Expert reveals the shower setting that could be damaging your hair this autumn

As autumn arrives, a long, hot shower can be hard to resist – but cranking up the heat could be taking a toll on your hair and scalp.

Erin Reece, MD and spokesperson for natural hair care brand TryBello, says there is no need to switch to cold showers, but warns against making the water excessively hot.

“Warm water is completely fine. What I would avoid is having it so hot that your scalp feels tight afterwards or your skin is bright red when you get out,” she said.

Very hot water can leave hair feeling stripped and dry, particularly through the lengths and ends. Curly, coloured and longer hair can be especially prone to becoming rough and tangled.

“If you get out of the shower and immediately feel like you need loads of oil or conditioner just to make the hair feel normal again, I would look at the water temperature first,” Reece added.

She also advises against spending too long with hair directly under hot running water. Shampoo should be concentrated around the scalp, where most oil, sweat and product build-up occurs, while conditioner should generally focus on drier lengths and ends.

Leaving products on for longer than recommended is unlikely to help either.

“If a conditioner tells you to leave it on for three minutes, keeping it there for 15 is not automatically going to give you a better result,” Reece said.

Hair should also be treated gently after washing. Rather than vigorously rubbing it with a towel, squeeze out excess water and blot it before brushing carefully from the ends upwards.

Hairdryers can add further heat, so Reece recommends removing as much excess water as possible first and using a moderate setting.

She said: “People add a mask, then an oil, then another treatment because the hair suddenly feels different from summer. Those things can all have their place, but I would still look at the boring stuff first.

“How hot is the shower? How long are you in there? Those are the things happening every time you wash your hair, so they matter more than people think.”