Shampooing your hair is a central part of almost everyone’s weekly showering routine. But with so many of us using this essential haircare product regularly, it is surprising how little many of us know about shampoo!
From choosing the right shampoo for your hair type to understanding which hair care ingredients suit your manes the best, and even, how often to wash your locks for the best results – there are many factors to achieving the ultimate hair-washing routine!
Basic Shampoo FAQs
Stay with us as we answer the most common shampoo FAQs, and give you the real and relevant facts on everything you need to know about shampooing and washing for your hair.
How Often Should I Shampoo My Hair?
In this case, less is best!
Stretching out your washes and waiting longer between shampoos might just do wonders for your hair. If you can, limit your hair washes to once or twice a week.
Admittedly, this can be quite a challenge for some people, especially if you are sweating it out in the gym a few days a week or if your hair gets greasy in a day.
If you do find that your hair gets oily, sweaty, or greasy quickly between washes, you can always reach for dry shampoo. Dry shampoo has volumizing and sweat-wicking qualities and can help your hair appear less greasy temporarily.
In the end, a real, in-shower shampoo will always give the best (and cleanest) results.
Are Sulfate-Free Shampoos Better For My Hair?
In short, the answer is yes! Sulfate-free shampoos are indeed better for your hair.
Sulfate-free hair care products are especially good for dry, damaged hair and sensitive scalps, as they are more intensely hydrating and moisturizing than hair products that do contain sulfate.
It is also better to use sulfate-free shampoo on colored, permed, or chemically-treated locks, as it will usually be much gentler and less astringent.
In addition to this, sulfate-free shampoos can also help to smooth out frizzy hair and minimize pesky flyaways. If you are looking for a sulfate-free hair care product, you could try Davines shampoo.
Do Shampoos Expire? If So, How Can I Tell?
Yes, shampoos and conditioners do expire, with these types of hair products usually only having about a 6-9 months shelf life. So, if you’re not using up your shampoo within this timeframe, you’ll need to toss it out!
If you keep using shampoo past its expiry date, not only will its effectiveness be dramatically reduced, but it could also be damaging to your hair.
This is because the ingredients contained in your hair-washing products can become toxic, unstable, and irritable to the skin after your shampoo has expired. They can also develop harmful bacteria after expiration.
In short, make sure to check the use-by date and get rid of it once it has expired.
Can Shampooing Too Often Damage My Hair?
As discussed earlier, delaying your hair washes as much as possible is ideal for the ultimate hair quality and health. On the flip side, however, shampooing too often can even cause damage to your hair.
This is because over-shampooing can strip your hair of natural oils, which are essential to the hydration and health of your locks. Stripping your hair of its natural moisture can cause your mane to appear dry, dull, and damaged. You may even experience more split ends and hair breakage due to dryness.
Shampooing too frequently can also dry out your scalp. Keeping your scalp moisturized and hydrated is critical for healthy hair growth and root follicle stimulation. So, if your goal is long, healthy, and shiny hair, you’ll want to avoid shampooing your hair too often.
How Do I Choose A Shampoo For My Hair Type?
Choosing the right shampoo for your hair type from different types of shampoos that are available on the market can be as simple as understanding which hair care ingredients best suit your locks.
For example, if your hair is dry or damaged, your hair will be most suited to washing with a shampoo that contains highly moisturizing ingredients. These can help inject your hair with much-needed hydration. Try hair-washing products that contain ingredients such as shea butter, coconut oil, or almond oil, for example.
If you have oily hair, you’ll want to use a shampoo that can lessen your scalp’s overactive sebum production. For instance, a clarifying shampoo that contains tea tree and green tea shampoo can help remove oil build-up and reduce the appearance of greasy hair.
Do I Need To Use A Toning Shampoo For Blonde Or Silver Hair?
Toning shampoo – usually purple shampoo or blue shampoo– is essential to keeping blonde hair bright, shiny, and lively. But how does purple toning shampoo help brighten blonde or silver hair? And do you need it?
Well, if you want to avoid a brassy, faded, yellow-toned blonde, then yes – you do!
Using a toning shampoo helps keep your blonde true to color between salon visits and helps to reduce fading and brassiness. It also assists with depositing pigment into your hair and cancels out orange and yellow tones that can develop over time.
What Makes A Shampoo Vegan Or Cruelty-Free?
For a hair care product to be considered both vegan shampoo and cruelty-free, it must not contain any animal products and must not have been tested on animals. You can check if a shampoo is vegan by reading the ingredients list and by researching the product online and making sure that your shampoo doesn’t contain any animal-derived ingredients.
When it comes to shampooing your hair, it certainly pays off to know your stuff about the shampoo you’re using to wash it.
For optimal hair health, you need to make sure you are using the right shampoo with the best ingredients for your hair type. You should also ensure you are not washing your hair too often, as this can cause damage and dryness to your locks. Lastly, be sure not to use your hair products after their expiry date, to avoid toxicity, irritation, and bacteria.
Before you leave, don’t forget to check out:
- Can I Use Conditioner Without Shampoo? Or Is It A Bad Idea?
~Written by Eada Hudes.