Choosing the right hair care products can be a complicated and confusing experience. From a wide variety of shampoo and conditioner options filling endless isles to confusing words on the bottles you never know how to read, buying the right hair products to fulfill the needs of your scalp and hair can often be overwhelming. However, it doesn’t need to be such a stressful endeavor, as long as you know what to look out for. So, here is a guide that will help you choose the best hair care products, based on your scalp without going to best hair stylist :
Determine your scalp type
Before you decide to buy any hair care products, it’s essential to know what they do, how you should use them, and how they affect the health and beauty of your scalp and hair. For example, most people think of shampoo as a product that’s strictly meant for cleaning their hair, and often neglect their scalp when choosing a formula. In reality, shampoo is meant to cleanse both the scalp and the hair of dirt, natural oils, and excess styling products, which is why it’s essential to determine whether your scalp is oily or dry before you opt for a specific shampoo.
Shampoo options for oily scalps
If your scalp tends to become greasy or oily, regardless of how often you wash your hair, your skin is most likely producing an excess amount of sebum. In this case, it would be best to avoid hydrating or curly hair shampoos, as they can be too moisturizing for your scalp, and opt for volumizing or balancing shampoos, which are quite efficient at removing the dirt and sebum from your scalp, leading to shinier and healthier hair. Clarifying shampoos can also be incredibly beneficial for overly greasy scalps, but they should always be used in moderation, as they can easily dry the scalp out, leading to more oil production.
Shampoo options for dry scalps
When you have a scalp that is itchy and flaky, and often produces dandruff, you need to find the best shampoo for dry scalp if you want to avoid those uncomfortable and quite embarrassing situations that can occur. It’s important to steer clear of volumizing and strengthening shampoos, which can easily remove the moisture your scalp needs in order to stay balanced and healthy. Instead, it would be best to opt for gentle, natural formulas with nourishing ingredients such as glycerin, avocado oil, and aloe vera, as these products hydrate your scalp, promote moisture retention, and lead to a healthier scalp and hair.
Shampoo options based on hair type
If you have quite a balanced scalp, and you don’t experience any problems with excessive dryness or oiliness, then you have the freedom to choose a shampoo that will suit the needs of your hair the most, and help you achieve your desired results:
- Fine, flat hair: A volumizing shampoo is a great option for fine and flat hair, as it easily removes the build-up on the scalp, giving your hair more fullness and volume, without weighing it down.
- Thick, frizzy hair: For this hair type, moisturizing shampoos and even cleansing conditioners are the best options, as they gently cleanse the scalp, while providing the hair with necessary hydration and shine.
- Curly hair: The best choice for curly and coarse hair is highly hydrating shampoos, or those specifically formulated for curly hair, which provides moisture and gently cleanses the scalp, without weighing the curls down.
- Damaged/chemically treated hair: Prone to brittleness and breakage, this hair type requires strengthening or fortifying shampoo with added protein, to restore the health and beauty of your hair.
Choosing the right conditioner
Considering the fact that the conditioner is applied to the mid-shaft and the ends of your hair, instead of the roots, it should be chosen depending on your hair type and specific hair concerns, and not the type of your scalp. Similarly to shampoo, dryer, frizzier and curly hair types will benefit most from hydrating and moisturizing conditioners that restore balance to the hair, and prevent future dryness, frizziness and splitting. On the other hand, thin and damaged hair requires a volumizing or strengthening conditioner, preferably in the form of a spray, in order to add fullness to the hair, without weighing it down.
The journey to healthy hair begins at the scalp. As long as you treat the skin on your head well, and address your specific issues and concerns, you can expect a significant improvement in the overall look and health of your scalp and hair.