To Shampoo or Not To Shampoo

Every month, you can be sure that the same two topics will be featured on the cover of every fashion magazine - diets and hair.  Just this month, I was amused to see that the juicing craze that was supposed to help us all lose weight and be healthier was now the cause of weight gain (too much sugar in all that fruit).  Lately, it seems that any given "sexy hair!" trend of the month comes down to whether or not to shampoo.   The gorgeous young model in the photo spread did not shampoo her hair, so if you do the same, you'll look just like her.  And maybe you will.  Or maybe you won't.  Because everyone is different.

The arguments against shampooing are that the detergents in shampoo can strip your hair, so it's better not to shampoo, or use a dry shampoo instead.  Many shampoos do have harsh detergents, which create suds.  We associate suds with cleanliness, but you do not need suds to get clean hair.  There are plenty of gentler shampoos out there with little to no suds that can clean effectively without stripping your hair of moisture.

Speaking of stripping (still talking about hair here), there is an important distinction to be made between cleaning the scalp and cleaning the hair.  When the salon first opened, I was frustrated to have an oily scalp and dry hair.  The Rene Furterer educator advised me to use a purifying shampoo on my scalp only, and an intensive conditioner on my ends only.  This regimen solved my problem, and made me realize that I had been shampooing my hair and neglecting my scalp, thereby removing needed moisture from my hair and allowing buildup to aggravate my scalp.  Your scalp is part of your skin, so approach your hair cleansing routine as you would your face cleansing - clean to remove impurities and rebalance to restore the pH level.

Is it important to note, as I mentioned, that everyone is different.  Yes, your hair type can play a role in how frequently you need to shampoo.  But, more importantly, is the role of your lifestyle.  My car takes me from home to work and back every day.  But as I write this, I am drinking the Starbucks that I walked to get on a very humid 90-degree day, going past an active, dusty construction site and with bus exhaust blowing in my direction.  If I was walking back and forth to the metro each day in conditions like this, as many of our clients do, you can bet I'd be shampooing every night.  So the decision on how frequently to shampoo has to be specific to your daily routine, both regarding your exposure to outside elements and in consideration of how much product you put in your hair every day.

Often, the debate over whether to shampoo assumes that shampoo is cause of any given hair condition.  But there are other factors to be considered as well, including your diet, your stress level, seasonal changes, and even the purity of the water coming out of your shower head.  When it comes down to it, sexy hair is healthy hair.  So, if you've been reading all these articles and trying to decide the right shampoo routine for you, please consider all these factors.  And enjoy that green juice if you want it.  There's likely nutrients in it that are good for your hair.