Choosing A Shampoo

Alright, well here is a little follow up from what we talked about last time.  Hope you were all able to find a great dry shampoo if you were one of the ones needing some help in the greasy hair department! I did forget to mention one thing in that last post that is definitely worth touching on, it's a little pointer for when you go to use it the second (or third) day.  After you are done spraying it (remember, don't get too close) on your hair and roots, comb through it with a brush and turn your blow dryer on low and just get some medium heat on it.  You don't have to style it necessarily unless you have to get out any kinks that formed while you were sleeping.  But if your hair for the most part still looks decent and workable, then give it a good brush after you've applied the dry shampoo and zap it with the blowdryer for a few minutes before walking out the door.  It will liven it back up and make it look like you just styled it.  I love second day hair considering it takes me 40 minutes to blow dry and round brush out my hair after I wash it.  The dry shampoo, brush, lightly blow dry trick will take you less than 5 minutes!  And hey, I'll take that extra 30 minutes of sleep any day!  

Okay, so on to part 2.  I guess it's not really "part 2" because that sounds like more of a dry shampoo follow up post.  But today I'm going to focus more on just regular shampoo.  There are a ton of people who have beauty blogs out there and they are full of great info.  Over time I will be doing things that I am sure a lot of other people out there are already covering on their pages.  But in starting this blog I wanted to be able to give you some insiders tips on how and why things work and why you should do or not do something.  Anyone can sit there and show you a bottle of shampoo, a palate of makeup, and some face wash and talk it up.  I can show you my soft and shiny hair and tell you this shampoo will make yours looks like that.  I can tell you to buy this cleanser and moisturizer because it will give you a good complexion.  But I don't want to limit myself to just that.  I really wanted to make this blog to actually educate you.  So when you go buy a bottle of _______ you know why you are choosing it.  I don't want you to buy something because I have 15,000 twitter follows and you just listen to what I say because I am some internet beauty guru.  Although I must admit, I would love to be some internet beauty guru someday :)  So, know I am here to do a lot more than just shove a good product at you.  I hope you can really learn some good tips and make the best educated decision before buying your products from now on, because that's whats going to give you the best looking hair and skin.  You can go buy such and such shampoo one day because I said to buy it, use it up, then get bored and want to try something else.  Well, if I didn't tell you why it was so good to begin with, then the next shampoo you buy in a pretty bottle might be filled with all kinds of other crap that will actually harm your hair.  Ok, I'm done ranting now.  

NOW lets talk shampoo.  Let me start out by showing you this picture...

Now who remembers the old commercials for this stuff?!  So try not to think about the screaming, hollering, "yes yes yes" girl.  Instead, try to remember her super sudsy, foamy hair that looks like my sons bubble bath by the time he's done dumping the whole bottle of Mr Bubbles in it.  This shampoo really made a statement with their lathering soap galore shower scene.  Not only did it lead you to believe shampoos could do a whole lot more then cleanse (!) but it left a permanent impression on people that the more lather the better.  Well, this is simply not the case.  Quite the opposite actually.  The more a shampoo gets "suds-y", the harsher chemicals (sulfates) it has in it.  We are so used to wanting this crazy big-lathering shampoo that we feel if it doesn't lather very much that it's not cleaning.  Well, I got news for you.  The bigger the lather does not mean the cleaner your hair is when you're done.  You are actually stripping your hair and damaging it more by using shampoos that contain those harsh "big lather" producing chemicals.  The foaming agents actually dehydrate your hair and strip color and are only there because people expect bubbles.  

So now that you found out you've probably been using crappy shampoo your whole life (sorry, I had to deal with this reality too a while ago too), the question is, what should you be using?  Well the answer is quite simple really.  A sulfate free shampoo.  I use this and LOVE it.

