Thursday, August 2, 2012

Something more important for your hair than an oil treatment or hair conditioner.

First, let me say that I am 100% happy with the oil hair treatment I shared. However, I realized that I had neglected to tell you something that I feel is more important than the oil treatment. No matter what conditioners or treatments you use, if you don't use a SLS (Sodium Laurel Sulfate) free shampoo, you most likely will not get the results you want.

As we age, generally our hair and scalp get dryer and we can experience hair thinning and loss. I know my hair has gotten dryer; it used to be so oily that I shampooed every morning and by night it was oily again. Sulfates can contribute to hair thinning, loss, and dryness.

A while back, Linda made a comment about a blog called Killerstrands (Thank you, Linda!). Finding that blog was the best thing that has happened to me in a long time. It is a "Blog about Hair, Hair color, Healthy hair: written by board-certified L.A. Colorist/Stylist". I have learned so much and I am now doing my own bleaching and color using products from their store. I am not affiliated in any way with them except as a satisfied customer and blog follower. I would love to be able to use their deep conditioner Thriven, but I cannot tolerate the scent because of my asthma. That is why I looked for an oil treatment conditioner that worked for me.

Killerstrands features an excellent post about the importance of using sulfate free shampoo which I suggest you read. After reading that post, I did a lot of reading about sulfate free shampoos and I made the decision to switch. It has  made a big, big difference in the condition of my hair. I tried conditioning without changing my shampoo and my results were not that good. No big surprise because I was basically stripping the oil that I had just applied.

I am sure you have probably seen the commercials featuring Dawn Dishwashing liquid being used to remove oil from wildlife affected by oil spills. Guess what Dawn contains that helps remove the oil? Yep, sodium laurel sulfates.  

There are many shampoo and conditioner products available at the drugstore now. L'oreal has a new line available at Walmart. Ulta also stocks a lot of SLS free products. I personally use L'anza. I like their "purple" shampoo for blonds. I alternate it with their regular color save shampoo. It is a bit more expensive, but it works well for me. SLS (Sodium Laurel Sulfate) Free shampoos do not lather up like what we've been used to using. It has taken me a bit to learn not to use so much product trying to get suds. You just don't need as much product. You may have to try a couple of different brands to find the one that works for you. 

I think that sharing knowledge with others is very important and I hope that what I have shared with you will help with your own hair care program. Please do visit Killerstrands blog. Even if you don't want to do your own color, I think that what you can learn from the blog will help you to better communicate with your stylist as to what you want.

Happy Thursday,
Debbi

9 comments:

  1. Whoa, timely. I just had my hair cut today (about time, too!) and my hair guy was talking about just this topic, and recommending L'anza shampoo. I wanted to use up the bottle of Frederic Fekkai I just bought, so I passed for now, but now that a source who isn't interested in selling it to me mentions it, I will definitely go for it.

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  2. I have curly dry frizzy grey hair. And I've hated it for a long time and fought it for even longer. Recently I discovered the book Curly Girl for my Kindle and boy was it an eye opener. Now, after 2 weeks of using sulfate free and alcohol free products I find I just might like my hair after all. Highly recommend this book for curly girls. Thanks Debbi for bring this subject to the blog.

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  3. Great post, Debbi. I also stopped using sulphates about a year ago, and my new growth, especially, is much healthier. I'm a big fan of Curly Girl too!

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  4. Awesome post Debbi!! You are inspiring me to make my homemade shampoo bars again. I still have all of my soap equipment-just gotta get the supplies and motivation!!

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  5. Thanks! Sometimes just one little ingredient can make such a difference. I spent decades with constant mouth sores, before reading (on the Internet) that the Sodium Lauryl Sulfate in my toothpaste could be the problem. (I think they only add it to make the toothpaste foamy.) So my mouth has been fine since making that change - time to make the same change with my hair! I may have to formulate my own shampoo to combat the chlorine from the pool, too. Maybe Tamera will post her shampoo bar instructions?
    Thanks to Laura and Patti for letting me know about the book, Curly Girls. I had never hear of it, but it sounds like I should read it.

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  6. This is great information! I'm going to check out their website!

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  7. You are so right. I've been using SLS free products for some time and it's definitely the way to go.

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  8. So far I've been using Pro Naturals Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo and Conditioner (beyas.ca) on my hair and the results have been really satisfying, my hair looks completely nourished. There are no sulphates, silicones or parabens involved and the difference is huge!

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  9. Hi Debbi, this post was so informative and well written. So glad you dropped by recently...really nice to hear from you. I am going to check the site now. Thank you again, I have been noticing more hair loss recently and was hoping that we shed like our pets, although I don't think your handsome harry sheds at all. Have a great weekend. Dawn suitcase vignettes xo

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