What kind of shampoo is best for my hair? Should I use conditioner daily? Does more expensive mean it’s better? These are just a few of the questions people have for their stylist and we’re here to squash some of the myths about what your hair really needs from its shampoo and conditioner.
First, the most important thing to look for in a shampoo and conditioner is a ph between 4.5 – 5.5. If the ph is regulated it *will* be stated on the bottle. Most companies attract a consumer with pretty packaging, a nice smell and words like “for color treated hair” or “for curly hair” but none of this really means anything for the health of your hair.
When you use a hair product with the proper ph it allows the cuticle of the hair to stay closed and retain moisture and color. If the ph is too high, every time you shampoo, the cuticles open and the color falls out, hence causing rapid color fading. To give you an idea of how ph works, baby shampoo can be made tear-free by making it the same ph as your eyes which is a 7 – that is why it does not burn! When the ph goes from a 5.5 to a 5.6, that ph is 100X stronger than what you should be using on your hair. So if you are using something that is between 5.5 and 7, you are actually using a product that is 1000-1500X stronger than what your hair actually needs. Since almost all of the shampoos on the market (even the high-end salon brand shampoos) are too strong, they leave the hair feeling squeaky clean, but in actuality your hair should never feel squeaky clean.
After you wash your hair with shampoo, you shouldn’t feel like you have to put conditioner on. If it does, then the shampoo you’re using is way too strong. As you know, conditioners are used to moisturize the hair, although a lot of people feel that if they use a conditioner, it will weigh their hair down. This can be true about most conditioners because so many of them contain a lot of silicones which coat the hair to make it feel soft because the shampoo they used prior stripped everything off. This does not fix the problem, it only cosmetically covers it. It is the silicones that weigh down the hair and actually block moisture from getting in. If you wash your hair every 1-3 days, your products should also be sulfate-free, but if you wash less frequently you want to use a shampoo with sulfates.
So to summarize, the most important factor when choosing your products is finding one that contains a ph level of 4.5 – 5.5 and look for conditioners that are low in silicones and a sulfate content dependent on the frequency in which you wash your hair. Shear Genius Salon carries an organic line with the perfect ph (between 4.5 – 5.5) and we also have a line with sulfates and without depending on what your individual needs are. We hope this post has been helpful and please stay tuned for more information on our Organic products!
