Shampoo for Hair: Choosing the Right Shampoo for Your Hair
Firstly it is important to understand what shampoo is and what it is supposed to do.
It’s obvious it’s supposed to clean our hair make it smell good and feel soft and shiny, but what exactly is shampoo?
The main function of a shampoo is to gently cleanse the hair by removing accumulated sebum, skin debris, dirt and residues from styling products.
Shampoos must be carefully formulated to avoid excessive removal of sebum and ideally they should leave the hair soft, shiny and easy to comb and style.
The shampoo should also give body to prevent flyaway hair and help to improve damaged hair. You will want the shampoo to spread over the hair and scalp easily. The shampoo must be easy to rinse of after use.
Lastly a well-formulated shampoo should not irritate the skin or cause any damage to the eyes. However there are always people who are allergic to some particular shampoos.
” just think of the shampoo molecules having a head and tail”
HOW SHAMPOOS CLEANSE HAIR
The ability of shampoos to cleanse is due to a group of molecules,” just think of the shampoo molecules having a head and tail” – the head is attracted to water and the tail is attracted to oil, dirt and debris.
When the shampoo is applied to the scalp and hair the end of the molecule attracts the oil and dirt and when the hair is thoroughly rinsed with water the water attracts the other end of the molecules and pulls the entire molecule together with the oil and dirt away from the scalp – Hence the hair and scalp are cleansed.
Usually this works well, but problems arise when the shampoo is too harsh. In that case it opens and swells the cuticle which causes damage to the cuticle and spits ends. It is essential to use a gentle shampoo that is ph. balance at 5.5 – the same ph. balance of your hair.
Ideally shampoo should not be too acidic – below 5.2 as it will strip the hair form the cuticle. Nor should it be too alkaline – above ph. 7 this will damage the cuticle by weakening it because it is too porous.
It is a “myth” that you should feel you hair “squeak” after shampooing. Actually it should simply feel clean not too dry or too squeaky-clean (which is a sign that you’ve used a shampoo that is too harsh, and it has stripped too many oils out.)
Ingredients that you should look for in a shampoo
- Water
- Surfactants – active agent responsible for cleaning the hair
- Best Moisturizing ingredients : vegetable glycerine, jojoba oil, Aloe Vera, Avocado, grape-seed oil, wheatgerm oil, macadamia nut oil
WHAT MAKES A GOOD SHAMPOO?
So which ingredients should you look for in a shampoo? The first ingredient should be water, every shampoo contains surfactants the active agent responsible for cleaning the hair.
Some surfactants are less harsh than others, some shampoos use harsh detergents that can strip the hair, ingredients to avoid are chemical preservatives like ammonium lauryl sulphate found in cheap shampoos which can strip the hair of its natural oils.
Most shampoos include a chemical ingredient, however, more exclusive salon only shampoos and health food stores offer brands which are almost 100 percent natural (except for some necessary preservatives.)
The most common misconception is that for a shampoo to be effective it must create a good lather. Good moisturizing shampoos don’t lather that much.
Some of the best moisturizing ingredients to look out for are vegetable glycerine, often found in botanically based shampoos, jojoba oil, aloe Vera, avocado, grape seed oil, wheat germ oil, macadamia nut oil just to name a few.
Getting the Shampoo Right
Looking for the right shampoo can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
There are a lot of good products out there but you’re just not sure how to choose the right one for you.
What you need is some good informative advice to take you through the overwhelming selection available so that you can make an informed choice and choose the shampoo that is right for you.
When choosing a shampoo, it is important to look for a product specifically for you hair’s needs and condition:
Different Hair Conditions
- Dry Hair
- Oil hair
- Fine Hair
- Color Treated Hair
Dry Hair
If your hair looks frizzy dull and tangles easily it is probably dry.
Use a shampoo designed for dry brittle hair these shampoos contain a low concentrate of active cleansing ingredient and lots of moisturizing ingredients they also containing essential oils including Aloe Vera, Jojoba oil, Arghan oil and Avocado oil.
Oily Hair
It is a known fact that people with oily hair can still have dry scalp. You need to help the scalp condition as well as help the hair.
Choose a shampoo that will gently clean the hair, shampoos for oily hair will generally have less moisturizing ingredients so you will need to apply a good conditioner to the ends of the hair only.
If you have a problem scalp use a medicated shampoo which contains tar – an anti-inflammatory. These shampoos should also help clear any fungus which lives on the scalp.
Fine Hair
There are lots shampoos which contain volumizers; these contain amino acids which help to temporarily thicken the hair.
A lot of them contain Panthenol Vitamin B5 which effectively bulk up the hair shaft. Other products contain proteins to form a film on the hair to thicken it.
Color Treated Hair
It is suggested that colour processed hair can benefit from seaweeds and algae, in fact any kind of marine extract will help restore nutrients that chemically processed hair is depleted from.
Special enzyme colour protectors help keep colour fresher longer.
You should also look for a shampoo with a ph. between 5.2 and 5.6 necessary to neutralize the alkalinity of hair colour.
The bottom line is when choosing a shampoo check the ingredients.
The first ingredient of a good shampoo should always be water followed by essential oils, vitamins and moisturizing agents, alcohol which can be an ingredient also, is a preservative and should only be listed 3rd or 4th.
As long as water is the first ingredient you are on the right track.
Conditioning Counts
Conditioner helps smooth down the cuticles of the hair. It actively moisturizes the hair and scalp, de-tangles the hair and adds shine. Conditioning should be an essential part of the cleaning process.
Apply generously, concentrating on the ends where the hair receives the most stress, Comb through using a wide tooth comb and leave for a few minutes, rinse thoroughly.
Use an intensive conditioning treatment regularly especially if your hair is dry brittle and dull. Aloe Vera Juice can be added to intensive conditioning treatments for added benefits.