Are You Shampooing Your Hair Too Much?

[admin]

When you wake up in the morning do you head to the shower to shampoo your hair? Many people do, but for some hair types, it may not be smart to use shampoo every day. Frequent shampooing can quickly dry hair out - leading to frizziness, flyaways, and hair static which can be difficult to tame. Daily shampooing also dries the scalp out and can reduce hair’s natural shininess as it strips away oils. What’s the solution?

If you have extremely oily hair, you may need to use shampoo every day – but that doesn’t mean you have to put it on your entire head. Concentrating shampoo around the scalp and rinsing the rest of the hair with water still remove excess oil, but is kinder and gentler to the drier ends. Even people who have an oily scalp usually have dry ends if their hair is longer. Why punish the ends every time you shampoo?

If you have dry hair and you usually shampoo hair every day, try skipping a day and see how your hair looks. Your hair will probably have more shine and vitality because you’re not constantly exposing it to detergent – which is basically what shampoo is. Even shampoos made for dry hair strips oil from hair and reduces shine. Using shampoo every day is particularly bad for color treated hair since it causes color to fade or oxidize so that blonde hair looks brassy. Anyone who colors their hair should use a shampoo specifically made for color treated hair and should resist the urge to shampoo every day.

There are some situations where you may need to use shampoo on a daily basis. If you swim in a chlorinated pool, it’s important to wash out the chlorine since it can dry out hair and alter hair color. If this is the case, choose a shampoo without sulfates - which more companies are making these days due to concerns about the health risks of sodium laureth sulfate. Always follow up with a conditioning treatment if you’re using shampoo every day.

For people with normal or dry hair who don’t swim in chlorinated pools, daily shampooing reduces hair’s natural shine and contributes to fading hair color. If you still feel the need to shampoo every day, use a detergent free shampoo and apply it to the scalp only. Another option is to use a dry shampoo or simply brush corn starch through your hair to remove the excess oils. Think of all the time you’ll save when you’re not washing and blow drying every day!

by Dr. Kristie