Thursday, February 19, 2009

Let's Talk Shampoo



Our hair says so much about us. We have to take care of it each day. It gets it own appointments to be trimmed, colored, permed, and styled. It takes a lot of abuse as we wash, brush, blow-dry, and place very hot instruments on it in order to make it do what we want. We need to take special care of this delicate but strong piece of us.



We watch commercials with beautiful models whose hair shines, bounces when she walks, flows ever so gently in the wind, and not one split or dry end. The brand tells us we too can have hair like this by using their products. Reality check!!! Sure we can...if we have with us at all times; a stylist, lighting expert, portable fan, and photographer telling us which way to turn.


Fact- you can have beautiful hair by taking care of it. Regular trims (every 4-8 weeks), Shampoo, conditioner, and product of your choice (hairspray, gel, mousse, etc)



Let's talk shampoo, this is part of our needed beauty regimen. How do we as consumers know how to pick a shampoo, after all, we didn't go to cosmetology school? Well I did and I'll be sharing secrets of the industry with you.

All shampoos on the market say ph balanced. Companies are not required to put the ph on the label. Without getting into the science of ph, I will say, hair and skin should be between 4.5-5.5 on the ph scale. I always advise my clients to try to purchase professional products through their salon, however, if you need to shop for yours at your local grocery store, stay with brands known for hair: Vidal Sassoon, Paul Mitchell, Matrix, ans so forth. A lot of these companies started their line in salons and then opened it to the public. Your stylist could recommend the Best product for your hair in their salon, as they are the professional (most stylist aren't selling the product to make money, but rather to educate you, the client).

How to recognize a great product.
  • color should be clear/white (we don't want extra colors added)
  • lather should be very rich and thick
  • texture should be creamy
  • you should not need to use more then the size of a quarter
You should ask your stylist for two separate shampoos and you should switch them every three months to avoid build-up. You also get build-up from your gel, mousse, hairspray, and other hair products. To get rid of build-up use the recipe below.
  • 8 oz warm water
  • 1 tbsp baking soda
Once every 4-6 weeks, mix well, shampoo, rinse, pour build-up mixture over head(tilting backwards), comb through with wide tooth comb, rinse, condition.

Myths- we do not want our hair to be "squeaky clean". This means we just stripped all the protective natural oil out of our hair. One shampoo should be enough unless you go days without washing your hair.

See your professional stylist for further information.

Feel sexy, Feel beautiful, Get Touch'd!

4 comments:

A Psych Mommy said...

I didn' know that you are supposed to switch shampoos every three months! Whoops--I'm really late with this one--good thing I'm going to see my stylist this Friday

evelester @ gmail.com said...

I try to switch up shampoos, but I usually dont remember till it is too late and I already notice a difference, lol

Joyce said...

I love baking soda for everything and actually used the baking soda for a while and would follow with a splash of cider vinegar, it did not make my hair smell at all, I have such thin hair though so it worked to well and there was no bounce in my hair (I have no natural bunce :(

Coupon Magnet said...

HI! I'm visiting from SITS! Great blog!
I usually switch my shampoo and use the baking soda trick, although i use lemon juice with it. Anyway, I always end up back with that "squeaky clean" shampoo b/c it feels so soft. haha. My hair stylist friend does not like that i use Pantene. She says it's awful. But my hair is so soft! :)
Christy
p.s. I'm now following. If you are interested, check out my blog. :)