Transcription
This is the hair care routine that has completely transformed the health of my hair and so many of yours, too. Otherwise known as the Abby Young method. I am still in shock about everything that's happened on Tik Tok over the past 6 months or so. It all started with one person posting a video testing out the Abby Young method and completely snowballed into more and more and more people buying the products I recommend, testing out my hair care routine, and sharing their results.
But if you've been a longtime viewer of this channel, you know that I have never called my hair care routine the Abby Young method. That's not really my style. But just one person calling it that was all it took for it to literally take on a life of its own. So eventually it got to this point where I was like, "Okay, because my name has now been attached to this thing. I need to step in and explain what my step-by-step hair care routine actually is." And since everyone was already calling it the Abby Young method, I guess I am, too. And now I'm bringing it to YouTube.
We were overdue for an updated hair care routine on this channel anyway, but I also felt like I needed an unlimited amount of time to really dive into the nitty-gritty of all of this and give you as much detail as I possibly can cuz there's only so much I can explain in a short form video when I'm limited to like 2 minutes. So, given the amount of detail I plan to go into, what I'm thinking is I will start off with step-by-step deep dive explanations of my pre-wash and wash routine in this video and then my post-wash and in between wash routine in a second video. And these first two videos are really just going to be focused on the steps themselves or the actual process, which will include an overview of the products I recommend for each step. So, if you would like a separate video where I share my top application tips and tricks for getting best results, just let me know.
So, without further ado, this is my step-by-step hair care routine for growing long, strong, healthy hair. As somebody who gets their hair professionally colored and uses heat regularly, meaning I damage my hair all the time, and this is the routine that I use to keep it healthy despite that. Step number one is applying a pre-shampoo bond repair treatment, which for me personally is always a prey. As we walk through this routine, you will notice that there are a lot of different moments where you can add in bond repair treatments. There are options for pre-shampoo, post shampoo, post conditioner, even leave-in conditioner. But please know that you absolutely do not need to use bond repair treatments in each of those steps in order to see meaningful results. Starting off with one or maybe two treatments and building from there if needed is a really great approach and very similar to what I did myself.
Out of all of the treatments that I am currently using, I started off with K18 first by itself and then I gradually added in treatments in real time as they launched like Redken, Living Proof, and then Apprey. And then the drugstore started launching Bond Repair. So, I of course had to dive into those and start testing those, too. I really do feel like it's an important part of my job to test out and review as many products as possible so that I can give you guys as many options to choose from as possible. So, just know that this routine is full of exactly that, options that you can pick and choose from, not requirements that you absolutely have to follow. It's all about making it your own based on what works best for you.
So, I use a Pray Before two out of my three total washes each week. And I spray it on my dry hair until it's fully saturated, at least 10 minutes before washing. I really love that this is a spray for pre-shampoo because it just makes it so much less of a hassle for me to use before the wash process starts because then I don't have to jump in the shower and wet my hair to apply that treatment and wait 10 minutes either out of the shower or in the shower before I can even start shampooing. I can stay out of the shower altogether and stay completely dry, spray it on my hair, clip it up and just wash it when I have time because a prey can basically be left in your hair as long as you want to before washing it. You could even apply this the day before, sleep in it, and then wash it the next day.
But if a prey isn't for you, some other treatments that I love and recommend include Redken, L'Oreal, Garnier, OGX, and Not Your Mother's. I have always preferred using these kinds of treatments after shampoo because I like the idea of removing buildup first before applying something a bit thicker and heavier like these. And in chatting with a lot of brands behind the scenes, I've learned that yes, even though they are formulated to work as pre-shampoo treatments and they do work in that way, many agree that you will see even better results if you do shampoo first. But again, they were formulated to work and give you results as a pre-shampoo treatment as well. So, the way that you use these kinds of products is really completely up to personal preference. So, while appreto for this step, you could use any of those other treatments I just recommended instead. Or you can feel free to skip this step altogether if you prefer using bond repair in a different part of your routine.
