Home/Blog/Optimal Hair Care Routine: 7 Steps

Optimal Hair Care Routine: 7 Steps

By Ethan Boldt

July 14, 2025

Just like a solid skin care routine to boost your skin health, a regular hair care routine can improve your hair health in multiple ways. We’re talking minimal breakage, impressive shine and moisturized hair, along with a healthy scalp.

To build such a routine that can help make healthy hair a reality, you’ll need to understand your hair type, shampoo and condition regularly, consider certain nourishing treatments, plus protect it from the sun and excessive heat. A healthy diet, supplement routine and lifestyle can also support your hair health.

Let’s begin.

What are your hair concerns?

Nobody knows your hair better than you, both in terms of where it might literally fall flat but also its strong points that you want to maintain or even amplify.

Standard hair concerns include:

• Damaged, maybe because of chemicals or coloring

• Dry and brittle

• Split ends

• Hair loss, shrunken hair follicles and less full hair

• Greasy and oily

• Frizzy

• Scalp problems, like oily vs. flaky, dry and itchy

Of course, as one ages, your hair concerns may change because thinning, weaker hair can be a natural result of aging. Perimenopause and menopause can cause hair loss in some women, for example, while men may experience hair thinning, graying and texture changes due to hormonal changes, less melanin and normal aging.

The most common hair changes as one ages include:

• Grayer — due to less melanin

• Thinner hair — less hair density, with hair follicles thinner or not producing new hair; also, more prone to breakage

• Slowing of growth — the rate and volume of hair grown decreases.

• Increased hair loss — hormonal changes, stress and genes can all mean hair loss.

• Texture changes — due to less oil production from the scalp, hair gets more dry, coarse and brittle

Given that background and your own hair, it’s time to set some hair health goals. This can inform your routine, including the potential techniques, products and supplements you use.

Potential goals can include:

• More volume and healthy growth, with plenty of body

• Strong and hydrated

• Shiny and smooth

• Enduring color

• Defined waves and curls

• Overall healthy hair

Hair care routine steps for healthy hair

Before you follow these steps, be aware that your hair type and hair goals may alter how many of these steps and how often. So, consider this a rough outline that you then personalize for your needs.

1. Determine your hair type and its current health

Is your hair straight, curly or wavy? Maybe it’s kinky? Each type usually necessitates its own set of techniques and products.

For example, straight hair often is more oily than curly hair, as the oil travels down each hair shaft more easily.

If your hair gets dyed, bleached or chemically processed in any way, you may not want to shampoo each day because it’ll cause premature color fading and potential drying. You may also need extra nourishment, such as always using conditioner and the occasional hair mask.

2. Shampoo

Just like with your skincare routine, the first step for your hair is to cleanse. Ideally, select a shampoo suitable for your hair type, such as for dry, curly or oily hair. It should be sulfate-free, so frizz doesn’t occur.

When you wash your hair, concentrate on massaging the scalp (with fingertips, not your nails) to remove dirt, dead skin cells, grease and any kind of product that may have built up. Ideally, wash and rinse your hair in lukewarm to cool water for ultimate hair health.

How often should you wash your hair? It depends on a few factors:

• For fine or thin hair, wash every 1 to 2 days because this type of hair gets oily more quickly.

• For thick or coarse hair, once to twice a week may be adequate.

• Curly hair also should be around once to twice a week, otherwise the natural oils may dry out.

• Dry vs. oily scalp? Dry means less shampooing to avoid excessive dryness; oily means more washing to prevent greasiness.

• If you work out a lot or are in hot environments, you may need to wash more often.

• If you swim, especially in chlorinated water, it’s vital you wash your hair soon after to prevent hair damage from occurring.

• Do you use a lot of styling products? If so, you may need to wash more often to prevent buildup.

Dry shampoo can aid your hair on days you’re not shampooing in the shower. It can help prevent oily hair. Make sure you don’t overuse, though, as it can dry out the hair.

3. Condition

Part two of cleansing your hair is conditioner. Contrary to the old idea that all you need is shampoo, conditioner plays a major role in your hair health.

Conditioner literally moisturizes your hair, helping to replenish the moisture that your shampoo may have stripped. Conditioner also helps to detangle your hair, seal the cuticles and help it shine.

