Clean and healthy hair is everybody’s dream. But it can be difficult to understand how best to take care of your locks. You may find that not knowing which shampoo and conditioner will work best will make your hair look dull and dry–or worse, oily. That’s why we’re here with some helpful buying tips on how to choose great products for your hair type!
1) Your Hair Type
Not all hair types are the same. Understanding your own head of hair will help you determine which brand of shampoo and conditioner to look for, in addition to how often to use it. As a general guideline, those with curly curls should stick to a light oil like coconut oil as their main moisturizer. You can even try a shampoo bar for curly hair if you adopt your hair care range to a greener one. Those with extra care curls should use heavier cone creams, but if you have straight hair you should avoid heavy products altogether.
If you have fine, thin hair that’s oily at the roots but dry at the ends, buying a volumizing shampoo might be for you–after all, another great way to make it look fuller is to give it a little more volume!
2) Your Hair Ability
Another important factor in choosing the proper shampoo and conditioner is how well your hair handles getting wet. You may feel frustrated if your hair is at all times messy after showering or swimming – but what you actually need is a product that will make brushing your hair easier. Heavy products are more likely to make your hair messy, while lighter products tend to stop frizz.
If you regularly swim in the ocean, it is best to use a specifically formulated shampoo and water conditioner–sea salt is not good for your hair. Likewise, if your hair dries very quickly after exposure to the wind, you may want to use a product with some sort of UV protection in it.
3) Environmental Friendly Alternative
We briefly touched on this before, but more and more people are making this change. Some of us care enough about the environment that we willingly add to our beauty and hair care routines. Fortunately, today’s market is full of eco-friendly alternatives–and a few of them in fact work better!
If you are not trying to switch, do not worry—at least it is still a good idea go for organic hair product. Organic shampoos and conditioners aren’t tested on animals like normal ones, so that gets extra points in our book!
4) Hair Type + Water Temperature
Did you know that the temperature of the water you wash your hair has a huge impact on how clean it’s? If you live in a areas with hard water (water contains calcium and magnesium), the minerals will build up on top of your locks and make them feel gunky. Shampooing too often can exacerbate this problem, which is why we recommend buying a clarifying shampoo and using it once a week.
Your hair type will affect how much heat you can apply without causing damage and dryness and whether or not you should wash your hair in hot water. Yet another factor is the temperature of the water coming out of your faucet. If you have dry, brittle hair that’s already prone to breakage, likelihood is washing it in cold water will help stop frizz!
5) Shampoo + Conditioner
Shampoo helps remove dirt, oil, sweat, and product buildup from your hair–and plenty of shampoos are designed to do double duty by conditioning it too! There are a wide range of shampoos to select from for all hair types. When deciding which type you need, it is best to perform some research–online reviews are a fantastic place to start!
If you are trying to find a hot oil treatment, deep conditioning clay mask, leave-in conditioner, or other styling products like pomades and gels, it is best to buy these when you run out of shampoo and conditioner and then refill.
Picking the right shampoo and conditioner for your hair can be overwhelming, but it does not must be. You can look for products with specific ingredients like coconut oil and shea butter if you want something moisturizing; seaweed extract for extra volume; olive oil for shine; argan oil or jojoba oil (which are literally melted wax) if you need some smoothness but do not want the heaviness; or menthol and mint oil to relieve scalp irritation.