Moving on, step number two is a pre-shampoo oil treatment. This is something I started doing when I had severe bleach damage and I was amazed at how much softer, smoother, shinier, and more manageable it made my hair on wash day. He would like to provide his input on this routine. What do you think, buddy? Do you want to use a pre-shampoo oil? You do? Damaged hair is not only prone to looking and feeling dry, but it's also prone to excessive tangling, which can then just cause further damage and breakage when you try to work through those tangles. So, if you struggle with those things like I used to, then this is something that I definitely recommend trying out. If you don't really deal with any of those issues and your hair feels great with the rest of this routine, again, you can feel free to skip this step altogether.
The OGX Coconut Miracle Oil became my favorite for this step several years ago because of how well it worked for such an affordable price, but I know it's not for everyone. It's definitely a thicker, heavier oil. So, if you accidentally use too much, use a shampoo that's too gentle, or just have finer, thinner hair, it can leave an oily residue behind after washing. So thankfully OGX has two other versions of that oil that are very similar in terms of ingredients with a variety of silicones and coconut oil but just in lighter formats. The first is the nourishing coconut milk anti-breakage serum and the second is the nourishing coconut oil weightless hydrating oil mist. The mist is the lightest, the penetrating oil is the thickest and heaviest, and the anti-breakage serum is somewhere in the middle. So, you could think of it as the miracle oil being best for thick, coarse hair, the serum being best for normal or medium hair, and the mist being best for fine, thin hair. But that's not a rule or anything. There are no rules in this house. >> There are no rules in this house. >> You can use whatever you like the best in this entire routine, regardless of your hair type. I just try to share things like that cuz I feel like it helps to guide purchasing decisions and make it easier to figure out what you may end up liking the most.
I like to apply my oil treatments at least 20 minutes before washing and only on days when I'm not using bond repair treatments in the shower. We will get into that part of the process in a little bit. But that includes all of the treatments that I just showed you as a prey alternatives cuz again I like to use those after shampoo and K18. So if I'm not using an in-shower bond repair treatment and I am going to be applying oil on the same day that I'm applying a prey, what I will do is apply a prey onto my dry hair until again it's fully saturated. Wait 10 minutes, then apply my oil treatment while my hair is still damp with a prey, wait 20 more minutes after that, and then wash. But if it's a day that I'm not using a prey, then I will just apply that oil treatment to my dry lengths and ends instead. So the oil treatment is something that can be applied to both damp or dry hair. That doesn't really matter. It just kind of depends on whatever you're doing in your routine prior. Both ways work, but either way, I make sure to wait at least 20 minutes after applying the oil to wash. Similar to a prey, there's no reason why your oil treatment can't be left in for longer. So, if it works better for you to apply it the night before and then wash in the morning, feel free to do that.
Regardless of how I end up applying that oil treatment, it's again something that I choose to skip on days when I'm planning to use bond repair after shampoo because I want to avoid anything that has the potential to interfere with the ability of that treatment to properly penetrate my hair and therefore give me max repair. Not to say that I haven't done that before because I have. Like I swear I remember wash days where I applied this oil and then the Redken acidic bonding treatment cuz at that time I think that was like the only in-shower bond repair treatment that really existed aside from K18. And I remember loving the way that my hair felt when I did that. But now knowing everything that I do about bond repair and like knowing everything I've learned since those days, I'm like, let's just not let's skip the oil. Let's let the bond repair have the best chance possible to work as effectively as possible.
So, when it comes to pre-shampoo, there are kind of like four different application options here. The first would be applying a prey or whatever other bond repair treatment you're using, applying a pre-shampoo oil treatment, and then skipping bond repair treatments in the shower. Number two would be no pre-shampoo bond repair treatment, a pre-shampoo oil treatment, and then no in-shower bond repair treatment. Number three would be nothing before washing. So, no bond repair, no oil, and then a bond repair treatment in the shower. Or number four would be a pre-shampoo bond repair treatment, no pre-shampoo oil treatment, and then an in-shower bond repair treatment. And yes, I did confirm with the prey that using subsequent bond repair treatments in the same wash day as a prey will not interfere with its ability to repair your hair at all. If you're starting to feel a little bit confused or overwhelmed, don't worry. I will be walking you through some example daily and weekly wash day routines and monthly at the end of this video so that you can screenshot.
