Unlock the Secret Hack Top Hair Experts Swear By to Transform Your Hair Before Shampooing—You Won’t Believe the Results!
Ever feel like walking down the haircare aisle is like entering a wild jungle of promises? Volumize here, nourish there, lengthen over yonder—it’s a blur, right? You wonder: Which products actually earn their keep and which are just empty hype draining your wallet? Enter pre-shampoo treatments—a clever little ritual that once thrived mainly in curly and coily hair circles but has now stormed the mainstream. Applying oils, serums, or creams before shampooing might sound like adding an extra round to your shower battle, but for some, it flips an ordinary wash day into a mighty hair win. Think about it: Could this be the secret weapon transforming “meh” hair moments into unstoppable confidence? Let’s cut through the clutter with insights from top cosmetic chemists, dermatologists, and stylists—they break down the benefits, the how-to, and if these treatments really deserve a crown in your routine.
Peruse the haircare aisle of any beauty store, and you’ll be inundated with a dizzying lineup of products claiming to cleanse, nourish, soften, volumize or even lengthen your hair. And beyond good ol’ shampoo and conditioner, it can be hard to tell which products are actually worth your hard-earned money.
A once-niche product category that got its start among folks with coily and curly hair and has since gone mainstream is pre-shampoo treatments: a group of hair oils, serums, creams and gels that are applied to the hair (you guessed it) before shampooing. Adding an extra step to your “everything shower” can feel arduous, but for some people, a pre-shampoo treatment can be the difference between a good hair day and a great one. “And when you have a great hair day, it’s like, ‘Wow, I’m unstoppable,’” says Valerie George, a cosmetic chemist and co-host of the “The Beauty Brains” podcast.
Meet the experts: Valerie George is a cosmetic chemist and co-host of the “The Beauty Brains” podcast. Tonya Lane is a cosmetic chemist and founder of Curly Chemistry, a platform that helps women navigate caring for textured hair using science. Candace Witherspoon, a natural hair expert and owner of the Candace Witherspoon Salon in New York City. Alicia Zalka, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist, associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University, and the founder of Surface Deep.
But before opening your wallet, it’s important to know that pre-shampoo treatments aren’t necessary for everyone, experts say. Ahead, cosmetic chemists, a dermatologist and a hair stylist break down what, exactly, these products do, the benefits they provide the hair, how to use them properly, and whether they deserve a spot in your haircare routine in the first place.
What is a pre-shampoo treatment, and how are they used?
As the name implies, pre-shampoo treatments, also called pre-wash treatments or pre-poos, are a broad category of products that you put on your hair to protect, nourish and hydrate your strands before washing your tresses. And while you may have noticed pre-wash treatments crowding shelves more and more in recent years, the idea of preparing your hair and scalp for a deep cleanse is nothing new. “I know that in the natural hair community, it’s always been a thing,” says Tonya Lane, a cosmetic chemist and founder of Curly Chemistry, a platform that helps women navigate caring for textured hair using science. “I remember doing pre-poo treatments even 10 years ago.”
How, exactly, you’ll use a pre-shampoo treatment varies widely depending on the specific product. But oftentimes, you’ll apply the treatment to dry hair, use your fingers or a comb to spread the product evenly through your tresses, and leave the product in your strands for a length of time that can range anywhere from three to 30 minutes, experts say. You can almost think of a pre-wash treatment as like a hair mask that you use before hopping in the shower.
It’s important to read the instructions of each pre-shampoo treatment carefully because the products can be used in a variety of ways. For instance, some treatments have cleansing and clarifying properties and are formulated to be applied to both the hair and the scalp, says George.
Others contain heavier, potentially comedogenic oils that are best applied only to the hair shaft, since applying them to the scalp could disrupt the scalp microbiome—the ecosystem of microorganisms that plays an important role in healthy hair growth, Lane explains. In some cases, these oils may also clog hair follicles and contribute to scalp inflammation, particularly if they’re used on already dirty hair or not rinsed out thoroughly, she adds.
