The purpose of this monthly column is to share my hairdressing experience with you, as I have with my clients over many years. I hope you find it useful and feel free to send in your questions.
Choosing a shampoo should not be that difficult but it can be quite confusing with the myriads of choices on the market. Basically, all shampoos contain cleansing agents (among other things) and will wash hair, but some will be more agreeable to your hair and skin and your budget. All brands have different hair types to choose from; normal, fine, dry, coarse, frizzy, coloured, permed, damaged etc ... Personally, I have often advised my clients to buy one for permed, coloured or fragile hair as logically, it should contain gentler ingredients.
Many clients ask me if they should keep changing their shampoo for better results. I don't see the point of changing once you find one or two that suit your hair. If you found a shampoo you like and you don't get any adverse skin reactions, you like the smell and you don't struggle with styling your hair, you're on the right track. You can occasionally alternate just for a change but keep with the ones that you know work for your hair and leave it manageable.
The question I get asked the most though is; how often should we wash our hair? Well that depends on our life style, activities, work and preferences. Generally if your hair doesn't get too dirty and is manageable, I recommend washing every two or three days. This will give time for your skin to produce the natural oils that protect the hair and scalp. However, if you need to wash it every day, using the smallest amount of shampoo and a suitable conditioner will compensate for that. I will talk on conditioners in my next column as most people do need to condition their hair.
We all assume we know how to wash our hair but surprisingly many of us never learned the right technique. I learned a few tips for the first time in my hairdressing school days, it may prove to be quite useful to you as well.
¦ Wet the hair thoroughly. This is specially important if you use styling products. Except for some oils and waxes, most good brands styling products should be water soluble and rinse out of the hair. A good water saturation will start the cleansing process and save you from using a greater amount of shampoo.
¦ Apply a small amount of shampoo. About half to one teaspoon should be a good starting point, more in long hair or if you have lots of products in your hair. Spread it evenly in your hands then distribute it at the roots all over your head. Some shampoos are quite rich and thick or difficult to spread. A quick in and out from under the shower will help dilute it and spread easier. Make sure to rub the scalp with vertical movements as opposed to circular which would tangle your hair. Use the flat part of your fingers, not the pointy tips or nails as it may irritate the scalp and cause itchiness or even flakiness. Be very gentle with the ends, using the palms of your hands to avoid too much friction.
¦ Thoroughly rinse "until squeaky clean". At this point if you had a good lather, you don't need a second shampoo as it could dehydrate your hair, despite what the instructions on the bottle say. If you didn't get a good lather, a second shampoo may be needed but with half the amount of shampoo you used the first time (or even less). Too much shampooing (or strong shampoos) can give you static and make your hair difficult to style. Hard water will need more shampoo than softened or rain water. Suds-free shampoos will be more difficult to judge with the lathering but again, if you wash your hair every day or you don't have lots of styling products or oily hair, one shampoo should be sufficient.
¦ Excessively oily or waxy hair. There are many oil and wax products on the market at the moment. You may have naturally oily hair or you may be adding oil or wax to your hair for styling or shine. Water and oil do not mix but shampoo and oil do, so you need to dissolve the oil first. Using shampoo directly on dry hair and shampooing as if it lathered up will produce a creamy substance that will be water soluble and rinse out with warm water. Follow it with a second wash using a much smaller amount of shampoo and voila the lather is back. This is the sign that the oil excess is gone and your hair is now clean. By the way, this applies also to dish washing liquid and cooking oil in our pots and pans combined together (without water), then rinsed under very hot water.
¦ Medicated, dandruff or itchy scalp shampoos are formulated to treat skin problems on your scalp. They generally are quite stripping. The cause of irritations of the scalp is sometimes due to allergic reactions to some ingredients in shampoo. Finding a gentle plant base or natural ingredients brand can solve the problem. Your hairdresser may be able to give you samples. If you do need to use these, make sure you also always use a very good conditioner.
¦ Tip: If your shampoo and conditioner bottles are identical, put a rubber band around the shampoo bottle so you don't have to read labels in the shower.
Most experienced hairdressers can help you understand these simple guidelines. Hairdressing is an artistic field as well as a trade, which means that you may hear a variation of opinions and ideas.
Contact Denise by emailing paul.brooks@wanganuichronicle.co.nz