All right, that is it for pre-shampoo, which means that we are ready for our first in-shower step, which is step number three, clarifying or deep cleaning shampoos. This is a crucial part of my routine that I did not used to prioritize. And boy, do I regret it. Because using a shampoo that thoroughly and effectively removes buildup is so important for scalp and hair health. Something to keep in mind for this step is that brands define clarifying differently. So, just searching for a shampoo that claims to be clarifying is not guaranteed to give you the results that you're looking for depending on your scalp type. I know that I have tried several shampoos at this point that claim to be clarifying but end up being so gentle that my roots look greasy the very next morning after I use them. So, that's why for this step, I intentionally say clarifying/deep cleaning. A deep clean is really the main focus of this step, but a lot of brands don't use that terminology in their marketing. Many brands do use clarifying synonymously with chelating to indicate that their shampoo has the ability to remove hard water deposits like metals that can make your hair dull and brittle. While other brands use words like detox or purifying to indicate that their shampoo provides more of a heavy-duty clean for intense buildup or super oily scalps. If you do have hard water, I highly recommend looking for a chelating option. But if not, again, the goal is still the same here, to get a thorough buildup removing cleanse at least once a week or more if needed. Because if you have a super oily scalp, you may need to use a deep cleaning shampoo every single time you wash. And that is totally fine. There are a lot of myths out there about these kinds of shampoos being terrible for your hair or way too harsh to use every single wash. And that's just not the case, especially when you have a solid conditioning routine after you use one of these shampoos. So, start with once a week. Monitor how your scalp and hair are looking and feeling and add from there if needed.
My top drugstore recommendations for this step include L'Oreal Clarify, Dove Scalp Plus Hair Therapy Clarifying, Garnier Pure Clean, and Pantene, well, what was volume and body, but what has been relatively recently renamed to Sheer Volume. Same shampoo, just an updated name. And my high-end recommendations include L'Oreal Metal Detox, K18 Peptide Prep Detox, Living Proof Clarifying Detox. We're starting to see some of the different words used here and whey detox. All of those recommendations vary in terms of benefits, chelating ability, cleansing power, and the scalp type that I think they're best for. So, if you want more details on all of that to find the best fit for you, you can check out this video that I will have listed in the description box below. You guys know how much I love this shampoo from Pantene, and there are weeks where I'll just use this for all three of my washes and love my results. But there are other weeks where I only end up using this for one of my three washes and then I use a regular shampoo for the other two or I use a different deep cleaning shampoo altogether or I combine this or a different deep cleaning shampoo with a regular shampoo in the same wash. It all just depends on how oily my scalp is, what my level of buildup is, what I feel like using, what I want my hair to look and feel like, and what benefits I am trying to get, which is really the approach that I recommend everybody follows. No specific rules that you're forcing yourself to follow, no products that you're forcing yourself to use, just assessing your scalp and hair and adjusting as needed as the week goes on.
Next is step number four, which is non-clarifying or regular shampoo. This represents any shampoo that I don't consider to be deep cleaning or chelating. And like I just mentioned, really varies from week to week, both in terms of how and when I use it. As most of you already know, I personally like to double shampoo every time I wash, but not because it like makes the shampoo work better or any of these other myths that are out there about double shampooing. Really, the main reason that I like to do it is because it forces me to not rush through that shampoo process to make sure that I'm getting as thorough a cleanse as possible. So, some wash days I'll just use the same shampoo for that double shampoo process. That might mean I'm using a clarifying shampoo two times in a row and that's it, or a regular shampoo two times in a row and that's it. But sometimes I do like to use one of each in the same wash. So like clarifying for the first shampoo, regular for the second so that I can get some of the benefits of both. Like for example, Pantene sheer volume for the clean followed by Dove intensive repair for added softness and repair or K18 detox for the chelating followed by L'Oreal glossing for added smoothing and shine. I actually have a lot of fun doing that and mixing and matching things to see how it ever so slightly changes my results. But I also recognize that I'm extra because this is my job. So, please know that you absolutely do not need to use two different shampoos in the same wash. You can just stick with one and leave it at that, which is something that I often do anyway, too.
