Nisaa
Ghusl after hayd follows the same core steps as any full bath for major ritual purity: intention, then water reaching every part of the body including the roots of the hair. Hayd adds one detail beyond that, drawn directly from the hadith: the washing should be thorough enough to remove every trace of blood.
The steps, drawn from how 'Aishah (Radi'Allahu Anha) described the Prophet's (Salla Allahu 'Alayhi Wa Sallam) own ghusl:
- Make the intention (niyyah) to lift the impurity of hayd.
- Say Bismillah, then wash both hands.
- Wash the private parts and remove any remaining trace of blood.
- Perform wudu as you would for prayer.
- Pour water over the head three times, working it in until it reaches the scalp, then pour water over the rest of the body, right side before left, so that no part is left dry.
This is the same routine used for ghusl from Janabah; hayd does not require a different bath, only the same one performed with care.
Hayd carries one addition on top of that sequence. Asma bint Shakal (Radi'Allahu Anha) asked the Prophet (Salla Allahu 'Alayhi Wa Sallam) how a woman should perform ghusl from her menses. He said: “One of you should take her water and lotus leaves (sidr) and purify herself well, then pour water over her head and rub it vigorously until it reaches the roots of the hair, then pour water over herself, then take a piece of cloth perfumed with musk and purify herself with it.” She asked, “How do I purify myself with it?” He said, “Subhan Allah, purify yourself with it.” 'Aishah, understanding what he meant, added quietly: “Follow the traces of blood with it.” (Narrated by Muslim).
Scholars read the perfumed cloth as a recommendation, not a condition the ghusl depends on. What makes the ghusl valid is water reaching every part of the body; the sidr and the musk-scented cloth were the Prophet's own suggestion for doing that thoroughly, not an extra step without which the bath fails. A woman who has neither still completes a valid ghusl with water alone.
Do you need to undo braided hair?
No. Umm Salamah (Radi'Allahu Anha) asked the Prophet (Salla Allahu 'Alayhi Wa Sallam): “I am a woman who wears my hair in tight braids; should I undo it for ghusl from Janabah?” He said: “No, it is enough for you to pour three handfuls of water over your head, then pour water over the rest of yourself, and you will be purified.” (Narrated by Muslim). Scholars carry this same concession over to ghusl from hayd: undoing braids is not obligatory, so long as the water is worked through to the scalp and every strand is reached.
Ghusl is due the moment your bleeding has actually ended, not before. See how to know your period has ended for the two signs scholars rely on to tell tuhr from a pause in the flow. Until ghusl is performed, prayer, tawaf, entering the mosque and touching the mushaf stay closed to you exactly as they were during the bleeding itself; it is ghusl, not the stopping of blood on its own, that reopens them. Fasting is the one exception: if your bleeding stops before Fajr, that day's fast is valid even though ghusl itself waits until afterward. If your husband wants to resume intimacy once your period ends, that also waits for ghusl, on the strength of the same ayah.