#once you know what to avoid it’s gucchi

[hypaalicious]

Shampoo types!

… sorry, I guess I’m on a roll with the hair care stuff, NOW NOBODY CAN SHUT ME UP

So, there’s basically three categories of shampoo on the market.

Every day/general use shampoo

This is the vast majority of shampoos out there. They’re in drugstores, supermarkets, and all easily accessible places. Now, some of the quality will vary; Suave isn’t going to do what Olaplex does, for example. Some have humectants to draw water from the air into your hair, some help keep your dye job from fading as quickly, etc. But what they all have in common is that you can use them daily if you want with no adverse affect on your hair.

Clarifying shampoo

This is a shampoo that has a higher ph that is specifically used to strip your hair of anything undesirable. General use shampoos aren’t strong enough to do this. In my last post, I mentioned that if you use certain products, you will have to clarify your strands often in order to get moisture: this is what I mean. There’s types to remove product build up, some that remove chlorine from your hair after a swim in the pool, others that work to break down hard water deposits in your hair. These should be used sparingly.

Medicated shampoo

These shampoos are for scalp issues, like dandruff or very specific types of temporary hair loss. They contain very strong ingredients to target the problem you have, and should only be used as directed. But you shouldn’t be buying any unless recommended to by your dermatologist! Using medicated shampoos without knowing exactly what the issue is will cause you more problems down the road.

What CAN’T shampoo do?

Add volume to thin hair, have your hair grow faster, make your hair strand thicker, give you curls, eliminate frizz, mend split ends, seal moisture into your hair, add vitamins to your hair. Yeah, most advertising is straight up cap. 🥲

What should I avoid?

Drugstore shampoos generally aren’t the best; a lot of stylists will advise you to stick to salon-quality products. Yeah, they’re more expensive, but a little goes a long way!

Homemade concoctions also should be left alone; correct formulation is very important, and anybody doing psuedo-chemistry in their kitchen won’t really have an idea of how to do that. All-natural, “chemical free” labels are often just a marketing gimmick.

Shampoos really heavy in oils and butters also aren’t doing much but clogging your scalp. The softness you feel is just the residue from the product, not the real state of your hair. It will mask your problems for as long as you use it but leave your hair worse off than how it started, creating a cycle of dependence.

* I didn’t mention dry “shampoo” because it’s not actually shampoo. 😬 It doesn’t clean your hair, it’s just another product that needs to be washed out.

Once again, I’m sharing this in hopes that it helps folks! 🥺 There’s so much that I wish I knew years ago that I’ve just now learned thanks to some professionals spitting game. Demystifying hair care is the wave!