Shampoo for Beautiful Hair

According to the Stiftung Warentest (German product testing foundation), 94 percent of all women consider shampoo the most important personal hygiene product. It is therefore safe to assume that women are interested in finding the proper shampoo for their hair. Criteria for the choice of shampoo are the hair quality and structure as well as the scalp condition. Like almost all physiological parameters, hair and scalp change over time, and you should therefore also adjust your choice of shampoo. Oily hair may change into regular hair and healthy hair may suddenly turn thinner and more sensitive.

Luster is a very obvious sign of healthy hair. Unfortunately, there are quite a few ways to take the luster out of your hair, such as frequent brushing, blow-drying or heat-styling. With the hair cuticles no longer arranged in a smooth layer, hardly any light is reflected from the hair thus making it look dull and lifeless. Styling residues in your hair or water with high lime content may dull your hair as well. Special shampoos are able to repair the hair structure and bring your hair back to life. The active ingredients in these shampoos are silk proteins as well as apricot kernel oil or pearl extracts. These shampoos also remove residual hair care products and lime removers soften the water. After shampooing, your hair will show its natural luster again.

Your hair may look limp and tired because the individual hairs are thin or have thinned over time. Shampoos containing collagen complexes and coating substances build up the hair structure and in this way create stronger, thicker and fuller looking hair. Shampoos containing coenzyme Q10 have a rejuvenating effect. Inside the hair roots, this coenzyme directly stimulates the biosynthesis of keratins, which tends to slow down with age. Keratins are special proteins and the major building block of hair. The special characteristics of these proteins make our hair strong and elastic.

There are quite a few causes for stressed straw-like hair. In most cases, stressed hair lacks moisture due to improper care or blow-dryer heat. Sun, wind and salt water also dry out the hair and create a shockheaded look. In your search for the proper shampoo you should be guided by the special needs of your hair. Stressed fine hair is best treated with light moisturizing compounds like Aloe vera, yoghurt, wheat proteins or panthenol. Strong but straw-like dry hair needs richer conditioners.

Natural curls have a way of escaping our styling efforts. You can make them more compliant using shampoos with active ingredients like apricot kernel or Jojoba oil. These oils make curly hair less frizzy and help with styling. In most cases, very curly hair is also dry. Most shampoos against frizzy or very curly hair therefore also contain moisturizing agents like panthenol or glycerol.

Immediately after color treatments, hair usually shows rich colours and marvellous luster. Special shampoos for color-treated hair help to keep your hair in this beautiful condition by protecting against the bleaching effects of UV light and by adding very effective conditioners and luster-providing pigments for healthy and shiny hair. Some specialty shampoos for color-treated hair also provide shimmer pigments or amber extract for even deeper color and shine.

There are times when hair needs special care. This applies to hair with dandruff or split ends to name two of these special conditions. Zinc pyrithione is the active ingredient in most dandruff shampoos. It alleviates itching and suppresses the excessive skin scaling on the scalp, which leads to dandruff. Ideally, longer hair with split ends is treated with potent conditioners like the rich Macadamia, olive and Argan oils. These oils repair split ends and make your hair look healthy and shiny.

• More does not necessarily help more. A small dollop (about ½ an inch in diameter) of shampoo is enough for short hair and a slightly larger one (about ¾ of an inch in diameter) works for longer hair

• Make sure that your hair is thoroughly wet during shampooing. (Important hint: Foaming indicates an excess of shampoo; more shampoo is needed if no foam develops)

• Do not wildly rub your scalp during shampooing. Softly working the shampoo through your hair is quite effective. There is no need to use extra shampoo on the usually dry ends of long hair. The run-off from the shampooing sufficiently cleans the ends of your hair

• Always make sure to thoroughly rinse out all shampoo. Residual hair care products diminish the luster

• Adjust the choice of shampoo to the climate and the changing needs of your hair. In summer, hair is usually drier and needs more conditioning. In winter, hair usually needs plenty of added moisture. As we age, our hair and skin tend to become drier and thinner. Happily, we now have the benefit of shampoos with rejuvenating ingredients

• Use a mild shampoo for normal hair if you are in the habit of shampooing daily. After a while, shampoos to combat oily hair are likely to dry out your hair, while conditioning shampoos may weigh it down. It is quite sufficient to use such specialty shampoos only once a week rather than daily as part of your routine