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What Shampoos Do
A shampoo is a mixture of ingredients that work together to cleanse the
hair and scalp. The ‘power' ingredient that shampoos have in common is
the base surfactant, a term which is short for ‘surface active agent'.
The surfactants are the ingredients that clean the hair and are present
in all shampoos.
When shampoo mixes with water it creates lather. The amount of lather
however does not reflect the cleaning power of the shampoo. So why do
we need lather? Firstly, people just like the feel of lather, it makes
using a shampoo more pleasant. Secondly, lather helps you to see if the
shampoo has been divided equally over the hair, and thirdly, when the
lather has disappeared out of the hair, you know that you've rinsed out
all the shampoo.
The surfactants loosen, lift and remove the dirt, excessive amounts of
sebum (scalp's natural oils) and styling residues from the hair. When
rinsing, these particles are removed together with the lather. For a
shampoo to be really mild, it must clean the hair and scalp but not
remove the natural oils and grease from the skin.
The major benefit of using a shampoo is well manageable, clean and shiny hair with volume.
Try these: Shampoos with keratin & Nettle, Sea Kelp and pathenol salon style products
Classification of Shampoos
When you look around you notice that people have different hair types
and want different results from washing their hair. This means that all
these people need their own hair care regime. To fit people's needs for
their hair, different shampoos are required.
Looking back in history the classical shampoo had one purpose only:
cleansing hair. Nowadays there is a lot of variety in modern shampoos
to fit all types of hair.
Four classifications in modern shampoos can be made to fit the people's needs:
Shampoos for normal/balanced hair
Shampoos for different hair types and consumer needs
Treatment shampoos for scalp conditions like dandruff
Shampoos for technical use in the salon
Regular Shampoos – Balanced Hair.
This type of shampoo is a shampoo for frequent and normal use. Normal,
balanced hair that looks healthy and shiny is most suitable for using a
regular shampoo. This shampoo cleanses hair and scalp and is usually
pH-neutral. This normal every day shampoo can be used before any
technical or salon treatment
Shampoos for Different Needs
These shampoos are adjusted to different hair types like:
Limp and Greasy Hair- The shampoo lifts more grease from the
hair and deposits less conditioning agents to avoid weighing down the
hair. This way the hair can get more volume.
Dry Hair & Damaged Hair, including Chemically Treated
Hair- These shampoos are gentle to the hair and can moisturise the hair
more than other shampoos by having more of a conditioning effect whilst
still cleaning just as well as regular shampoos. Taking care of
chemically treated, dry and damaged hair is very important, so choosing
the shampoo specifically designed to meet the hair's needs is
essential.
2-in-1's-These condition the hair more than most other
non-conditioning shampoos. The advantage of these types of shampoos is
that the different types are formulated specially to suit the
particular hair need. They provide the right nutrients for the hair and
help to make sure it is in a healthy condition. These types of shampoos
are usually mild, pH neutral and can be used daily.
Treatment Shampoos for Scalp Problems-Anti-dandruff shampoos
are treatment shampoos. The base ingredients of these shampoos are the
same as for the shampoos for different hair types. Active ingredients
are added to specifically deal with the dandruff.
Shampoos for Technical Use
Clarifying shampoo is a non-conditioning shampoo that is frequently
used in salons before a colouring or perming treatment. The clarifying
shampoo removes dirt, environmental pollution and styling residues and
does not deposit any conditioning agents so that the hair is completely
clean before treatments. Normal shampoos can also be used before
treatments.
Other shampoos are specifically adjusted to help prepare the hair
before chemical treatments like perming and
colouring/bleaching/highlighting, also they help to leave the hair in
good condition following those treatments.
Shampoos for technical use have the same basic composition as shampoos
designed for the different hair types, but the pH can be adjusted to
the technical treatment. A shampoo to be used after technical
treatments such as colouring, decolouring, perming or relaxing can be
slightly acidic. These help to stabilise the hair and lengthen the
durability of the treatment, neutralise the chemicals put on the hair
during the treatment, balance the pH of the hair, close the cuticle
scales once treatment is complete, detangle the hair before and after
the treatment to reduce static electricity (fly away effect) and give
the hair its shine again.
How Shampoos Work
Surfactants are the essential
cleaning substances in shampoos. As oils, like sebum, do not mix with
water, the water needs an addition to make the oily matters soluble.
Surfactants are the ‘power ingredients' that do this. So let's look at
how they do this.
Imagine a surfactant as a molecule in the shape of a
head with a tail. During shampooing, these surfactants surround the
sebum and oil-based residues, as the tails of the surfactant are oil
soluble they just love sebum and scalp oil. When these tails find dirt
they bury themselves into it. Now, the tails are in the dirt and the
surfactant's head (ball shaped) sticks out. This is because these balls
are water soluble. They do not like oils and have a tiny negative
charge.
These balls totally surround the surface of the sebum, giving
the dirt a negative charge. And this the trick! Hairs carry small
negative charges on their surface. Two things with the same charge do
not like to be near each other and so, now that the dirt also has
become negatively charged, the hair's surface and the charged dirt tend
to push each other away.
In shampooing terms this means that the hair
repels the dirt that was originally clinging to it. This way the
surfactant molecules lift the scalp oils and dirt into the rinse water
and are then rinsed away to leave behind clean hair. The mildness of
the surfactant is important for users who have sensitive skin and those
who wash their hair frequently. They need to clean the hair from dirt
but not take away the natural oils and moisture.
Six Steps to Clean Healthy Hair
1. Brush the hair gently before washing with a semi-circular shaped brush made from man-made materials.
2. Wet the hair and make sure the temperature of the water is luke warm (not too cold and not to hot).
3. Pour an amount of shampoo in the palm of your hand. Dilute with a
little water before applying to the hair. Spread the shampoo between
the palms of your hands and lather before applying to the hair.
4. Massage the shampoo gently on to the scalp using your fingertips.
There is no need to massage shampoo into hair growing below chin
length. As the lather runs from the scalp it will clean the entire
length of the hair.
5. Rinse hair thoroughly – Any shampoo and dirt residues will leave
hair dull and sticky hence attracting more dirt. If the hair is washed
frequently, most shampoos are effective enough to warrant only one
shampoo per wash. If necessary you can shampoo for a second time.
6. Towel dry the hair. Do not rub, pull or wring as wet hair loses much of its resilience/toughness.
When the hair is long, make sure it hangs straight down as it is
washed. Piling the hair up on to the top of the head creates lots of
unnecessary tangles. To avoid this happening let the hair hang straight
down and the shampoo run the length of the hair. That way the hair's
cuticles stay in the right direction avoiding unnecessary damage.
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