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Excellent article !! Thanks for Sharing
WWT
Good reading! Thanks
Bruce
The article doesn't mention conditioned water and it's effect.
A few of us have water conditioners aka water softeners which helps soar lather and reduces the scum in the shower.
I've used Pantene and other shampoos as well as conditioners for years and no harm done but an interesting article anyway.
Kevin
Very Interesting article.... I have noticed my hair actually looks healthier after not washing for a week than it does after shampooing every day. Washing just seems to make my hair dry and frizzy, so that may be my explanation right there.
I have to agree with this article for the most part. I rinse only or use conditioner only most times I "clean" my hair. Saveing the shampoo for when I am going to have a date, interview or some such. My hair gets kinda oily sometimes but I make sure it doesn't get smelly or rat nested looking. Nice find TY.
Hey Tom, thanks for posting this.
I never use shampoo, never have, and my hair is never greasy, smelly or itchy. It doesn't even tangle. I use water only and conditioner once a week.
Very interesting.
Cheers, Dave
Ahh a true naturalist. Kewl
Yeah I haven't used shampoo or conditioner for over a year. There was a short period of oilyness while my hair corrected its natural balance but now it looks and feels just as good as most who would use shampoo/conditioner.
I wash with only water every second or third day. I try recommending this technique to my friends but usually people think its really gross or disgusting (it's not, really)... ah well hahaha
Thanks for hi-lighting that for us Tom and I heard things about Pantene coating the hair. I'd better to switch to salon products and cheap Asda's own make!
Cheers,
John.B
Glad everyone found it interesting. I know I will be looking for something better.. Baby shampoo maybe.. lol I think I'm gonna' stick with Pantenes Conditioner though as I've always liked the way my hair feels with it..
Happy Conditioning!
Tom
Children's shampoo is pH matched to eyes instead of to hair, so it doesn't hurt when it goes in your eyes, but this means it's not pH matched to your hair!
Well, like some of the comments say, there's some truth to the article, but a couple of things need clarifying.
Firstly, soap (sodium stearate, I think) is a detergent, like any other, and I'm not sure if it's the best one. Detergents are molecules that have a hydrophobic (water hating) end and a hydrophilic (water loving) end. They can be made by reacting carboxyllic acids, which are weak organic acids (such as vinegar = acetic acid), with inorganic salts, I think (table salt is a salt, but the chemical term has a wider meaning). My chemistry is a bit hazy here, but no doubt someone will correct it if I am wrong. I think there are other reactions that also result in the same thing.
Detergents, including soap, work by having the hydrophobic end of the molecule attach to the grease, and the hydrophilic end is repelled by the grease and attracted to water. This seperates grease from whatever it is on, and forms droplets in the water made up of grease surrounded by detergent, which you then wash away, and basically requires water to work.
I guess the moral is that for long hair any detergent you use should be weak so as not to remove all the oil from your hair, and it also needs to work with variations in the hardness of the water. Whether using common soap and correcting the water hardness to make it work is the best routine, I couldn't say.
My grandmother only washed her hair with rainwater, without any soap or shampoo. There's so much pollution now that I'm not sure if that would even be a good idea anymore.
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Thanks for the detailed post Elektros! Very interesting chemistry lesson.. So I'm going to extract from this info that there is not "best" shampoo that will work for everyone as it's a matter of balance on an individual basis.. Makes sense ;-))