Your Shampoo:
Get Rid of Common Misconceptions

1)  In order for the hair to be clean, two consecutive shampoos are recommended.

Answer: false


The second shampoo is superfluous, especially when the hair is washed more than once a week. The first shampoo cleanses, the second strips... That second application, often recommended on the instructions, can only uselessly sensitise the scalp, and charge the hair electrically.

However, prolonged rinsing is necessary, even if you wash your hair everyday and you are in a hurry. In fact, those who wash their hair frequently tend to do settle into a routine and thus hasten the process. And yet, without thorough rinsing, the hair is vulnerable to air pollution, and becomes dull very fast.

2) So-called 'anti-hair loss shampoos' can treat hair loss problems.

Answer: false

It is simply a rip-off! Shampoos wash, and all we ask is that they do it gently. Neutralising hair loss requires specific active ingredients, with sub-cutaneous action that is incompatible with washing products. That being said, even reliable laboratories call their shampoos 'anti-hair loss'. But, in their case, it is always to complete their range of anti-hair loss products, and thus ensure that shampoo 'x' or 'y' does not come to interfere with the product in question’s effects.

3) Nowadays, anti-dandruff shampoos are perfectly effective.

Answer: true

Most are effective, for as long as they are chosen according to the type of dandruff. But they must be used with moderation. Excessive use of those shampoos can have the opposite effect to the one wanted: they can irritate the skin and devitalise the hair.

On the other hand, because anti-dandruff shampoos only treat the symptom, it is recommended to try to detect the cause of the problem, in order to be able to block it in the long term. In case of a doubt on the condition's origin, best is to have a hair diagnosis in order to identify the problem and then treat it in depth.

4) Massaging the hair, while shampooing, gives it more tonus.

Answer: false

Contrary to common belief, massaging the scalp, once the shampoo is applied, is not at all recommended: it risks making the roots more fragile, or triggering an excess of sebum by stimulating the sebaceous gland. Best is then to gently massage the hair with the shampoo, and not vigorously rub the head.

However, massaging the scalp, before shampooing, is an excellent way to stimulate irrigation and give the hair more tonus. See: Exercise for the Hair

5) The best shampoos are not necessarily those that produce the most foam.

Answer: true

The softer a shampoo, the less it foams and the less it risks making the hair break and have split-ends. That does not mean that it doesn't clean: the foam is a proof of aggressiveness more than of cleanliness.

6) So-called 'baby shampoo' are very soft and well adapted to adult hair.

Answer: false

The 'baby' mention does not mean 'ultra-soft' but simply that is not very irritating, and does not sting the eyes. Those shampoos often contain over-greasing products, useful for children's hair, but that make adults' hair weaker.

7) Washing the hair too often makes it grease or fall more.

Answer: false

Nowadays, good shampoos are sophisticated enough to enable frequent washing, even daily, if the need is felt. The hair will neither grease nor fall more as a consequence. That is, for as long as you only use ultra-soft shampoos (with a neutral pH of 7, i.e., neither acid nor alkaline) and do not hesitate to pay the right price: it is not the number of washings per week that matters, but rather the product's quality and softness.

Despite such precautions, if the hair falls excessively while shampooing, do not incriminate it. You should search for the condition's real cause instead. See Clauderer In-Depth Diagnosis

8) To end rinsing with cold water makes the hair shine.

Answer: true

The cold water closes the scales that appear on the hair's external surface when it is submitted to the shampoo's hot water. That final rinsing makes the keratin smoother, which enables the hair to better reflect the light, and gives it shine.

And if your hair tends to grease, cold water avoids dilatation of the sebaceous glands and moderates the production of sebum.

9) A bit of vinegar, mixed to the water at the end of rinsing, reinforces the hair's shine.

Answer: true

Vinager helps to make the hair's keratin smoother. Lemon juice has the same effect, without the smell. But vinegar also helps to dissolve the water's limestone: it is a 'two in one' product.