends of the hair is less, resulting in naturally drier and more brittle strands, especially at the ends.’
Cue this lovely hair oil by Arkive. It contains baobab and jojoba oils, which help give ends the love they need, without weighing hair down.
For second-day hair
Try: Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk
• Size: 150ml
Help keep flat, greasy roots at bay with this gentle dry shampoo that absorbs excess oil, volumises and buys time between hair washes in just two minutes. Formulated with a combination of highly absorbent powders and gentle oat milk, it’s a root boost in a bottle.
For hold
Try: Schwarzkopf Got2b Plump’d Volumising Hairspray
• Size: 300ml
• Vegan*
• Silicone-free
Keep your look on lockdown with this volumising hairspray that helps add body, from root to tip. Strong hold without the heaviness? The perfect balance. Apply upwards into sections of hair to seal in your handiwork.
Shop more essentials by browsing our full hair range. There’s something for every hair type and budget.