But regardless of the exact use, once the amount of time indicated for the specific treatment has passed, pre-shampoo treatments are typically fully rinsed out. And then you move on to your shampoo of choice!
What benefits do they provide?
Depending on the formulation, pre-shampoo treatments can provide a wide range of benefits for the hair that can make them worthy of a spot in your haircare routine, George says. So once again, be sure to inspect product labels carefully so that you try a treatment that’s tailored to your specific haircare needs. In the meantime, here’s a breakdown of a few of the most common and heavy-hitting perks of these products:
Help with Detangling
That squeaky-clean feeling we get after shampooing hair is divine, but have you ever noticed that your locks can get more knotted in the process? Well, one of the largest benefits of pre-wash treatments is that they can help make the detangling process easier, says Candace Witherspoon, a natural hair expert and owner of the Candace Witherspoon Salon in New York City.
Many pre-shampoo treatments contain oils, as well as a group of ingredients called cationic polymers, Lane explains. These conditioning agents coat the hair shaft and add extra “slip,” which can make strands easier to detangle. As a result, people who struggle with especially knot-prone hair—such as those with curls or coils, dryness, and heat or color-dyed strands—may benefit from applying a pre-wash treatment and detangling while the product is still in their hair, rather than waiting until wash time to comb through knots with shampoo or conditioner, Lane adds.
It’ll usually be clear on the label if a treatment is designed to help with detangling. But if you’re a science junkie, Lane recommends scanning the ingredients list for polyquaternium-10 as well as guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride—try saying that three times fast! (Those are two popular cationic polymers used to smooth the hair cuticle.) You can also keep your eyes peeled for hydrating ingredients like glycerin, Lane adds, which also work to aid moisture and slip to the hair. Together, these sorts of ingredients “can make detangling in your wash day so much more efficient and [make for] less time in the shower, too,” Lane says.
Protection Against Stripping
Many shampoos contain sulfates, which are cleansing agents that bind to the oil and debris in your hair so they can be rinsed away with water, Lane explains. But because they’re so effective at removing buildup, sulfates (and other strong cleansing agents in sulfate-free shampoos) can cause the hair shaft to swell and the cuticle to lift, she adds. Over time, this can increase your hair porosity and strip your hair of its natural oil, potentially contributing to breakage, frizz and split ends.
And part of the reason shampooing can be so taxing on hair comes down to the shower water itself. Each time your hair gets wet, the fiber swells, and as it dries it contracts, Lane explains. Repeated swelling and shrinking (especially when the cuticle is already lifted from frequent washing) can stress the hair strand and lead to a type of hair damage known as hygral fatigue, she adds.
Some pre-shampoo treatments may help counteract those issues by forming a light coating around the hair fiber, which helps limit water absorption and reduce friction during washing. “You’re either skiing on nice, powdery snow, or you’re skiing moguls,” says Alicia Zalka, MD, a board-certified dermatologist, associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University, and the founder of Surface Deep. Using a pre-wash treatment makes shampooing much more like skiing on powder, she explains. “When you put that product on, it’s like a nice, friction-free experience.” Smooth, shiny hair, here we come!
Improvement In Scalp Health
Many of the pre-shampoo treatments on the market focus on conditioning the hair strand. But others are formulated to clarify, exfoliate or otherwise benefit the scalp, George explains. Many scalp treatments come in the form of oils and serums, but you can also find masks and scrubs containing tiny beads to create an exfoliating sensorial experience.
Scalp pre-washes can be particularly useful for folks who experience excess buildup from the accumulation of sweat, natural oils, dead skin cells, and product residue, she adds. Scalp pre-shampoos can also soothe a dry, itchy scalp and even help manage dandruff. And if that sounds a lot like the benefits of double washing with shampoo as part of a hair cycling regimen…that’s because it is, George says. “From a functionality perspective, [a cleansing pre-wash and a shampoo] do the same thing,” she adds. “I think you could get the same benefit with a shampoo and good mechanical action from your fingers.”
