~~ General Hair Information 3 ~~
~~ Products ~~
By Robert / PurpleBubba
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Over the past few years I've seen a lot of posts and talked to many people who were asking about what kind of shampoos or other products to use. It got me thinking just how difficult that question is to answer. One reason is because there are so many products out there and they all do different things. Another is because there is no such thing as a one size fits all product. There can't be because we are all different. Our hair is about as unique as our fingerprints.
I've also seen how difficult it is to give advice about products. No matter how many people say they use and like a certain product there will always be at least one that says they didn't like it. The reverse is true as well. I've seen the posts about Pantene having a wax and other products having silicones or "cones" that coat the hair. I've seen the posts about people who wash with only conditioner. Then there is the debate over salon brands vs store brands. So I got to thinking that we need to get to the root of this problem.
The first thing we have to realize is that we live in a modern society with trends and standards and companies trying to make money. There are so many people telling us how we should look. We all want "normal" hair. We see all these ads, celebrities, models and want what they have. The simple fact is the hair that you see on a shampoo commercial is not the hair you are going to get by using that product. Why? Because most of the time the hair you are looking at is dirty or hasn't been washed in a day or two and is probably full of styling products. Don't you find it odd that they are pushing a cleaning product by using the dirty hair? How many times have you read or heard that the best up dos are done on day old hair? Its really hard to make informed decisions with all those mixed messages.
One day I was taking to someone about this and I started to wonder if things were always this way? Of course the answer is no. Lets start at the beginning. The human body and its creation. Certain features of the body were created for certain purposes. Teeth were created for eating, fingernails for protecting the fingers, and so on. Why was hair created? The most important reason is for protection. It helps prevent heat loss. We have hairs all over our bodies. We have nose hairs which help to keep things from being breathed in that could harm us by catching them. The same could be said for all of the hair we have. Lets consider that animals have hair. Horses have tails of hair. They use them to swat at flies. Imagine if we did that.
So what am I getting at? Nature created hair but it did not create hair care. There were no scissors or shampoos in the early days. Your hair grew as nature intended.
Back then you weren't worrying about how your hair looked. You were more concerned with food and shelter. So the question is what did they do? Well all they had back then was water, dirt, and plants. They probably bathed in ponds or lakes when they could. Maybe they used some plants to make themselves smell better. They didn't worry about split ends back then.
So to sum this up hair care is an experiment and only you can find out what works for you and even if something does build up on your hair you can always use a clarifying shampoo or treatment to get a clean slate.
Updated 4/11/09 I meant to add more to this article back when I added it to this site. I wanted to say that todays products are designed to make your hair look a certain way that is pleasing or shiny. Natural clean hair is not always going to look shiny or feel smooth. If you have read General Info 1 then you know what happens with porosity and older hair. Older hair has more holes and damage than newer hair. Products are designed to fill in those holes kinda like you would use spackle to fill a crack. The more you use a product without clarifying the more these "spackles" or crack fillers are gonna build up on your hair. This is why you need to clarify at least once a month to give yourself a clean slate. It's just like scraping the old paint off of your house before you add new paint. If you have been using a certain product for awhile and haven't varied from your routine by using other things and you find yourself with hair that isn't cooperating with you, you may need to clarify and give yourself that clean slate. Then you can continue using your old product. If after you clarify you find that something isn't right then you should perhaps change your product. If you have read General Info 2 then perhaps something changed in your life that changed your hair and that could cause your product to not give you the results you used to get. I guess my whole point of this article is, if you are using a product and you like it, do not let a few people saying its bad cause you to stop using it unless it is bad for "You" and "Your Hair". Yes silicones and some sulfates can be harsh. But maybe they aren't harsh on your hair. Only you can find that out. If you get build up, clarify. Experiment. Its the only way to learn. But be careful and seek professional advice when needed.
About Me & Disclaimer I am a former cosmetology student who has completed 800 of my state's 1500 hours. The information on this site is meant to be taken in a casual sense and is not intended to be absolute fact nor professional advice. My opinions and articles are based on my learning in school as well as my participation in several hair care forums over the past 4 years. Please do not do anything dangerous like take vitamins or use chemicals solely based on what I have written. For things like that you should seek a professional or a doctor. I am Not an expert. I will never claim to be even if I do learn everything there is to know about hair. Please Be Careful.
If anyone has any questions about these articles you can Email Me Robert / PurpleBubba and I will help you.
