This is not just another article about hair washing. No, it’s a true story—one that follows the remarkable journey of how I went from washing my hair every day to twice weekly—no style dramas or greasy strands involved.

I’m being a little melodramatic, sure. But I think we can all agree that figuring out the right cadence for shampooing sometimes feels like an epic adventure. My own adventures in hair-washing have been chaotic: I used to wash with just one shampoo each day, then I experimented with double washing and triple-washing. Then I started to space out the washes a bit more. I even briefly tried the no- shampoo thing.

Most of the time, I didn’t see a big difference—I usually liked my hair as often on the second day as I did on the first. But my personal shampoo epiphany came when I started practicing what I now call “the Swedish technique.”

If you Google it, you won’t find it. I’m pretty sure I made the term up. Still, it has merit: The technique consists of washing the scalp—not the hair—using the basic movements of the classic Swedish massage technique. These circular movements are carried out with the fingertips to stimulate blood circulation and release tension. But the key to this modus operandi is not only in the movements, but in the fact that they are done on the scalp using the fingers to apply shampoo to the skin of the head instead of to the hair root. This was explained to me by Felix Burillo, stylist at Espacio Q in Madrid, while he was washing my hair during my latest appointment. He insisted that the fingertips should not rub the hair but the scalp.

Why is it important to wash the scalp?

Washing the hair correctly does not consist of rubbing the roots, middle, and ends with shampoo, but of washing the scalp and letting the foam fall through the hair to do the rest. The efforts when depositing the shampoo and directing the fingers should be on the skin of the head. “It is essential to pay attention to the care of the scalp as well as the hair,” says Burillo. “Keep in mind that the scalp secretes sebum and accumulates dirt caused by product residue and dead skin cells. It is important to clean the scalp and to do it with circular movements that allow us to lift the impurities and clean all the zones well. These movements help to better distribute the natural sebum generated by the scalp,” he says.

Time matters

When implementing this technique, Burillo insists on using the fingertips, massaging gently, and dedicating time for the massage—around one to two minutes. Washing your hair as a formality and without intention is not a good idea.

I can attest that since I have been using this strategy and dedicating more minutes to this technique, my hair stays cleaner longer. “We have to avoid abrupt or linear movements, since doing so will not stimulate well or clean properly,” says Burillo.