Choosing The Best Shampoo For Your Texture
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Help! I don’t know which shampoo to use on my curls.
By Yessenia Reyes
Back in the days buying a shampoo was generally an easy task. You walked right into the beauty supply store, grabbed your favorite 16ounce bottle of any sudsy cleanser and off you were on your way. It was a no brainer right?
My oh my have things changed. We've learned so much about our texture over the past few years. We now understand, as our curly hair grows out of our scalp it is a naturally dryer texture. This piece of information is crucial to our hair care routine. It's the little bit of information that helps us understand how important it is to choose the right products for our naturally dryer textures. Especially when choosing the right shampoo.
Using the right shampoo is the first step to having healthier hair. It is the foundation to your hair care regimen. It is the one product that can make your hair feel cleaner and soft or dry, brittle and parched.
The more you understand what your hair needs, the better choices you'll make when purchasing a shampoo. Let’s take a look at the different type of shampoos and which ones work best for each texture:
Clarifying - This shampoo has a lot of lather and leaves the hair feeling squeaky clean. It can leave the hair feeling dried out when used frequently. The only time I would recommend this shampoo on curly hair is if you have a lot of build up. Only use this when it's needed and always follow up with a deep conditioning treatment.
Moisturizing Shampoo - These shampoos can be misleading. They have a lather and do not actually add moisture to the hair. Remember only water and conditioner can add moisture to the hair. Use to remove excess build up and best for fine curly textures that have oily and dry hair.
Sulfate free - This shampoo has a mild lather and leaves the hair feeling clean. Sulfate free shampoos is what you'll use if you have oily scalp or a softer curl that gets flat after a day or two. If you have a tightly coiled or kinkier texture this shampoo is not what you want to have in your rotation because remember anything with a lather even if it's a mild lather it will "mildly" dry your hair out. Your primary shampoo is the next one.
CoWash - This shampoo has zero lather. It's the best cleanser for tightly coiled and kinkier textures. It will clean your hair and keep it soft. It looks like conditioner and feels like conditioner. It will be your primary shampoo. Should be used once a week to cleanse hair. Whenever you see a product that says "cowash" please keep in mind that all it means is "No lather shampoo". You must follow up with a conditioner always. Other names this type of shampoos might have are "cleansing conditioner", "No suds shampoo", "No Poo", "Cleansing Cream". Each brand has a different way of describing it. Although they have different names they all fall under the same umbrella of shampoos.
Volumizing - These shampoo are great for fine curly textures that need body. They are formulated to not only clean your hair but to assist in creating maximum volume for flat lifeless curls.
Dry Shampoo - This shampoo requires no water and is not an actual “shampoo”. It's applied on dry hair. It's used to absorb oils on the hair. This is a great product for fine wavy or fine curly textures. This product should not replace your shampoo, instead use it as an assistant in between washes for those days your curls look flat and lifeless and you’re on the go.
Now that there’s a better understanding as to which type of shampoos there are available to you (and these are only a few but the most important ones for curly hair), remember to choose the shampoo that makes the most sense for your texture. It is the foundation to your healthy hair routine! Choose wisely!