On the market today there are so many shampoo and conditioners it is hard to decide which one works the best and which one is right for you, furthermore, the ingredients in our hair care products are really what end up making one brand more appealing than any other. Do you ask yourself these questions when you're trying to decide which product is best for you: Is the product smooth, does it smell good; does it lather nicely, and feel velvety to the touch? Does the product leave my hair feeling like hay when I try to comb it out?
The real purpose of shampoo is to clean the hair. The real purpose of conditioner is to soften, smooth, and manage dry, tangling, flyaway hair. If our shampoo cleans our hair too well, then we end up stripping vital natural oils from our scalp and hair shaft, leaving our hair and scalp dry and damaged, and feeling like matted doll hair when it is wet. If our conditioner is too oily then we end up with stringy, dirty looking hair that makes our scalp itch, and leaves our hair clinging to our head as if we haven't showered in days.
The ingredients in shampoos and conditioners are not only designed to sell us the product, they are designed to provide relief from conditions which result in poor scalp and hair health. We choose these products based on their botanical extracts, essential oils, and cleansing benefits. If a product smells fresh, or floral, or is infused with extracts of vanilla, lavender, and almond we tend to feel better knowing nature is playing a part in our beauty regimen. Chemicals like Sodium or its larger molecular relative Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate are detergents, in the class of surfactants, which help keep the product and hair clean from soap scum. Cocamide DEA, MEA, or TEA provides the foam which helps our shampoos suds and thus assist in cleaning our hair. Glycol distearate is added to products to make it appear pearlescent and opaque. Glycerin is added to products to add and help bind moisture from the air and onto the hair shaft.
Selecting a shampoo and conditioner regimen is not as easy as television and magazine advertisements make it seem, when there are a ton of name brand, and not so name brand products tempting us to buy. In reality, can shampoo and conditioner "fix" issues we encounter everyday with our hair? When trying to address our hair care issues we need to take into consideration our hair type. Is it curly, straight, wavy, thick and curly, thick and course, fine and curly, fine and straight; then to top it all off, is your hair type textured through chemical straightening, chemical coloring, or chemical curling, or in many cases all three?
To add even more confusion, when we blow our hair dry, and straighten or curl with hot irons, we add even more damage to our scalp and hair shaft. Did you know you can boil the cuticle of your hair if you try and straighten hair when it's damp?!? How do we address all of these issues with shampoo and conditioner? First off, decide which hair type you fit into. Dry, damaged, curly, chemically treated hair is going to need a shampoo that is creamy, containing natural oils which work with your skin and your hairs complex chemistry and do not clog your scalp and hairs pores and follicles, not wax or petroleum which can coat, and actually dry out your hair and scalp making the situation even worse.
Which products actually make a difference? Thick healthy hair with wave or color might work best with a moisturizing shampoo and conditioning regimen, thank goodness for products that are designed with companion products which take much of the guess work out. Look for products that will impart moisture without weighing down the cuticle of your hair, leaving the hair clean, soft, and manageable.
There are a wide range of color treated products out on the hair care market. Keep in mind hair that has been highlighted using bleach or has been over colored, no matter what texture the hair, is going to need a shampoo for color / chemically treated, damaged hair. The conditioning (which is considered essential) treatment will be designed around what type of chemical coloring has been chosen. For those of us who color frequently, luckily, there are shampoos and conditioners designed in mind to compliment your chemically treated colored hair all the while utilizing natural plant oils and polymers to help protect and seal in shine and color.
There are color enhancing shampoos and conditioners with color included which are great and help lengthen the life of your color. Remember that color highlighting shampoos and conditioners for blonde hair contain peroxides or astringent products which can rob hair of its natural oils leaving hair lusterless. Overuse of these products can leave hair and scalp feeling dry, lifeless and damaged.
Chemically textured hair actually changes the structure of the hair shaft, permanently rearranging the salt and hydrogen bonds in the hair structure in order to create curly or straight hair, leaving the hair in a fragile state. Chemically straightened hair is easily broken and will need a regimen designed to meet those specific needs. Again, products (shampoos and conditioners), designed to replenish natural oils, using water soluble emollients, provide a lightweight alternative where in the past heavy grease laden products were used to smooth chemically processed hair.
Chemically curled hair is created when an alkaline or acid is used to soften and reshape straight hair around a curler. The neutralizer then re-hardens that hair to permanently contour the hair into its new form, hence the name "permanent." Chemically curled hair shouldn't be washed for at least three days after the chemical process. The hair needs to "naturally" firm up and shampoo and conditioning too soon will significantly reduced the effectiveness of the effect of a perm.
Whatever shampoo and conditioner you choose to compliment your hair care routine should reflect your hair type, and condition and the way you style your hair. Products should nurture, give life and body, not only to the hair shaft but keeping the scalp healthy as well. Choose products that have been recommended to work harmoniously with the chemical treatment your hair and scalp have received. Listen to your hairstylist and ask questions about shampoos and conditioners which are designed to benefit and work with your hair type, color, chemical process, and condition of your hair and scalp.
