Shampoo & Condition
What Are These For?
Scalp and Hair Type
The first thing you should know is your scalp and hair type: dry vs. oily. Knowing this helps you find the right shampoo and conditioner. How do you know?
If your scalp is really itchy or flaky, it’s probably dry. If your hair is super greasy, even soon after washing, or if you get acne around your hairline and scalp it’s probably oily.
Products
Good ingredients: natural stuff like argan oil, coconut oil, and tea tree oil.
Bad ingredients: sulfates like ammonium lauryl sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate or sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). You’ll see these in the ingredients listing on the bottle. These harsh cleansers leave your hair dry, dehydrated and stripped of its natural oils, leaving it prone to breakage.
Many shampoos have sulfates to make it foam and lather more. Quality shampoos don’t have sulfates, so they might not lather as much, but that’s ok.
Frequency
Shampooing causes stress and damage, so you don’t want to shampoo too often. For most longhairs, once every few days or even a week will do you right. If your hair is super oily, if you work out or swim every day, or if you work a job where your hair gets grimy, you might need to shampoo more often.
Technique
Is most important. For shampoo, focus on the scalp more than the hair, use your fingertips to really massage the shampoo deeply into your scalp and roots. Rinse thoroughly.
Conditioner is more the opposite. Focus from the middle to the ends of your hair, not so much the roots. Rub it in gently and let it sit for a while, then rinse thoroughly.
A quality shampoo and conditioner routine with the right products and proper technique will keep your hair looking, feeling and smelling great.
