Hair care
Proper hair care is important for normal hair, particularly for hair that is thinning. Unfortunately, not many people understand the basics of hair care and get lured by advertisements into using products that may not be suitable.
Let us examine some aspects of hair care so that you can use hair products and styles to the best advantage.
Shampooing
Shampoos are cleaning agents rather like ordinary soaps. Indeed, shampoos in the past were soap based, but these had the disadvantage of being affected by hard water. They caused a scum deposit and made hair look dull. Modern shampoos contain synthetic detergents and work equally well in hard or soft water.
There are essentially three types of shampoos available in the market. They are: i) shampoos for dry hair, ii) shampoos for normal hair and iii) shampoos for oily hair. There are other sub-classifications, but these are unnecessary and confusing. The difference essentially lies in the amount of oil (lanolin, natural or mineral oil) added to them.
Shampoos for dry hair contain oil whereas those for normal or oily hair generally do not. It is helpful to choose the right shampoo for your type of hair.
It your hair looks greasy and matted together, then use a shampoo for oily hair. If these rove too drying even for oily hair, use a normal hair formula and wash more frequently or double wash. It should be remembered that the basic purpose of all shampoos is to clean the hair and all shampoos do this very well. Since they are all equally effective, you might like to choose the best-smelling one, remembering that price is not necessarily an indication of quality.
Some shampoos are labelled 'acid balanced' or 'ph balanced'. The detergent found in all shampoos are alkaline ( they have to be, otherwise they will be not clean) and open the imbrications(spaces) in the cuticle so that hair gets entangled easily. This effect is minimized by acid or ph shampoos balanced shampoos.
Another group of shampoos available in the market are called medicated shampoos. These contain substances that help itchy scalp conditions such as dandruff or seborrhoeic dermatitis and psoriasis.
Despite the name, medicated shampoos do not contain medicine for the hair and will not help hair to grow , neither will they cause hair loss. They can be safely used to treat such as seborrhoeic dermatitis or psoriasis. Medicated shampoos are generally more drying and a conditioner may be used if this is a problem.
All sorts of claims have been made by the manufacturers of shampoos and hundreds of healthful sounding substances are added to entice the consumer into choosing their products. In truth, shampoos only clean hairs; they do not nourish hair. All the nourishment for the hair is provided by the blood vessels around the hair follicles and nothing applied to the scalp will affect the follicles below.
Shampooing is not harmful even for people with hair loss. Regular shampooing keeps the scalp and hair cleans, healthy-looking and comfortable. It may also help male pattern baldness by removing locally-produced androgens from the scalp. These androgens are believed to contribute towards male pattern baldness.
Recently, a number of 2-in-1 shampoos have been introduced into the market. These contain the additional conditioner. Frankly, I believe it is better to use conditioners separately after shampooing because the detergent in 2-in-1 shampoos probably wash away most of the conditioner.
How you use the shampoos is also important for getting the best out of the shampoo. Wet the hair first ,then pour a 20-cent-size dollop of shampoo into your hand. Spread it between the fingers and then work the shampoo into the scalp. It is incorrect to pour the shampoo directly on to the scalp because cleaning will be uneven with some parts getting more shampoo than others.
Rinse off thoroughly afterwards. Remember that the cleansing ability is not related to the amount of lather the shampoo produces. Some shampoos clean exceptionally well even though they produce very little lather.
Proper hair care is important for normal hair, particularly for hair that is thinning. Unfortunately, not many people understand the basics of hair care and get lured by advertisements into using products that may not be suitable.
Let us examine some aspects of hair care so that you can use hair products and styles to the best advantage.
Shampooing
Shampoos are cleaning agents rather like ordinary soaps. Indeed, shampoos in the past were soap based, but these had the disadvantage of being affected by hard water. They caused a scum deposit and made hair look dull. Modern shampoos contain synthetic detergents and work equally well in hard or soft water.
There are essentially three types of shampoos available in the market. They are: i) shampoos for dry hair, ii) shampoos for normal hair and iii) shampoos for oily hair. There are other sub-classifications, but these are unnecessary and confusing. The difference essentially lies in the amount of oil (lanolin, natural or mineral oil) added to them.
Shampoos for dry hair contain oil whereas those for normal or oily hair generally do not. It is helpful to choose the right shampoo for your type of hair.
It your hair looks greasy and matted together, then use a shampoo for oily hair. If these rove too drying even for oily hair, use a normal hair formula and wash more frequently or double wash. It should be remembered that the basic purpose of all shampoos is to clean the hair and all shampoos do this very well. Since they are all equally effective, you might like to choose the best-smelling one, remembering that price is not necessarily an indication of quality.
Some shampoos are labelled 'acid balanced' or 'ph balanced'. The detergent found in all shampoos are alkaline ( they have to be, otherwise they will be not clean) and open the imbrications(spaces) in the cuticle so that hair gets entangled easily. This effect is minimized by acid or ph shampoos balanced shampoos.
Another group of shampoos available in the market are called medicated shampoos. These contain substances that help itchy scalp conditions such as dandruff or seborrhoeic dermatitis and psoriasis.
Despite the name, medicated shampoos do not contain medicine for the hair and will not help hair to grow , neither will they cause hair loss. They can be safely used to treat such as seborrhoeic dermatitis or psoriasis. Medicated shampoos are generally more drying and a conditioner may be used if this is a problem.
All sorts of claims have been made by the manufacturers of shampoos and hundreds of healthful sounding substances are added to entice the consumer into choosing their products. In truth, shampoos only clean hairs; they do not nourish hair. All the nourishment for the hair is provided by the blood vessels around the hair follicles and nothing applied to the scalp will affect the follicles below.
Shampooing is not harmful even for people with hair loss. Regular shampooing keeps the scalp and hair cleans, healthy-looking and comfortable. It may also help male pattern baldness by removing locally-produced androgens from the scalp. These androgens are believed to contribute towards male pattern baldness.
Recently, a number of 2-in-1 shampoos have been introduced into the market. These contain the additional conditioner. Frankly, I believe it is better to use conditioners separately after shampooing because the detergent in 2-in-1 shampoos probably wash away most of the conditioner.
How you use the shampoos is also important for getting the best out of the shampoo. Wet the hair first ,then pour a 20-cent-size dollop of shampoo into your hand. Spread it between the fingers and then work the shampoo into the scalp. It is incorrect to pour the shampoo directly on to the scalp because cleaning will be uneven with some parts getting more shampoo than others.
Rinse off thoroughly afterwards. Remember that the cleansing ability is not related to the amount of lather the shampoo produces. Some shampoos clean exceptionally well even though they produce very little lather.
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