Shampoo doesn't just serve as a hair and scalp cleanser. Some shampoos contain ingredients that help soften, smooth, and moisturize the scalp, treat scalp problems such as dandruff, protect hair color from fading quickly, and treat different hair types.
It is important to choose a shampoo tailored to your hair type as each has different conditions and needs. The right shampoo formulation helps maintain healthy hair and skin and addresses specific concerns.
How to Choose the Right Shampoo for Your Hair Type
Dry hair type
Dry hair occurs when hair lacks its natural moisture and struggles to retain the moisture it needs to stay healthy. Dry hair generally looks dull, loses its shine, and often tangled.
Hair generally has several layers. The outermost layer acts to protect the inner layers. Healthy hair produces enough natural oils so that the outer layer is also protected. If this layer is damaged, the hair will lose its shine and moisture.
To treat dry hair, special shampoos are needed, namely shampoos with additional oil content in them such as argan oil, coconut oil, or almond oil. This oil content can help keep hair moisturized.
Apart from choosing shampoo and conditioner, it is also very important to protect the hair from heat and sunlight. Use heat protection products if you use styling tools such as a vise or hairdryer. Also, wear a hat when in the sun to protect your hair from UV damage.
Read More: Causes of early appearance of white (gray) hair
Oily hair type
Oily hair has some distinctive features, where the hair looks shinier, moisturized, easily tangled, sticks together, often looks dirty, and has dandruff. With these problems, you need to choose a type of shampoo that tends to be less moisturizing and can remove excess oil.
Avoid shampoos that contain the words moisturizing and smoothing on the packaging. Instead, look for shampoos that offer volume, strengthening, and balancing.
You can also use the double cleansing concept, where you can use two different shampoos. The first shampoo addresses excess oil on the scalp, and the second shampoo treats the hair shaft to keep it moisturized.
After shampooing, carefully apply conditioner only on the hair shaft. Then, rinse the hair thoroughly to avoid triggering excess oil production.
Read more: You need this Vitamins and Minerals For Healthy Hair Growth
Curly hair types
Having naturally curly hair can be challenging because the hair shaft is thick and more prone to breakage than other hair types. Experts suggest choosing moisturizing shampoos and conditioners. In addition, you need to do scalp treatments to moisturize the roots.
Avoid washing your hair too often as it will only lead to dry, frizzy, and unruly hair. However, you need to wash your hair at least once every 2-3 weeks for optimal scalp and hair health.
Generally, hair care according to hair type can be done independently at home. However, if you experience severe hair loss, chronic scalp irritation, or hair conditions that cannot be treated with regular shampoo or conditioner, then you should consult a doctor or dermatologist.
If you need medical advice or consultation, you can either visit a doctor or use the consultation features available in the Ai Care application by downloading the Ai Care application from the App Store or Play Store.
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- dr. Monica Salim
Katy Hebebrand (2021). How to Choose the Best Shampoo. Available from: https://www.webmd.com/beauty/features/choose-right-shampoo
Valencia Higuera (2023). Why Do I Have Dry Hair?. Available from: https://www.healthline.com/health/dry-hair
Kendra Aarhus and Michelle Rostamian (2023). How to Choose the Right Shampoo For Your Hair Type, According to Experts. Available from: https://www.byrdie.com/shampoo-101-choosing-the-right-shampoo-3517815
Sarah Vallie (2022). Why Is My Hair So Oily? How to Manage Oily Hair. Available from: https://www.webmd.com/beauty/why-is-my-hair-so-oily-how-to-manage-oily-hair
Rohini Radhakrishnan, ENT, Head and Neck Surgeon. What Are the Four Types of Hair?. Available from: https://www.medicinenet.com/what_are_the_four_types_of_hair/article.htm
Brooke Schleehauf (2022). 6 Curly Hair Care Tips from Dermatologist. Available from: https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/hair-scalp-care/hair/curly-hair-care