“What’s the best shampoo for me?” This is something all females of mostly all ages ask themselves. After all, your shampoo is the key to getting healthy-looking hair. Just like skincare, hair care is also essential to maintain the good health of your hair. However, people with dry hair always long for healthy hair and try everything under the sun, but all their efforts go in vain. Are you envious of your neighbour or colleague’s long, beautiful locks? Are you confused about which shampoo to use for beautiful and healthy hair? So, here is a guide for you.
Which is the best shampoo for you?
A good-smelling thick liquid shampoo cleans the scalp and hair and also removes dirt and excess oil around your hair follicles. Unfortunately, though we get clean hair after a head wash, we unintentionally damage our hair because we’re not using the right shampoo. This happens because we often fall prey to false marketing and word of mouth and buy the shampoo without giving it a second thought. So, are you using the right shampoo for your hair? If you’re confused, let’s have a look.
How to choose the right shampoo?
Choosing the right shampoo for you is no cakewalk. The correct shampoo would suit your hair and provide the right balance of moisture and nutrients. That said, choosing the right shampoo according to your hair type would be best. The right shampoo provides these critical benefits to your hair:
Improves hair quality
Everyone wants their hair to look and feel healthier. Shampoo cleans the hair and scalp and removes the excess sebum in the hair follicles. Never forget that you may have to lather, rinse, and repeat the process to remove all dirt and oil for the best results. This removes the excess oil and cleans your scalp, which improves hair quality in the long run.
Stimulates growth
The shampoo is usually rich in vitamins, minerals, and natural extracts that nourish your scalp. This keeps your hair follicles healthy and encourages growth. In addition, natural ingredients like lavender, almond, ginseng, lemongrass, jojoba, and prickly pear offer natural fragrance to the shampoo. However, there is no substitute to consumption of a healthy diet as your body is the end product of what you eat. So, a diet rich in protein accompanied with a good quality shampoo can help in stimulating growth.
Helps in colour protection
For the hair that is colour treated, the right shampoo keeps your colour from fading fast. Usually, hair absorbs colour when dyed, and harsh shampoos can strip the colour from your hair.
Things to Consider Before Buying A Shampoo For Dry Hair
The market is flooded with many shampoos and TV Commercials selling various shampoos. With so many options for different kinds of hair, it is challenging to choose which shampoo would best suit your hair type. Choosing a shampoo that suits your dry hair can be a challenging task. You’d want something effective and safe for your hair, so your hair problem does not worsen. Choosing the right shampoo would be your first line of defence. Therefore, if you plan to buy shampoo for dry hair, you should not miss the following things.
- The market is flooded with strengthening, fortifying, and volumizing shampoos. But they are not suitable for dry hair. These products can strip your hair and scalp of necessary moisture. Avoid using such shampoos
- For scalps that are only slightly dry with little to no itching or flaking, look for shampoo labels that promote moisture, hydration or smoothening. These shampoos encourage moisture retention and can be beneficial to your dry scalp.
- You should try to avoid shampoos that contain sulphates that are harmful to dry hair as they add to the dryness.
- Ingredients such as menthol and tea tree may help to retain moisture in your hair.
- Furthermore, try to avoid buying shampoo that carries parabens and alcohol.
- Understand your hair type- dry and fizzy, curly, oily or normal.
- Try to opt for a decent mid to high-range shampoo as it is chemical free and nourishing compared to low-priced shampoos. The cost of shampoo depends upon the quality ingredients used.
What is dry hair?
Dry hair is when your scalp doesn’t get enough oil for moisturization. This reduces the sheen of hair and can make them appear frizzy and dull. Usually, hair consists of three layers. Natural oils in the outer layer helps protect the inner layers. They also reflect light, making your hair appear shiny, which is an important sign of healthy hair. However, when your hair is dry, the outer layer breaks down, causing it to appear dull and unhealthy.
Ever wondered why your hair becomes dry? Dry scalp, age, hot and humid climate, washing hair too often and any health problems end up drying the hair.
Which ingredient in shampoo is harmful to hair?
Shampoos are undoubtedly a cleansing agent that keeps your hair and scalp clean, but if you are looking for a long-term solution for your hair woes, you may have to consider your decision. It is always advisable to check the label on the shampoo bottle to know about the ingredients in it. However, you can be easily be fooled by the manufacturers, even if you’re well aware of the harmful ingredients. It happens such that the company often mentions the name of the variants instead of the main chemicals to stay on the safe side. And the customers, being unaware of this marketing gimmick, fall prey to this scam and end up buying the shampoo with the harmful ingredients. So, for your better understanding, here’s a guide to the harmful ingredients present in a shampoo.
1. Sulfates
All the shampoos contain sulphates as a primary ingredient. Sulfate is used as a foaming agent that creates lather in shampoo. It is the second most crucial ingredient in shampoo after water. Many haircare brands yell about their being sulphate free. Unfortunately, it is not true. Sulfate creates a lathering foam that people love, but it has toxic effects on the human body. Some of the commonly used sulphates in shampoos are Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Sodium Lauroyl Isethionate, Sodium Lauroyl Taurate.
2. Parabens
Shampoos also contain Parabens. Parabens are also known to be harmful. They are used as a preservative to prevent bacteria from growing in shampoos. However, parabens can cause scalp irritation, hair drying, flakes, and even hair loss. However, not every time the consumers can find out whether a product contains parabens as sometimes the company doesn’t use the common names on the labels. That said, parabens are easy to identify by their name only, like methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, or ethylparaben.
3. Diethanolamine
We all know that using shampoo will make our hair beautiful but alas! We hardly know that many of them are loaded with harmful chemicals – one such chemical is diethanolamine. It causes skin allergies and irritation of the nose and throat. Many herbal brands claim that their shampoos are diethanolamine-free but still may contain this chemical in lesser quantity.
Bottom line
If you are concerned about continuous exposure to potentially harmful ingredients, switching to natural shampoos that are usually free of sulfates, parabens, and other irritants is the best option. Natural shampoos are formulated with safe, organic ingredients, and they don’t contain any potentially harmful additives. In case of any queries or feedback, please get in touch with us at editor@yuvaap.com.
References
Mrs. Pushpa Khurana is a remarkable academic and culinary expert who has excelled in both education and cooking. Her academic Read more