Shampoo 101

There's is so much information about shampooing out there, and a lot of what you read is erroneous. I thought I would take this opportunity to disspell some myths and give you the basics about the best way to get and keep your hair clean. First, make sur you saturate your scalp and hair first with cool or warm water. Although it might be tempting to use hot water, it can dry out the scalp so cool or warm water is the best. After your hair has been saturated with water, apply a small amount (about a quarter's worth) of shampoo to your hair. Concentrate on massaging your scalp while you shampoo since this is where the oil is generated. Thoroughly rinse with cool or warm water. If your scalp is particularly oily, you can repeat a shampoo and rinse again. After rinsing, you can apply conditioner by evenly distributing it from the middle of your hair down to the ends. Only apply from the scalp down if your hair is particularly dry. Rinse conditioner from hair thoroughly only after a few seconds. Rinse hair directly under water until it feels clean to the touch (just run your hands through your hair to make sure no conditioner is left behind). If you can stand rinsing with cold water, then do so, otherwise stick to cool or warm water. How often should you shampoo you ask? There are so many varying opinions on this that it's best left up to the individual. One famous hairstylist, recommends shampooing and styling hair every third day or so, but for some that may be too little. Others believe that shampooing and conditioning every other day is sufficient, but it's really and individual decision overall. One myth that should be debunked is the need to switch shampoos on a regular basis. Salon quality shampoos, for the most part, won't create a build up in your hair so there's no need to switch or use a clarifying shampoo. If you wish to remove any build up, you can try just shampooing your hair and leave out the conditioning step every once in a while. If you have thin hair choose a protein-enriched shampoo and use a light conditioner (also protein enriched). Here are some ingredients to look out for on shampoo labels: Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate - very, very harsh; Ammonium Laureth Sulfate - very harsh, but better than the above; Sodium Lauryl Sulfate - better than the above, but still harsh; Sodium Laureth Sulfate - gentle so look for this ingredient; TEA lauryl Sulfate - good for your hair; TEA Laureth Sulfate - also good for your hair.