The real purpose of shampoo is to clean the hair. The real purpose of conditioner is to soften, smooth, and manage dry, tangling, flyaway hair. If our shampoo cleans our hair too well, then we end up stripping vital natural oils from our scalp and hair shaft, leaving our hair and scalp dry and damaged, and feeling like matted doll hair when it is wet. If our conditioner is too oily then we end up with stringy, dirty looking hair that makes our scalp itch, and leaves our hair clinging to our head as if we haven't showered in days.
The ingredients in shampoos and conditioners are not only designed to sell us the product, they are designed to provide relief from conditions which result in poor scalp and hair health. We choose these products based on their botanical extracts, essential oils, and cleansing benefits. If a product smells fresh, or floral, or is infused with extracts of vanilla, lavender, and almond we tend to feel better knowing nature is playing a part in our beauty regimen. Chemicals like Sodium or its larger molecular relative Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate are detergents, in the class of surfactants, which help keep the product and hair clean from soap scum. Cocamide DEA, MEA, or TEA provides the foam which helps our shampoos suds and thus assist in cleaning our hair. Glycol distearate is added to products to make it appear pearlescent and opaque. Glycerin is added to products to add and help bind moisture from the air and onto the hair shaft.
Selecting a shampoo and conditioner regimen is not as easy as television and magazine advertisements make it seem, when there are a ton of name brand, and not so name brand products tempting us to buy. In reality, can shampoo and conditioner "fix" issues we encounter everyday with our hair? When trying to address our hair care issues we need to take into consideration our hair type. Is it curly, straight, wavy, thick and curly, thick and course, fine and curly, fine and straight; then to top it all off, is your hair type textured through chemical straightening, chemical coloring, or chemical curling, or in many cases all three?
To add even more confusion, when we blow our hair dry, and straighten or curl with hot irons, we add even more damage to our scalp and hair shaft. Did you know you can boil the cuticle of your hair if you try and straighten hair when it's damp?!? How do we address all of these issues with shampoo and conditioner? First off, decide which hair type you fit into. Dry, damaged, curly, chemically treated hair is going to need a shampoo that is creamy, containing natural oils which work with your skin and your hairs complex chemistry and do not clog your scalp and hairs pores and follicles, not wax or petroleum which can coat, and actually dry out your hair and scalp making the situation even worse.
Which products actually make a difference? Thick healthy hair with wave or color might work best with a moisturizing shampoo and conditioning regimen, thank goodness for products that are designed with companion products which take much of the guess work out. Look for products that will impart moisture without weighing down the cuticle of your hair, leaving the hair clean, soft, and manageable.
There are a wide range of color treated products out on the hair care market. Keep in mind hair that has been highlighted using bleach or has been over colored, no matter what texture the hair, is going to need a shampoo for color / chemically treated, damaged hair. The conditioning (which is considered essential) treatment will be designed around what type of chemical coloring has been chosen. For those of us who color frequently, luckily, there are shampoos and conditioners designed in mind to compliment your chemically treated colored hair all the while utilizing natural plant oils and polymers to help protect and seal in shine and color.
There are color enhancing shampoos and conditioners with color included which are great and help lengthen the life of your color. Remember that color highlighting shampoos and conditioners for blonde hair contain peroxides or astringent products which can rob hair of its natural oils leaving hair lusterless. Overuse of these products can leave hair and scalp feeling dry, lifeless and damaged.
Chemically textured hair actually changes the structure of the hair shaft, permanently rearranging the salt and hydrogen bonds in the hair structure in order to create curly or straight hair, leaving the hair in a fragile state. Chemically straightened hair is easily broken and will need a regimen designed to meet those specific needs. Again, products (shampoos and conditioners), designed to replenish natural oils, using water soluble emollients, provide a lightweight alternative where in the past heavy grease laden products were used to smooth chemically processed hair.
Chemically curled hair is created when an alkaline or acid is used to soften and reshape straight hair around a curler. The neutralizer then re-hardens that hair to permanently contour the hair into its new form, hence the name "permanent." Chemically curled hair shouldn't be washed for at least three days after the chemical process. The hair needs to "naturally" firm up and shampoo and conditioning too soon will significantly reduced the effectiveness of the effect of a perm.
Whatever shampoo and conditioner you choose to compliment your hair care routine should reflect your hair type, and condition and the way you style your hair. Products should nurture, give life and body, not only to the hair shaft but keeping the scalp healthy as well. Choose products that have been recommended to work harmoniously with the chemical treatment your hair and scalp have received. Listen to your hairstylist and ask questions about shampoos and conditioners which are designed to benefit and work with your hair type, color, chemical process, and condition of your hair and scalp.
