Short answer
Yes. In the Hanafi school water must reach every hair and the skin under it, so ghusl is not valid with the hair left dry. The one exception is a woman with braids, who only has to get water to the roots. Shampoo is not required, but anything that blocks water, like a thick gel, must be removed.
Washing the whole head, the hair and the skin beneath it, is part of the fard of washing the whole body. A man must undo his braids so that water reaches all of his hair. A woman with braided hair need not undo them if water reaches the roots, but her loose hair must be washed in full.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Water must reach the whole length of the hair as well as the skin; a woman undoes her braids if water cannot reach inside them.
- Hanbali
- A woman need not undo braids for janabah; for the ghusl after a period, undoing them is recommended.
Explanation
Aisha described the Prophet ﷺ running his wet fingers through the roots of his hair before pouring water over his head three times. Hanafi scholars, like the others, hold that the head is part of the body that must be washed in ghusl, so a ghusl that leaves the hair dry is not valid.
Common situations:
- Men with long hair or braids: water must reach every hair, so a man undoes his braids; the concession for braids is for women. Locs that cannot be undone are a case to ask a mufti about.
- Women with braids: undoing them is not required; wetting the roots is enough (see braids in ghusl).
- Hair gel, wax or spray: a light product that water passes through is fine. A thick coating that keeps water off must be washed out first.
- Oil: does not block water, so the ghusl is valid.
- Henna and hair dye: leave colour, not a layer, so they are fine.
- Wigs and clip-in pieces: must come off so that water reaches your own hair and scalp.
Shampoo and soap are not required; plain water reaching the hair once is enough. If washing your head would harm you because of illness or a wound, Hanafi scholars allow wiping over it instead, and if even wiping harms, it is left and the rest of the body washed.
If you did ghusl but kept your hair dry, for example to keep it styled, the ghusl is incomplete. Wash your head to complete it, and repeat any prayers prayed before that. See the fard of ghusl.
The evidence
Sahih al-Bukhari 248
Sahih... ثم يدخل أصابعه في الماء فيخلل بها أصول شعره ...
"Then he would put his fingers in the water and run them through the roots of his hair."
Water must reach the roots of the hair in ghusl.
Sahih Muslim 330
Sahih... إنما يكفيك أن تحثي على رأسك ثلاث حثيات ...
"It is enough for you to pour three handfuls of water over your head."
A woman with braids need not undo them if water reaches the roots.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on ghusl. Washing the hair, braids for men and women, and barriers to water.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on ghusl. The Shafi'i requirement to wash the whole hair.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.