Skip to main content

Wash your hair in sections

Try washing in sections when your hair falls back over the area you are cleaning or tangles as you wash. Loose clips hold the rest aside so you can reach and rinse one scalp area at a time.

Step by step

  1. A woman uses both hands to separate a loose side section while another area is clipped back.
    STEP 1 OF 11

    Divide your hair into loose sections

    • Set your shampoo and wet-use clips on a reachable shower shelf. Keep both hands free while dividing your hair.
    • Use your fingers to separate a side area from the hair behind it. Make each section small enough to lift and rinse underneath.
    • Loosely fold and clip each section out of the way, leaving slack at the roots. Neat parts and a fixed number of sections are unnecessary.
  2. A woman opens a sectioning clip while supporting a released section of her own wet hair.
    STEP 2 OF 11

    Release one section completely

    • Start with a side section you can reach easily. Support its hair with one hand.
    • With the other hand, squeeze the clip open fully and lift it clear. Put the clip on the shelf and let the whole section hang loose.
  3. A woman lifts a loose side section under clear running water to wet its dark roots before applying shampoo.
    STEP 3 OF 11

    Wet the section all the way to the roots

    • Turn the loose section under comfortably warm running water. Keep your neck relaxed.
    • Lift the hair near its roots and spread the hanging lengths with your other hand so water reaches underneath.
    • Check by touch that the section is wet at the scalp as well as the ends before applying shampoo.
  4. A woman dispenses a small amount of shampoo into her palm while one wet hair section hangs loose.
    STEP 4 OF 11

    Dispense part of your shampoo amount

    • Move just out of the stream. Let the wet section hang while you dispense shampoo into your palm.
    • Use part of the amount you would use for one whole-head application, following your label. Set the bottle down before touching your scalp.
    • Keep the rest of that application for the remaining sections. More sections do not call for a full dose on each.
  5. A woman lifts one loose section and gently massages shampoo into its scalp area while other sections are clipped aside.
    STEP 5 OF 11

    Wash the exposed scalp with your finger pads

    • Use one hand to keep the loose lengths out of your way and the other to spread shampoo gently over the scalp beneath that section.
    • Massage with finger pads, working across that scalp area. Keep your nails off the skin and the lengths hanging down.
    • Follow any waiting time on the label. Do not add shampoo just to make more foam or pile the lengths on top of your head.
  6. A woman lifts an open section at the roots under a fixed shower stream so water can rinse through its loose lengths.
    STEP 6 OF 11

    Rinse the open section completely

    • Turn that section under the fixed stream. Lift at the roots with one hand and spread the hanging lengths with the other.
    • Let water pass underneath and through to the ends until the shampoo has rinsed away. Let the suds flow down without rubbing the lengths.
    • Check underneath for any remaining suds before moving on. A squeaky feel is not a rinsing target.

    Keep rinsing until the shampoo is out. Suds still running through the section mean you need to continue.

  7. A woman loosely secures a fully rinsed wet section with a clip while supporting the hair with her other hand.
    STEP 7 OF 11

    Clip the rinsed section loosely aside

    • Rinse shampoo from your hands. Only clip the section after all its shampoo has been rinsed out.
    • Loosely fold its lengths in one hand. Use the other to open a clip around the folded hair, leaving slack between the clip and your scalp.
    • If the clip slips, support the hair and open it fully to reset it. Do not wind the hair tighter to make it hold.
  8. A woman opens a clip to release the next section while the previously rinsed hair stays clipped aside.
    STEP 8 OF 11

    Release the next section and repeat

    • Keep the finished section clipped aside. Support the next section while opening its clip fully, then set that clip on the shelf.
    • Repeat steps 3–7 on this new section: wet, apply part of the remaining shampoo, wash, rinse fully and loosely clip it aside.
    • Work around your scalp one area at a time, including the crown and nape. Lower your arms between sections if needed.

    For the back, turn your body under the stream and work by touch. Stop if you cannot reach or rinse an area comfortably.

  9. A woman holds the final open clip away from her hair, leaving all the sections loose.
    STEP 9 OF 11

    Open and remove every clip

    • After every section has been washed and rinsed, support each folded section while opening its clip.
    • Lift the clips clear and place them on the shelf. Check the back and crown by touch so no clip is left in your hair.
    • Let all the hair hang loose before the final rinse.
  10. A woman rinses her own loose hair under a fixed showerhead after removing all sectioning clips.
    STEP 10 OF 11

    Rinse once more with all the hair loose

    • Turn under the stream and lift the hair at the crown, sides and nape so water reaches underneath.
    • Let water run through the lengths. Check that no shampoo remains in areas that were folded or held by clips.
  11. A woman opens a sectioning clip under running water and clears a loose hair from its teeth.
    STEP 11 OF 11

    Rinse your hands and clips

    • Clear loose hairs from your hands and the clips. Rinse the clips under running water, opening the jaws so water reaches inside.
    • Set the clips aside to dry as their care instructions allow. Keep your hair loose for the next part of your routine.

    Conditioning and drying follow separately. Rinse out any rinse-out conditioner before blotting excess water and drying your hair.

About 10–20 minutes to divide the hair, wash and rinse the sections, finish rinsing and clean the clips. Add any shampoo waiting time. Detangling, conditioning and drying are separate.

Practical editorial estimate, not timed. Length, section count, water flow and comfortable reach can make the wash take longer.

You’re done when…

Every scalp area has been washed and rinsed, all clips are out, and no shampoo remains underneath or through the lengths. Your hair is loose and ready for conditioning or drying.