How do I choose a shampoo and hair care product?
This has been a common question asked by MedPartner, after all, shampooing and hair care are things that many of you do every day. Although shampoo and hair care products are in fact completely different in terms of mechanism of action, they are often confused in many users’ usage, resulting in spending money but not necessarily achieving the desired effect. Many products on the market will also demand to fight dandruff, stop itchy scalp, or even two-in-one, three-in-one combination, but in the end there is no effect, you need to seriously think again.
In fact, hair washing is hair washing, hair care is hair care, the focus of the two is completely different Oh! Moreover, hair care and conditioning products are not necessary for everyone, so there is no need to use them just for the sake of using them!
Today’s team doctor wants to explain to you through this article, what is the difference between shampoo and hair care products, and the small steps to choose!
What is the difference between shampoo and hair care products? Because the hair is different from the scalp!
Previously, we wrote an article on hair washing, in which we introduced the histophysiology of hair and scalp, and we want to review it again!
Before washing your hair, you should understand the function of the scalp. The scalp is a living tissue, and its main function is to isolate the dirt from the outside world, and to avoid excessive evaporation of water from the skin to the outside. Because it is a living tissue, if it is irritated or injured, redness, swelling, heat, pain, and other inflammatory reactions will occur. Scalp tissue may also be infected by bacteria to produce cellulitis, or by mold infection resulting in dandruff and other problems.
So shampooing is basically washing the scalp, washing away the external dirt and the waste produced by the body’s metabolism. But be careful not to over-clean. Preserve the normal scalp’s natural sebum film in order to keep the scalp healthy.
Hair is dead tissue, a structure formed by keratin entanglement. Therefore, whether you dye or perm your hair, you may damage it in some way, but after you cut off the damaged hair, as long as the scalp and hair follicles are healthy, you can still grow healthy hair.
In the hair washing stage, in fact, the dirty hair only needs water, plus the use of shampoo contains the interface active agent, a little scrubbing, you can do the basic cleaning. So washing hair should be a simple matter, do not make it too complicated.
Why do some people need hair care?
But the oil in the hair is mainly produced by the sebum secretion of the scalp. Therefore, the longer the hair is, the further away from the scalp it is, the more likely it is to become dry due to a lack of oil. In addition, the hair at the end of the hair is relatively old keratin structure, so it is more likely to be rough and bifurcated.
If you have short hair and the hairs are not dry or split, you basically do not need to use hair care products at all. Relying on your natural sebum secretion, you can maintain the bright and healthy hair Hello.
But people with long hair, often blow-dried, dyed, fixed, permed, may need to use hair care products.
How to choose shampoo? First figure out what kind of scalp you are!
The most important component of shampoo is the surfactant. The composition of the surfactant affects the overall cleansing power and the pH level of the product (because different surfactants have different suitable pH ranges). Some products have thickeners for ease of use, and some have fragrances for a pleasant smell. In order to maintain the stability of the product does not deteriorate, sometimes also add the necessary preservatives.
Many shampoo products, sometimes add some possible nutritional ingredients, such as amino acids, vitamins (most commonly vitamin B5) … such ingredients, but these ingredients in the end have no effect? In fact, it is still very controversial. Because the shampoo products stay on the scalp for a really short time, just a few minutes will wash off, so it is usually not the focus of product selection.
The most important thing about shampoo products is that they “cleanse the scalp moderately”, not under-cleaning, but not over-cleaning either. People with different scalp attributes will have slightly different requirements on the level of cleansing. The following are the most common types of scalp.
Oily scalp: wash hair less than a day, you can see the hair on the oil brightly, and even appear collapse, greasy feeling.
Neutral scalp: after washing hair even after a full day, it does not look obviously oily.
Dry scalp: Very little sebum is produced, the scalp may appear rough due to excessive dryness, and the ends of the hair may appear dry due to lack of oil.
Sensitive scalp: Itchy scalp and redness of scalp may occur easily.
Seborrheic scalp: Abnormal increase in local sebum secretion, often accompanied by dandruff, some people have more sebum secretion in the T-zone of the face in addition to the scalp, accompanied by dry itchy flaking. These patients may also be infected with Bacillus dermatitidis, a pathogen that causes dandruff on the scalp and overgrowth on the body, causing sweat patches.
Some people with scalp types may think, “I’ve never been picky about shampoo, and I’ve survived to this day. This is indeed true, if your scalp and hair condition is very healthy, basically most products for you to use will not be a problem.
However, from a doctor’s point of view, no matter what kind of scalp, the best principle for choosing shampoo is to have a moderate cleansing power and avoid unnecessary and potentially irritating substances as much as possible. Especially for people with sensitive scalp, the simpler the ingredients, the better.
What do you mean by “simple” products? We can go back and think about what the key to shampooing hair really is. Isn’t it to clean the scalp properly, and then wash away some dirt on the hair to avoid over-cleaning, that’s all? Therefore, the interface active agent is the most basic composition of such products, but after washing away the oil, it will easily cause dry hair and static electricity problems.
Hair shampoo products may also have these ingredients
A few products add silicone to make your hair less susceptible to static electricity and smoother to the touch in order to give you a smooth and silky feeling after washing. Some products are combined with quaternary ammonium and some oil ingredients to deal with electrostatic problems and make hair feel smoother after washing.
It must be said that silicone itself is very safe, but if you look at it from the point of view of “washing the scalp”, it may not be necessary. Oil is not necessarily a problem for most people’s skin, and a moderate amount of oil is meaningful for dry ends, but not for the cleansing of the scalp itself.
Sometimes in order to make the product look more advanced, will add some look white shiny ingredients, such as titanium dioxide or zinc oxide is white powder, add mica can make the product look white shiny.
If you take into account the ingredients that produce fragrance, all of these substances combined may cause irritation to people with “sensitive scalp”.
If you have a seborrheic scalp, it’s best to talk to your doctor about your shampoo choice. Your doctor will usually recommend an appropriate anti-dandruff shampoo, which you can read about in this article.
The 4 keys to the shampoo selection process
Here’s a quick overview of the entire process of thinking and acting.
When choosing a shampoo, the focus is not on what the product on the shelf claims to be, but on which scalp type you are. How to distinguish their own scalp type? See the previous paragraph for more information.
Regardless of the type of scalp, it is basically recommended to use a milder, simpler product.
The best condition after shampooing is when the scalp is moderately cleaned and not too dry to cause itching and flaking.
If it is seborrheic dermatitis or other scalp diseases, you should first consult a doctor for a complete assessment, rather than trying to solve it by yourself with shampoo!
Another thing I want to share with you is that most people actually do not need to use two-in-one shampoo and conditioner products. Why?
If you are a short-haired people, after washing your hair actually do not need to worry about the problem of dry, parted hair. In this case, you only need a simple shampoo can.
If you have long hair and the ends are prone to dryness and split ends, you can actually use a simple shampoo first, and then use an appropriate hair care product to enhance the moisturization and nourishment of the ends. If you use a two-in-one shampoo and conditioner, it’s true that you only need to wash it once, but at the same time, your scalp is also covered with more products that only need to be attached to the ends of your hair, isn’t it?
The most important thing is to understand the basic skin physiology, and then go back to the basics as much as possible, so that the choice of products becomes simpler, and the complexity of the problems that may interfere with the skin will also be reduced!
