~ Wash Day Chronicles: Shampoos ~
Very few things are more traumatizing for a woman with thick hair than wash day. The best part of the entire process is the feeling of water hitting your scalp. For those few moments, all cares and worries are replaced by sensations of pure euphoria as you allow the water to create ripples of comfort down your body. Yes, it’s an amazing feeling, but what happens when it’s time to actively engage in washes, rinsing and various moisturizing techniques? Pain! You get pain in your arms because of the effort it takes to keep your limbs elevated for that long performing the strenuous activity. In addition to the painful process, there are common discrepancies of how often one should wash and what products should be used.
One of the most commonly asked questions within the textured hair community is how often you should wash your hair. The answer to that question depends mainly on the individual, taking into consideration factors like environment and skin type. For example, because you’re reading this article, your environment more than likely is tropical with intense bouts of heat and dryness – thanks to the very active hurricane season. More than likely, your perspiration has been on the rise, which in turn, causes a build-up of dirt and oils along the surface of your scalp. This causes the pores in your scalp to clog and must be cleansed on a more constant basis than someone in colder climates. Weekly cleanses are suggested. Yes, it’s true; you can wash your hair every week without the fear of hair loss or dryness.
Thanks to old wives tales, we’ve been taught to believe that water rots the hair and is bad for it. Imagine, water is the life source of everything on earth, it creates moisture and hydrates – and hydration is exactly what textured hair needs in order to thrive and be styled. Why would washing and cleaning your hair be bad? However, this leads to queries of why people who have weekly washes still have dry hair and dandruff. The answer to that question lies in their haircare products and in some cases the technique. Shampoo and conditioner are two of the essential hair care products anyone can use. While moisturizers and hair care treatments vary based on the user, you can bet everyone uses shampoo and conditioner. That makes shampoo and conditioner the universal constant of all hair care regimens. The problem would essentially come from products not suited for constant use or designed for textured hair.
Okay, so let’s say I believe this; what products do I use? Would you believe I genuinely don’t know? Well, that’s only partly true. Like most situations involving hair care, the products you use are supposed to be individually tailored to your situation. There are helpful generalizations, for example, it is a common misconception that oily, silicone-heavy coating conditioners and greases are best for textured hair. In addition to the heavy products, it is assumed that harsh shampoos with stripping properties, designed to remove the heavy products, would be best. Both situations are untrue and will hinder moisture of the scalp and hair fibres. Frequent use will definitely strip your hair of moisture; that’s why avoiding conditioner will immediately cause evident dryness. The idea behind using these products is to create squeaky-clean hair, but it’s not necessary for textured hair. Don’t misconstrue that statement to mean your hair shouldn’t be clean, and that heavy with oils and moisturizers is better. Milder shampoos and sometimes co-washes, which do not involve the use of any shampoo, can get the job done without stripping the hair.
It is essential for textured hair to receive as much moisture as possible without oversaturation of the fibres. Inadequate moisturizers and pomades, or “grease” as our mothers call it, can create a false sense of moisture in that they weigh the hair down without actually infusing moisture. These products will make hair look shiny immediately, but won’t actually help in the process. Therefore, if we look at the use of poor shampoos stripping the moisture from your hair, in addition to conditioners and other products only adding to the look of moisture rather than infusing it, we can see how hair washing could have developed a bad reputation.
Shampoos mainly known for their cleaning abilities comprise 40 to 70 percent water and have a slightly higher pH than conditioners to lift hair cuticles and remove dirt and product build-up. They also contain a variation of cleansing ingredients like sulphates and surfactants, which remove dirt and products; foam boosters to increase lather; and conditioning agents to add some moisture to the hair follicles. There is no one shampoo which is perfect for every type of hair, which is why it is imperative for you to understand what you hair needs. There are three main types of shampoos: moisturizing, clarifying and chelating. Choosing the types of shampoos which best suit you don’t always fall into one category and you may have to use two or all three types of shampoo.
Moisturizing shampoos tend to be sulphate-free and are best for weekly uses and gently cleansing hair without robbing it of moisture. Clarifying shampoos are used, perhaps once a month, in order to properly remove the build-up of hair products, like greases and gels, but are not suggested for weekly use. Chelating and clarifying shampoos are often confused as they have the same basic function, however, chelating shampoos work on a deeper level. Chelators work by affecting the hair’s bonding structure and help to prevent damage caused by hair being washed in areas with hard water. Chelating may be necessary for you depending on how hard your water is, but that in itself is hard to determine unless you look into it on your own.
I could go on about the different types of shampoos and how to use them, which I will, but you will have to stay tuned for the next edition as I give more breakdowns and eventually dive into conditioners and moisturizers. Yay! Fun!
If you have questions about your hair care regimen, or if you’d like to leave me a comment, feel free to send your email to Health & Beauty coordinator Claudienne Peterson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
