Making the Right Shampoo Choice for Healthy Hair

A good shampoo should cleanse the hair and scalp by removing accumulated sebum, skin debris, dirt and residues of hair-grooming preparations. It should leave the hair soft, shiny and easy to comb and style. A shampoo should also give 'body' to the hair, prevent 'flyaway' hair and help to improve damaged hair.

A shampoo should be easy enough to massage into the hair and scalp and also be easy to rinse off after use. It should nor irritate the skin or cause any damage to the eyes.

Most shampoos both cleanse and lather well but is there a connection between the two? Most people certainly associate a good lather with good cleansing but, in fact, there is no psychological value and by acting as a lubricant helps reduce the damage to the hair from the action of your finger.

In general, some people tend to wash their hair at least once every two days and in some cases everyday. Others, on the other hand, tend to wash their between three to six times in a month. The cleansing of the hair does not have to be as frequent as one might suppose if the hair is kept well brushed and combed.

Shampoos are available in a variety of forms and types including liquids, lotions, pates, gels, aerosols, and dry products. Shampoos are further differentiated by their specialized uses such as for particular hair or scalp conditions, age, sex, fragrance tints and colour. Everyday shampoos are formulated to be used everyday without leaving the hair too dry.

The frequency of shampooing is dictated by the condition of the scalp, a person's lifestyle, occupation and the area in which he/she lives. There are no maximum or minimum values for the frequency of hair wash required for individual hair. Only a trained hair expert can offer correct assessment of the number of times hair wash is required by a person.

The following may be used as general advice for different hair types:

Coarse, curly hair

Curly hair is almost always dry hair as the oils produced in the scalp don't travel as easily down the hair shaft as they do with straight hair. Creamy, moisturizing shampoos work best for this hair texture. Choose wheat germ oil, shea butter and nut oils in your shampoos.

Fine, oily, or limp hair is most susceptible to looking 'oily' and can get this way after only one day. Use a gentle shampoo for daily or frequent washing.

Processed hair

Adding moisture is key for colored, permed and relaxed hair. Wash hair every other day with a shampoo made for normal hair. Concentrate on cleaning the scalp. Then use a stron conditioner only on the midshaft to ends of hair.

Dry, damaged hair

Use shampoo that is smooth, detangle, and diffuse static.

Always remember

1) People with oily scalps should shampoo daily. Everybody should shampoo every two-three days. Make sure you cleanse the scalp and hair and try to shampoo after working up a sweat from exercise etc.

2) Seek a trichologist's advice as to which shampoo you should be using.

3) Dry hair but oily scalp indicates that hair is damaged or you suffer from zinc deficiency.

4) Dry scalp and dry hair indicate nutritional or hormonal imbalances. For example, a dry skin and hair may be associated with an underactive thyroid gland.

5) Use soft water for shampooing and hard water for drinking.

6) The moisture in hair is determined by humidity in the atmosphere.