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For some people, hair-washing is a two-step process -- shampooing and conditioning. Bottles and bottles of shampoo and conditioner line store shelves, donning fancy labels that describe alluring fragrances and promise exceptional results. Shampoos and conditioners serve separate purposes, though. You might be surprised to learn best practices for both conditioners and shampoos. Some people shouldn't use conditioner -- and some people shampoo too often.
Sebum -- The Natural Conditioner
Your body produces its own natural conditioner in the form of an oil known as sebum. This oil seeps from glands in your scalp, oozing over each strand of hair. As gross as it may sound, sebum is essential. Without it, hair is dry, lifeless and just plain "blah." Sebum envelops hair strands, making them glossy and pliable. On the down side, sebum tends to be sticky and easily attracts dirt. This is where shampoo comes in.
Removing Oils
When you shampoo your hair, you are essentially stripping your hair of its natural oils and the dirt that the oils collect. Shampoos contain cleaning agents called surfactants. Names you may recognize are sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate. These surfactants have both water-attracting and oil-attracting qualities. As they lather up, they pull dirt and oils from your hair so you can easily rinse them away. While this is fine for someone who has normal hair, if your hair is dry or damaged, stripping it of sebum can leave you with a frizzy mess. This is where conditioner comes in.
Replacing the Oils
It takes time for your scalp to replenish the oils that shampooing takes away. A conditioner offers an immediate solution. When you slather it on, emollients coat your hair, making the cuticle silky-smooth. Even after you rinse the conditioner away, a thin layer remains behind ensuring that brittleness doesn’t rear its ugly head. But conditioner is not for everyone. If you have an oily scalp, conditioner makes this problem worse, so you have two choices -- skip the conditioner altogether or use it only on the ends of your hair where you may need it most.
Squeaky Clean
There is such a thing as shampooing too much. If you wash your hair every day, you may want to ask yourself if you are overdoing it. The process of stripping sebum and recoating hair with emollients afterward may be overkill. Washing your hair every other day or even every third day gives your scalp a break. If you absolutely can’t wait to wash your hair, try a quick, cool water rinse as a scalp and hair refresher between shampoos.
