Hair washing mistakes

Hair and scalp care – what to do and what not to do?

Just before I started writing this post, I saw a caption on social media that probably every woman can relate to, and I decided to start this post with it. It says: ”How annoying is it, when hair wash days don't line up well with your social events”. If I've ever related to anything, it's this ☺

Partly for fun, partly for real. In this post, we'll talk about common hair washing and care habits and explain whether or not it's right to do them.

The purpose of washing hair is primarily to cleanse. During washing, a lot of sebum and sweat are secreted onto the scalp, while at the same time a lot of dirt from the environment gets trapped in the hair – from dust particles to bacteria, etc. Those with oily hair are forced to wash their hair because their scalp looks untidy and dirty. However, many people wash their hair too often – read every day. Is this recommended? If you are an athlete who sweats every day, washing your hair every day is logical, but for everyone else, washing your hair every day is not necessary. Why don't I even recommend it? Our scalp is also skin, which means that we also have a skin barrier on our scalp. Similar to our face or elsewhere on our body, cleaning too often or using harsh products can damage the skin barrier on our scalp, which can lead to redness, itching, and sensitivity. If you wash your hair very often, make sure to use gentle shampoos, such as our Skinfairytale Shampoo, which will not damage the barrier and irritate the scalp with aggressive surfactants.

Meanwhile, those with drier scalps sometimes forget to wash their hair. However, putting off washing your hair for too long is also not advisable, as hair is a breeding ground for dirt, which can be transferred to your face and potentially contribute to acne, while also causing scalp irritation and redness. The most optimal time to wash your hair is every 2-4 days.

How do shampoos work?

Surfactants work by weakening the bonds of dirt particles that cling to the hair and scalp. Surfactants dissolve dirt particles and prevent them from re-binding to the scalp. They are made up of a hydrophobic part (binds oil) and a hydrophilic part (binds water). Thus, sebum binds to the hydrophobic parts of the surfactants, and water-soluble dirt particles bind to the hydrophilic parts.

How to wash your hair properly?

Now you're probably wondering why I'm writing this, everyone knows this? I often notice that most of us make the same mistakes when washing our hair. What are they?

Instead of applying shampoo only to the scalp, apply it to the entire length of your hair.

Almost all the girls I know make this mistake. In addition to applying shampoo to the scalp, they also apply it to the entire length of the hair. However, it is not the hair that is problematic that is dirty, but the scalp. Therefore, there is no need to apply shampoo to the entire length of the hair, because this only makes the hair drier. Apply the shampoo only to the scalp and massage it in well. This will also transfer some of the shampoo to the hair. When rinsing, the shampoo will also flow through the hair and clean its surface. Especially if you have dyed or very dry hair, avoid applying shampoo to the entire length of the hair.

We leave the shampoo on the scalp for a long time or we don't remove it well.

Sometimes it happens that we simply do not rinse the shampoo well enough from the scalp. If this happens, surfactant residues remain on the surface of the scalp. The surfactants in shampoos are mostly anionic (sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate) and have a fairly high pH. The pH of our skin ranges between 4.5 and 6 and the pH of the skin on the scalp is no different from that on other parts of the body. Residual surfactants with a high pH on the scalp can cause a local increase in pH and subsequent irritation. High pH can increase the negative electrical charge on the surface of the hair fibers and thus increase friction between the hair. This can lead to damage to the hair cuticle and breakage. Shampoos with lower pH values ​​cause less static electricity because they do not create as much negative electrical charge on the surface of the hair.

We rinse shampoo and conditioners by letting the water run down our backs.

Do you often get closed comedones or even acne on your back? The reason for this is probably due to improper rinsing of cleaning and care products from the surface of your hair. Most shampoos and conditioners contain molecules called polymers. Polymers are large molecules that adhere very well to the surface where they are applied. They are especially desirable in shampoos and conditioners so that they do not slip off the hair and keep them in place until they are washed. If we wash our hair so that the shampoo or conditioner runs down our back, these polymers can adhere to the skin on our back. It is very difficult to wash them without shower gel, which is difficult to use on our back. As a result, these polymers remain on the surface of the skin on our back and have an occlusive effect. This means that nothing can get into the skin, but nothing can get out of it either. This can cause rashes or acne, so it is essential to always wash your hair by tilting your head forward or to the side to prevent the shampoo or conditioner from coming into contact with your skin.

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