It's an organic shampoo which pretty much just means it's free of your crappy, extra, unnecessary chemicals.  You will not get a very good lather with this but your hair will feel SO clean when its done.  I love it because it's a conditioning shampoo so it won't dry your hair out at all and it has argan oil in it so it's going to help make it smooth and shiny.  There is either a conditioner or a mask that goes with it.  I use the conditioner and again, I just love this stuff.  It is not a super heavy product but if you have really fine thin hair you might feel like it weighs your hair down a little bit more than normal.  It's more for your average hair type.  A little bit really does go a long way and it's the best shampoo I have found for cleansing super well and getting all that product buildup off the hair.  You can find DermOrganic at certain salons and Ulta carries it for $16.  It will also tell you (along with many others) that it's paraban free.  Everyone is jumping on the paraban free bandwagon and let me shed a little light on that while we're at it.  Parabans are in everything and yes they are bad for you in excess.  But what a lot of people don't know are parabans are an agent used to preserve something.  And any company out there can claim that their products are "paraban free" if they do not contain more than a certain percentage of parabans.  So yes, always feel free to go paraban free on something but you probably won't find anything out there that is truly 100% paraban free.  (Sorry to burst your healthy bubble).  Truth is, if a product was 100% paraban free, it would need to be stored in the refrigerator and would last you only about a week before turning brown and rotting.  Some parabans are needed to enable a product to sit out at room temperature and last for more than a few weeks.  So when a product says it's paraban free, it just means it has less parabans in it than the product that doesn't say that.  (That paragraph says "paraban" way too many times.) 

Now I could make this post super long and talk about all the different types of shampoos.  I could explain the pros and cons of the hydrating shampoos, volumizing, softening, color extending, curl enhancing, etc shampoos but I want to keep this as short and simple as possible.  Truth is, if you just switch to a sulfate free shampoo, you will notice a huge different in your hair.  Let me give you a few bullet points to also think about when choosing a shampoo, then if you have any other questions just let me know and I can try my best to help you pick the best one for your hair!

• Volumizing shampoos work to an extent but they work by opening up and exposing the cuticle of your hair.  Under a microscope a piece of your hair will look like shingles on a roof, and the goal is to have them all laid down nicely.  Volumizing shampoos will open that cuticle up so they are no longer laying down but stick out, making the hair thicker and fuller all over.  They not only don't work that well (in my opinion) but by exposing the cuticle like that your color will fade much faster and by using this as a regular shampoo your hair can become dry and brittle.  Instead, try a lightweight conditioner that won't weigh your hair down or as I always told my clients, get your full, volumized hair from products you put on after you wash it.  Or just use your volumizing shampoo occasionally.

Healthy hair cuticle 

Damaged hair cuticle 

• You really don't want to go with a conditioner that is going to make your hair feel slippery when  you've washed it out.  When your hair feels really slippery after being rinsed from conditioner it means that there is something in it that is leaving a film or coating on your hair to give it that feel. Soft, yes.  Slippery, no.  Also, do not put conditioner on your scalp.  It is only to be used at where the hair meets the top of your neck and below.  Using conditioner on your scalp will leave it greasy and will cause it to fall really flat.
• Hydrating shampoos are good for people that have medium to thicker hair, coarse hair, and/or live in a very dry climate.  If your hair feels dry and you are using a hydrating shampoo/conditioner on it and it's thin, all you are going to do is weigh it down.
• Feel free to get a type of shampoo customized to your hair type (color, curl, volume, etc) but if you have normal hair that is not too thick or thin, all you really need is a normal conditioning shampoo that is of course sulfate free.  It is nice to have options but don't throw something that is completely unnecessary on your hair.  You could be unhappy with it over time.
• You will still get some foaming and lather with sulfate free shampoos.   You just wont have Herbal Essances, bubble bath hair.  Don't be afraid of a lighter lather  :)  Your hair will thank you soon enough.

Here is a small list of some different sulfate free shampoos you can get at your local salon and Ulta.

Most Bed Head products are sulfate free.  They are not my favorite but give them a try!  They are reasonably priced.

Loreal's EverSleek is very affordable, about $6 a bottle.  Have not tried it so I cannot personally say if it's good or not.

All Alterna is sulfate free.  Great line, but very high price point.

All Pureology is sulfate free.  Great line, but very high price point.

My current favorite but I use the conditioner not the mask.  Reasonably priced for a professional line.

There are SO many others out there, these are just a few examples to get you thinkin!  Again, feel free to ask any questions if you are thinking about going with a certain line.  Unite and Aveda also make sulfate free shampoos.  Both lines are absolutely amazing (although more spendy) but you cannot purchase these anywhere except a salon that carries them.  

Okay well that's it for this post!  I hope this will help you be able to pick a better shampoo the next time you are on the hunt!  There are so many great ones out there but if you stick to sulfate free (and paraban free if you choose) than you will always be happier with the results.  Hopefully after cutting back on the amount you wash your hair and using a not so harsh line, your hair will be even more beautiful than it is now, it no time!!!

Enjoy your weekend everyone!  Do something for yourself, you deserve it!  And never forget, you are beautiful.  If no one else has told you that today, I have.  

Xoxoxo,

Christina