Nevertheless, there are plenty of reasons to consider giving a pre-wash treatment a try. And with so many options to choose from, it can be hard to decide which products are worth it. Here are some expert-approved recommendations:
Pre-Shampoo Treatments That Experts Love
How do I know if I should pre-shampoo my hair?
Haircare is deeply personal, so there isn’t a hard-and-fast rule about whether you should pre-wash, George says. If you’re curious, feel empowered to give it a try. But whether your hair will actually benefit does depend on a few factors.
For starters, those with thick, coarse, dry, and curly or coily hair are most likely to benefit from a conditioning pre-wash treatment, Witherspoon says. These hair types are already more prone to tangling and breakage, so adding this step can make wash day smoother and more efficient. Conversely, those with naturally fine, thin, or oily hair may find these products too heavy, especially if it’s not rinsed out properly, Lane adds.
And if your hair doesn’t tend to tangle after shampooing, a pre-wash step may simply add unnecessary time to your routine. The same goes if you like to double-wash to remove product and debris buildup. In fact, George, who has tested many pre-wash treatments herself as part of her job, says double shampooing often does a better job at cleansing the hair and scalp in her experience. “I’m an old-fashioned person,” she says, “but I think you already buy products in your shower that can do the things these pre-wash treatments do.”
Another way to get some of the benefits without adding extra products to your shower caddy is to use conditioner on the ends of your hair before shampooing, George says. This technique is called reverse hair washing, and it can help provide that extra slip and protection you’d also get from certain pre-washes.
You can also find effective pre-shampoo alternatives right in your kitchen. Lane is a big fan of cold-pressed, unrefined coconut oil, and research supports its benefits for hair. For instance, a 2022 review in the International Journal of Trichology found that coconut oil can penetrate the hair shaft, coat the cuticle, and reduce friction on strands, which helps make detangling easier and protects hair from mechanical damage during washing.
These benefits come largely from coconut oil’s high concentration of lauric acid, Lane explains, a substance that has a small molecular structure allowing it to bind and protect keratin (the primary structural protein in hair) and prevent breakage. For similar reasons, Lane also enjoys using cold-pressed, unrefined babbasu oil as a pre-wash, she says.
The bottom line: Pre-shampoo treatments can enhance your haircare regimen and turn a routine, “robotic” wash day into a relaxing self-care ritual, Dr. Zalka says. And the best part? They don’t have to break the bank. “It doesn’t even have to be a legit product,” Lane says. “It can be something that you just have at home or get from a grocery store.”
Katie Mogg is the beauty editorial assistant at Women’s Health. Since starting college at Northeastern University in 2020, her bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NBC News and The Boston Globe. She strives to help readers lead happier and healthier lives through science-backed stories that explain how to care for hair, skin and nails. When she’s not working, Katie enjoys live music, strolling through Central Park, planning her next beach getaway, and sharing hotpot with friends.
Brian Underwood is beauty director at Women’s Health, where he oversees content strategy for the brand across all platforms, including digital, print, and social. Underwood previously served as beauty and wellness director at Oprah Daily and O, The Oprah Magazine. During his tenure leading beauty content for the Oprah brand at Hearst, stories Underwood commissioned were awarded the Skin Cancer Foundation Media Award and a Fragrance Award for Editorial Excellence (his second). He was the launch Beauty Director of Dr. Oz THE GOOD LIFE, and has held additional editorial positions at Fitness, Organic Style, Good Housekeeping, Life & Style Weekly, and Woman’s Day and has written for Self, Shape, Seventeen, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, and many more. Underwood previously served on the Skin Cancer Foundation’s gala committee and as partnerships director of the Trans Beauty Clinic, a New York-based charitable organization that provided beauty services and workshops to the city’s trans community.
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