Here’s a few to-dos when using conditioner:

• Only apply it from the ends to the middle of your hair, careful to avoid the scalp, especially if you have an oily scalp. (Don’t apply too much, as excess can reach your scalp.)

• Leave the conditioner on your hair for a few minutes before rinsing thoroughly.

You can also try a leave-in conditioner, which you don’t rinse out. They can increase nourishment for dry, damaged or curly hair. It’s also good for dyed hair.

If using a leave-in conditioner, take these steps:

• Squeeze out extra water from your hair first.

• Apply to your damp hair, such as at the end of your shower. Again, keep it away from your roots.

• Use a wide-toothed comb to gently distribute the product throughout your hair.

4. Detangle

The detangle step is next. It’ll get rid of potential knots and help to prevent breakage. For most hair, you likely need to detangle each day to prevent knots from building up.

If you’re got relatively straight and/or short hair, this is easy and straightforward. But longer, thick, wavy or curly hair? Follow these directions:

Soon after washing out your conditioner in the shower, use your fingertips to comb through your hair to get rid of any big knots.

Outside of the shower, get a wide-toothed comb and comb through the lower part of your hair, working up to your roots.

If hair knots remain, use a detangling spray or serum to advance the conditioning of the hair and make it easier to come your way through.

5. Protect, prime and style

If you’re using heated tools like a blow dryer, straightener or curling tool, it’s important to prep your hair. This will help prevent breakage but also assist your hair styling efforts.

Never use these heated styling tools on damp or wet hair. Instead, apply a heat protectant (primer) and let your hair dry for a few minutes before using heat. A little primer is all you need.

Hat or UV protectant spray can also protect your hair from sun damage.

Next, use gel, mousse or cream to style your hair the way you want, then let it air dry or use a hair dryer. For those of you who aren’t using any heated tools or avoiding excessive sun, this is the only part of this step you need to follow.

6. Optional: extra treatment

For some, after styling their hair and letting it air dry, you may want to re-hydrate your hair a bit. Or on days when you don’t wash your hair.

For extra hydration and repair of your hair and scalp, consider these treatments once a week or once every few weeks:

• Deep condition with hair masks and hair treatments — Using a so-called “deep conditioner” can help make your hair extra soft and shiny.

• Oil massage with hair oil or hair lotion — For extra hydration, use hair oils or lotions to prevent dryness, lock in moisture and control potential frizz. For both, a little goes a long way. Take a little bit, and warm the product in your palm. Then use your fingertips to apply the product, using combing motions to apply the product evenly.

• Spot-treat — If you have one area of your hair that bothers you, such as too much frizz or dry scalp, use a nourishing product to address.

• Hair mask — Apply the product to your damp or dry hair from the middle of the hair shafts to the ends. Avoid the roots. Leave on for 10 to 20 minutes and then rinse well with cool water.

• Scalp treatment — For dry scalp, a scalp oil may be helpful. Massage into the scalp in one-inch sections from the hairline to the crown. Massage gently with fingertips. Leave on for a couple of hours or overnight, before washing out. Not washing out the oil can clog the hair follicles.

• Exfoliate scalp — Use an exfoliating scalp treatment to potentially unclog follicles and calm

7. Eat a healthy hair diet

A diet rich in essential nutrients can support the health and growth of your hair as well as scalp. The most important nutrients are protein (including collagen), omega 3 fatty acids (wild caught salmon), zinc (red meat), and the vitamins A, B12, C, D and E.

Eggs, for example, contain vitamin A, protein and biotin, all helpful for hair. Leafy greens are high in most of those hair friendly vitamins.

Certain supplements can also boost healthy hair:

• Collagen boosts protein intake, which in turn helps support healthy hair because hair strands are primarily made up of keratin, a type of protein that can be boosted by collagen consumption, so that the body has the building blocks to make its own collagen. Ancient Nutrition's Multi Collagen Protein and the Beauty + Sleep Support supplement promotes healthy hair thickness and growth while reducing hair breakage.

• Ancient Nutrition's Hair Growth + Collagen capsules can help one get visibly thicker hair with a proprietary blend of key clinically validated superfoods and collagen. This supplement also reduces hair breakage, helps get glossy hair and supports a healthy hair growth cycle.

• Biotin is another supplement that is well known for supporting hair health. Most multivitamins contain at least 100 percent Daily Value of biotin, such as Ancient Multivitamin Women's and Ancient Multivitamin Men's.