My top drugstore recommendations for this step include Dove Intensive Repair, Dove Bond Strength, L'Oreal Bond Repair, L'Oreal Glossing, both the Lviv and Everpure options. I did post a short form video comparing these two, so if you're curious to know the difference, I'll list that below. Garnier Strength Repair. This is the conditioner cuz I just emptied the shampoo. So, just pretend this is the shampoo and Not Your Mother's Tough Love Bonding. And then for high-end, Amika the Cure, Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate, and Pureology Strength Cure. If you need help deciding between those, I also have a video detailing every nitpicky thing that you may want to know about those shampoos that I will list below for you as well. You know, I got you on product recommendations.
I also want to address medicated shampoo because it's something that's very important to my own personal routine. But I didn't make it its own separate standalone step because not everybody needs to use one and it easily fits right here in step four. Anyway, I'm not going to dive into all of the details on medicated shampoos because I just did that in this video here. But I still want to make sure that I'm addressing it because scalp health is really a cornerstone of this method. So if you need to use a shampoo that has ingredients like zinc pyrithione or ketoconazole to keep uncomfortable scalp symptoms at bay, please do. Itching, flaking, and irritation are not signs that should be ignored. They're really signs that indicate that your scalp needs some additional TLC. And one of the best ways to give it that is by using a shampoo with active ingredients that have been specifically designed to control those symptoms. And while I am prone to those symptoms, for whatever reason, I'm only prone to them at like this one spot on the back of my scalp. So, I kind of use medicated shampoo like a spot treatment, if you will. And I've personally seen best results in using both a pyrithione zinc containing shampoo and a ketoconazole containing shampoo in the same wash, every single wash. So, what I like to do is my double shampoo method first. Show everything we just talked through and then again kind of like spot treat that one area with my medicated shampoos. So like Head and Shoulders on that one spot, rinse, followed by Nizoral, a rinse, and then moving on. But you absolutely do not need to follow that same approach if you're someone that uses medicated shampoo. You can just stick with that one shampoo as your only shampoo and leave it at that, especially if your symptoms are more widespread on your scalp than mine. And I definitely have done that before myself, but again, because I only have a need for it on one specific spot and this is my job and I love testing out hair care, I do enjoy using other shampoos.
My medicated shampoo recommendations include Nizoral, CeraVe Anti-Dandruff Hydrating, Dove Dryness and Itch Relief, Head and Shoulders Classic Clean, and Neutrogena Extra Strength. More details on which scalp types each of those options are best for are in this video here. But lately I have just been alternating between those pyrithione zinc options which include everything but Nizoral and then I always finish up with Nizoral which is the ketoconazole option after that.
Okay, step five. Here we go. Step five is post-shampoo bond repair treatments. And for me this includes both K18 and the thicker creamier options I was talking about earlier like Redken, L'Oreal, Garnier, OGX and Not Your Mothers. But for you, that might just mean one of those options, and that is perfectly fine. I am currently using K18 once every 3ish weeks. And I probably use one of these other options once every 1 to two weeks on average. But if it's a wash day that I am using K18, then I will not use one of these kinds of treatments. I'm not using any other bond repair treatments in the same wash as K18 and vice versa. So on K18 days, I will skip my pre-shampoo oil treatment and I will use a clarifying shampoo per their recommendation, towel dry my hair, apply K18, wait 4 minutes, and then move on to the rest of my routine. And again, that's once every 3ish weeks, unless I have just gotten my hair colored, in which case I will use this for the next six consecutive washes, and then I go back to maintenance mode with it.
