People spend millions of dollars every year on hair care products. Few of them ever take the time to consider their scalp type. This is sad because all the products in the world will not make the hair look its best until the underlying skin is properly cared for. There are several different ways that the type affects one’s choices in hair care products and how it will look.
Dry Skin
Dry skin can starve the hair for moisture, making it dry and brittle. In addition, it can tend toward flaking and dandruff. Overuse of shampoo can make the problem worse.
It is important for those with a dry skin type to moisturize daily with products rich in certain oils. Shea butter, copra oil, olive oil, and avocado are good products to look for in leave-in conditioners and scalp treatments. Avoid shampooing more than once every two to three days as this will strip away any oils and moisture that accumulate, leaving the skin dry again.
Oily Scalp
When there is too much skin oil, it can drown the hair while starving it for oxygen. Here, one should avoid excessive use of moisturizers and conditioners. One can ignore the standard advice about excessive use of shampoos provided the one used is gentle on the hair. Daily shampooing can help to strip excess oil and give the hair more body. Otherwise, it tends to become weighed down and limp.
Normal Type
In between is the person with normal skin and hair. A delicate balance is maintained that allows the skin and hair to have close to the optimum amount of oil and moisture without any special help.
Here, one should use conditioners sparingly and shampoo about every other day for best results. This individual is fortunate because less money is needed to purchase products that affect the balance and less effort is needed to make your hair look good.
Combination
Another common type is known as combination. Areas of the scalp are dry while others are oily. The same effect is often seen on the face. Specific products have been created that react to the conditions and moisturize the dry areas while avoiding buildup in areas that are already too oily.
These contain oils that are deposited on dry hair shafts but will not stick to those already coated. They also contain mild ingredients that will strip a small amount of oil to keep it all even. The trick is to massage these products into the scalp as well as getting the hair coated.
Knowing one’s scalp type is the first step to having attractive, well groomed hair. Once the type of skin one is dealing with is known, it becomes a relatively simple matter to choose the right products to correct out-of-balance situations.
However, one must understand that simply applying these products to the hair will not solve the problem. They must be massaged deeply into the scalp in order to reach the root of the problem. This massage and maintaining the correct balance of moisture will also help to slow down hair loss or thinning.
