Readers reply: should I be taking longer to wash my hair? My hairdresser seems to think so

My hairdresser spends far more time washing my hair before a cut than I do just washing it in the shower. Should I take longer or should she hurry up? Sheelagh, by email

Send new questions to nq@theguardian.com .

Readers reply

My cousin used to be a hairdresser and I asked her why hairdressers wash twice. She said they want to remove any product build-up in your hair, so it’s cleaner to work with. The first wash removes some, but not all, so the second is just to finish it up. And, of course, the hairdresser is usually expensive, so they want you to feel like you’ve been spoiled and got your money’s worth. KimberleyJ

I’d recommend listening to the excellent Greg Foot on BBC Radio 4’s Sliced Bread podcast . He’s done episodes fairly recently on shampoo and conditioner . They get experts on to explain about marketing claims, products, technique, the science behind it all and so on. lexicon _mistress

Wash it once, at home or in a salon. Shampooing it twice will destroy the normal pH level of your hair. Maintaining it will keep your hair healthy (it’s best for your hair to be in a semi-acidic state). A good hairdresser can easily cut dry hair. In fact, a few of them (the best ones) prefer to work with dry hair. Malotira

Related: Demanding a haircut without talking is just rude – how important do you think you are? | Barbara Ellen

My hairdresser, back in the distant days when I bothered with haircuts, always said that it was easier to cut hair that had not been washed for a day or two. fastgameplayer

I haven’t washed my hair with shampoo in four years. I spend a lot of time in water – swimming pools and open water – and rinse thoroughly and condition daily with a good-quality conditioner. My hair is in its best shape ever (and my hairdresser agrees). KimberleyR

I haven’t washed my hair, in the sense of using shampoo, for 12 years. Once a week, I spend longer in the shower, having turned the head to jet, and give my scalp a good massage. My hair is shoulder length and looks normal. I do not wash the natural oils out, so my scalp does not produce any more than it needs to keep my hair as it should be. It took a couple of months to make the transition.

People are always surprised when I tell them that I don’t wash my hair. I go to the hairdresser, to have the ends trimmed, and the first time I saw her she plunged her nose into my hair and said: “It doesn’t smell!” Josquine

Related: Cut and run: the underground hairdressers of lockdown

It depends what you are getting done, what products you have used and your hair itself. Asking your hairdresser why they are doing things is surely the obvious approach: haircare is a partnership and they might have ideas and recommendations. They see our scalps in a way we never do and, like dentists, often see health conditions. (Not that I am suggesting you have any.) They might say: “No, what you are doing is fine,” or they might suggest something. There is no one method to use on hair, as anyone with curly or wavy hair knows well. Hair is about density, porousness and texture. Everyone is different. Rblue1

If you followed the rinse-and-repeat instructions on the bottle, you would be there till the bottle ran out. And even then you wouldn’t technically have finished. unclestinky

Hair type is a factor. I have type 2B hair , which takes at least six minutes to get sufficiently saturated to build up a lather. On the plus side, it dries very quickly. HRPufnstuf

I’ve never even heard of hair type 2B and have no idea who assesses it. But am I 2B or not 2B? That is the question. MyOtherNameIsReal