I don't always clarify before I use these kinds of treatments because in my mind they were formulated to work as pre-shampoo treatments where you follow up with their respective non-clarifying shampoo option. Like none of the shampoos that are part of these bond repair systems are clarifying shampoos. So I don't always clarify before I use these, but I often do. I just feel like once I saw that recommendation from K18 all those years ago to use a deep cleaning or clarifying shampoo to remove buildup before using that treatment, it just really changed the way that I thought about bond repair and effective use of bond repair altogether. Anyway, so if it is a this kind of treatment day, then I will skip my pre-shampoo oil treatment, shampoo, apply one of these, let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes depending on what each product recommends cuz that does vary. Yeah, I was going to say I'm pretty sure Garnier says 5 minutes and then I feel like this one used to say yeah 5 to 10 for L'Oreal. So I just follow whatever the recommendations are and then I move on to the rest of my routine.
I don't currently have a video comparing different kinds of individual bond repair treatments because I feel like that would just be a really tricky video to do. There's no data out there comparing the efficacy of these treatments to one another and many if not most of them have proprietary technology anyway. So I'm not really sure how I would go about that. What I will say is that I do enjoy alternating between different kinds of bond repair treatments to potentially get different benefits from the different technologies that they have to offer. But I don't really have a rhyme or reason to how I do that. It's not like I am strictly using certain treatments in a specific rotation or anything like that. I just kind of alternate between them and reach for different treatments on different wash days, which is something you could choose to do if you like to have a couple different options. Or something else you could do is buy one treatment, use that up, and then switch to a different treatment for a different technology. Or you can just stick with one permanently if you really love the results that you get with it and that's what works best for you. Unless you prefer using bond repair before washing or after washing instead, in which case you can skip this post-shampoo and shower treatment altogether.
Okay, now we are ready for step six, which is in-shower conditioning. This step is all about making your hair easier to detangle and manage after washing, which includes softening, smoothing, adding shine, taming frizz, and benefits like that. And you can achieve all of those benefits with a conditioner, a hair mask, some hair glosses, or some sort of combination of those three, like a conditioner and a mask, or a gloss and a conditioner. I just posted a video explaining all of my thoughts on this because I have a lot of them. So, I will spare you on rehashing all of that and just list that below. Instead, I'll just summarize my approach here by saying that I use at least one conditioning product. So, at least a conditioner, a gloss, or a mask every single time I wash. And I leave it in my hair for at least a few minutes, sometimes up to 10. Shaving when you're this tall takes a long time. Okay. Sometimes I do like to use more than one conditioning product in the same wash if, again, I want to get some of the benefits of both and I really love how my hair feels and using both. But other times, I will just stick with one. It all just depends on, you guessed it, how my hair feels, how much time I have, and what I feel like using.
At this point, I've accumulated a pretty huge list of the conditioning products that I love, which is hopefully good news for you because then you have a lot of options to choose from. Many different things that can give you incredible results. So, the first of my affordable recommendations is Dove Bond Strength, both the conditioner and the mask. Dove's Intensive Repair conditioner and mask, the Pantene Miracle Rescue Conditioner and Mask, again, the L'Oreal Glossing Conditioners. But if I had to pick a favorite out of the two, I do like Everpure a little bit better. And that also has the 5-minute lamination mask in the same line that I love. L'Oreal Bond Repair, which is dripping all over me. I just took all of these out of my shower and threw them in a bin. The OGX Bond Protein Repair Mask, the Garnier Hair Filler Strength Conditioner, and the Elizavecca C-100 Collagen Ceramide Coating Protein Treatment. And then for high-end, Amika the Cure, Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate, and Pureology Strength Cure. And I use every single one of those every single wash. Kidding. Obviously, I know that I have a ton of recommendations at this point, but keep in mind that I have been testing out hair care products for years at this point. My voice just went out. Like over 5 years. So, I have tested significantly more than what I just showed you here. And these are the ones that stand out to me and are the most impressive to me out of everything I've tried. I also see your guys's comments and your feedback about these systems. So, I understand that there are little things about each that people don't love that don't work for certain hair types. It might be the texture. It might be how it makes your hair feel. It might be the smell. It could be the price point. And that is why I continue to give you a plethora of recommendations because I know a lot of you are just as picky about hair care as I am. So, if you're new here and that feels like an insanely overwhelming amount of recommendations, I totally get it. I also already have videos detailing everything you need to know about each of those to help you to figure out which is going to be the best fit for you.
