Before you buy another hair-care product, the best place to start is with some basic facts so you can better differentiate between truth and fiction when it comes to your hair. Understanding these facts before you go shopping for hair-care products, before you see another infomercial promising flawless results, before a friend introduces you to a new multilevel company selling hair-care products, or before you read another fashion magazine will give you a better perspective on what you are really buying, what the products can and can’t do, whether what you are using is worth the money, and, most important, whether any of the products can actually be damaging to your hair.
Being misled or lied to can result in you not only wasting money but also choosing the wrong products for your hair type. Let's address a few hair-care myths that many people, maybe yourself included, have accepted without question. Let’s separate fact from fiction.
MYTH: You need to change or alternate shampoos because your hair adapts to them. The hair and scalp can’t “adapt to” shampoos. Hair is dead, so it cannot adapt or become used to something. What can happen is that the conditioners, emollients, and slip agents (such as silicones) found in many shampoos can build up on the hair shaft over time, making the hair limp, sticky, or dull. That buildup is easily washed away with a different shampoo that does not contain those specific ingredients. Then the cycle starts all over again when you switch back and the original shampoo’s conditioning and styling agents start building up.
Shampoos containing conditioning agents, emollients, and slip agents are formulated in such a way that the detergent cleansers lift the dirt and oil away from the hair, allowing the water to rinse them away while leaving the conditioners behind. Cosmetics chemists do a great job devising shampoos that clean the hair but allow the conditioners to stay put despite the pressure of cascading water as you rinse. It is the nature of these shampoos that they do not remove the very conditioners they contain because the conditioners in them are designed to do just the opposite—stick to the hair. When you change to a new shampoo without conditioning agents, that new formulation can cut through the previous shampoo’s conditioning agents, leaving the hair feeling new and full again. If the new shampoo contains different conditioning or styling agents, they will leave their traces, and the buildup cycle will begin again, though at first your hair may appear renewed and free of buildup. This subtle process leads to the belief that hair adapts to shampoo.
Changing shampoos is a simple way to remove the buildup, especially if you choose a shampoo that contains no conditioning agents. I should mention that not all cosmetics chemists agree with this theory about changing shampoos. Some believe it is more a factor of perception or changes in weather conditions than a result of the products you are using. But given consumer feedback and the information I’ve received, I still favor the idea that changing shampoos makes sense.
MYTH: You need to change or alternate conditioners because your hair adapts to them. The truth about this one is pretty much the same as it is for the shampoos. Hair can’t adapt to conditioners, but conditioners can build up on the hair. That’s especially true for conditioners that are formulated specifically for damaged, chemically treated, or dry hair and are used in conjunction with shampoos that also contain conditioning agents. In that case, the shampoo with conditioners might not wash out the buildup every time you shampoo, and repeated use of the same conditioner and the same shampoo with conditioners can impart a sticky, heavy, or dull appearance to the hair. But you don’t need to throw out the conditioner; you just need to alternate it with a shampoo that does not contain conditioning agents, and that will cut through the residue and thoroughly clean the hair.
The same is true for leave-in conditioners. Because they aren’t rinsed off, the ingredients tend to cling better to hair and are somewhat more difficult to shampoo out, especially if you’re also using a shampoo that contains conditioning and film-forming agents.
MYTH: You need to lather twice to make hair look and feel clean. Absolutely not! If anything, over-washing the hair can dry it out, and the more you handle your hair, the greater the chance of roughing up and damaging the cuticle. Shampooing the hair twice may be necessary for women who use a lot of styling products, who favor heavy or waxy conditioners, or who have extremely (and I mean extremely) oily hair, but that’s it. In those situations, the ingredients and oils can be hard to break down, and a second lather may be just what it takes to get through the debris. But beyond that, the only reason hair-care companies suggest shampooing twice is to sell more shampoo!
MYTH: Shampooing oily hair can make it oilier. Oil production is a process affected by our hormones, which generate signals that trigger oil glands to be over productive, and there is literally nothing you can do from the outside to stop or change that activity. It would be great if you could use products for the face that absorb oil, but unfortunately, they cause the hair to feel heavy or limp.
MYTH: My hair is oily, so it is best if I wash with a shampoo designed for my hair type. Shampoos for oily hair often contain detergent agents that are stronger than is really necessary for an oily scalp or hair condition. These strong detergent agents can dry out the hair, and that can add to your problems. Of late, shampoos for oily hair have also been including ingredients such as peppermint, menthol, balm mint, eucalyptus, orange, grapefruit, and lemon, none of which has any effect on oil production or any real benefit for hair. However, these are all serious skin irritants and they can cause an itchy, flaky scalp or other skin irritation or allergic reactions.
MYTH: Everyone needs to use a conditioner. The only reason to use a conditioner is if your hair is dry, you have difficulty getting a comb through it, your scalp is dry, or you use styling tools, such as blow dryers and curling irons. If none of the above is true and your hair naturally feels soft and smooth, then there is very little reason for you to use a conditioner. Contrary to what advertisements would have you believe, conditioners are not automatically necessary for all heads of hair. In fact, using a conditioner when you don’t need one can make your hair limp, heavy, and difficult to style.
Next week, we'll look at more myths of hair-care!
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