Hair care according to skin type

This time again about hair, or rather about hair and scalp skin types. The topic is really important, because all hair care begins and primarily depends on the type of skin underneath, so it is very important to find out before buying care products. If you use products that are not intended for your hair type, there is a high chance that the condition of your hair will worsen. Of course, the condition of your scalp and hair is greatly influenced by genetics, lifestyle, nutrition, stress, lack of water or medication, but these factors are much more difficult to change than choosing the right shampoo.

Four scalp types

Just like facial skin, scalp and hair can be divided into four types – normal, dry, oily and combination. Of course, those with normal skin are the luckiest, and you won’t need to pay much attention to hair care. However, if your skin is dry or oily, a proper routine and carefully selected products are really important. The sebaceous glands in the skin that produce sebum have the greatest influence on the type of scalp skin, and the amount of sebum (oil) produced affects the strength and shine of your hair. It could be said that hair with an oily scalp is luckier, as it will be thicker and have more shine. However, the biggest problem with such hair is when the scalp becomes too oily, then it is really difficult to control the situation. For dry hair, it is the opposite – it will be weaker, will not have shine, and one of the biggest problems with this type is hair breakage. Dry skin produces minimal sebum, which means that hair lacks moisture, dries out, and becomes less resistant to breakage than oily hair. Combination hair suffers from both oily and dry scalp problems – the roots get oily quickly, but the ends are dry – which happens because the sebum produced in the skin does not nourish the hair and, due to the poor condition of the scalp, simply gets absorbed back into the scalp.

How to choose a hair shampoo?

Once you have determined your skin type, you can start choosing the right care products. The most commonly used and still the most important product is hair shampoo. I wrote about what substances to avoid in all shampoos in a previous article. This time, the priority is skin type, so here are some tips on how to choose a shampoo based on it. When the scalp is normal, choosing a shampoo is really easy – just choose a high-quality and gentle product without harsh cleansing agents with some moisturizer. If the skin type is oily, it is very important to remove excess oil and dirt well, so the advice is to choose a stronger cleansing shampoo, with a larger amount of cleansing agents, avoid moisturizing or softening shampoos, and also make sure that they do not contain natural oils. You can use two different shampoos to make washing your head even more effective. When the scalp is dry, it is important not only to gently cleanse, but also to moisturize the skin and hair. Therefore, you should choose products with fewer cleansing agents, avoid all types of sulfates, and look for moisturizing agents in the composition - natural oils, glycerin, urea, keratin, proteins, and other moisturizers. The most difficult thing is to choose a shampoo for combination skin, I would even recommend using several at the same time - for the first wash, you could use a good cleanser, and for the second, a shampoo with an exfoliating effect, which would help remove dead cells from the skin surface, normalize sebum production, and thus promote more intensive hair hydration. The choice of conditioner and its proper use are also very important, but more on that next time. Now I leave you with the task – to assess the condition and type of your hair and take the time to find the right shampoo or even several. It may not be possible to succeed right away, but the effort will be worth the result.