So, out of all of those recommendations, I will pick one to two of them to use each wash day, unless I am using a bond repair treatment after shampoo. If I am, then I will just use one conditioning product in that wash to save time. And that is it for my pre-wash and in-shower wash day routine. But I can't just end the video there. I need to bring all of this together to make it as cohesive and clear as possible for you. So here are some example weekly routines to do that. A typical weekly routine when I am not using K18 will look something like this. Wash number one of three of the week. Let's say Sunday. This is often the schedule I follow. Starts with a prey, a pre-shampoo oil treatment, a clarifying shampoo and or a regular shampoo depending on what I want to use. And then one to two of the following: conditioner, gloss or mask. Wash number two out of three for the week on Tuesday has no pre-shampoo treating at all and just starts off with a clarifying shampoo followed up by a bond repair treatment like Garnier, OGX, L'Oreal, Redken or Not Your Mothers. And then one out of the three following options: a hair mask, a conditioner or a gloss. And then wash number three of three for the week on Thursday is the exact same as Sunday. So, a prey pre-shampoo, oil treatment, clarifying shampoo and or regular shampoo and one to two conditioning products.
And then a K18 week would really look exactly the same just with K18 in place of those other treatments. So, Sunday is the exact same. Tuesday, very similar, just plop in K18 instead of those others. And then Thursday, again, exactly the same. So, an example month in the life of my hair looks something like this. We have three weeks of that first example week I showed you and then week four would be the K18 week. And I recognize that not all of you are going to be washing three days a week. Some of you need to wash more. Some of you prefer to wash less. But either way, I would recommend following a similar approach where you kind of have dedicated bond repair days and then you can adjust from there. So if you need to wash more, you would add an additional wash day with shampoo and a conditioning product and no bond repair. And then if you need to wash less, you could subtract one of the days that I laid out for you where I am not using a bond repair treatment. So like subtract Sunday or subtract Thursday.
And if you're like, "Hey, that's great for you, but this is too much for me and I need something simpler," this is what I'd recommend. First, pick one deep cleaning shampoo. Second, pick one regular shampoo, so non-cleansing, if that deep cleaning option that you selected is too strong for you to use every time you wash. Because if it's not and you like the results that it gives you, then you can just stick with one shampoo total. Number three, pick one conditioning product. Either a conditioner or a mask, I would say, because really the only gloss that I feel works for me as a substitute to conditioner or a mask is where is it? The L'Oreal gloss and also their L'Oreal gloss, which is like from the European line. I personally wouldn't use a liquid rinse in place of conditioner or a mask. So, let's just say pick either a conditioner or a mask. So, so far we have one to two shampoos and one conditioning product. From there, pick one bond repair treatment. So, that could be a pre-K18 or one of these other recommendations, pick one of those. And then if you need extra help after that, one oil to use for a pre-shampoo treatment.
And now that is it for this video. I hope that this helped you to see that there are truly so many ways that you can tweak and adjust this method to make it your own and make it fit for you, your hair, your preferences, your lifestyle. This method is not designed to be a one-size-fits-all approach because hair is not one-size-fits-all. You know your hair better than anybody else. And I hope if anything, the kind of like flexibility of this method and all of the different options just empowers you to make the decisions that are the best for your scalp and your hair. If you have any questions on everything that I just talked about, please leave them in the comments below because I am thinking that after if you guys are interested in an application tips and tricks video after that I could do a Q&A video where I just answer all of the questions you have about this. Otherwise, make sure to stay tuned for my next video because that will be up a week from today. And until then, I hope you have a great week. [Music]