Dry Shampoo...is it necessary? Or just a gimmick.

A friend of mine, Gigi, had the oily hair problem. She also had the OMG my hair is thinning problem. I gave her a 4 week challenge 6 months before her wedding day:  She was using a Pantene type product so I had her buy a  professional brand for her hair type. She used ISO daily shampoo and conditioner, which is a light product made for normal hair, nothing fancy about it. I also challenged her to stop washing her hair so much. (everyday, sometimes twice a day) After just a few weeks, she noticed a dramatic change in her hair. No more oily scalp! After a month she noticed her hair growing back and getting fuller!! If you like this story read on...

I'm not sure who came up with the "dry shampoo" idea, but they took a wrong turn when they put the word "shampoo" attached to it. Shampoo cleanses your hair by opening the cuticle and stripping the oils and dirt, this stuff does not. The main idea of dry shampoo is to soak up the natural oils on your scalp to make the roots of your hair appear...dry. It's not cleaning anything. I gotta tell ya when I'm giving someone a consultation or shampooing their hair, this stuff grosses me out. At first glance it looks like really bad dandruff, at second glance it looks almost paste-like (it soaks up oil) and finally I have to ask the person what in the heck is going on on their head. Listen girls if your hair gets oily quick, try throwing away the Pantene and Garnier Fructis for some professional brands like ISO, Biolage, or even good ole Paul Mitchell. Second stop washing your hair twice a day or even every day. Much like using drying pimple pads on your face...if you wash your hair so much all you are doing is stripping your natural oils and then your body freaks out and produces more at a faster pace. Following? Try cutting back on washing too much and try using a professional brand that doesn't have ingredients like Pantene does, which are waxes. Ever notice how great your hair feels when you use Pantene? That's because you're just coating your hair with wax. Do this everyday for some time and your going to have some greasy, waxy locks to deal with.

Do you remember the post I wrote about hair and humidity back in September? I mentioned in that post that you should be picking out the appropriate shampoo and conditioner for your particular hair type. If you have normal hair, use shampoo for normal hair, NOT for damaged or stressed hair and so on and so on. (Breck!) Treat your hair like you would your skin. If you have a dry face you're not buying moisturizer for oily skin, right?

Try the 4 week challenge and let me know how it goes.(PLEASE COMMENT!) Be realistic when picking out your professional products...do you really need something moisturizing? Is your hair really dry? Do you really need a volume shampoo, or just a good haircut? Keep the drama out of your decision making and just buy what you need.

Hot Tip: There is zero reason why you have to have a full palms worth of shampoo and conditioner in your hand when washing. Especially with a really good product. Try cutting back to a quarter size. The product will last a whole lot longer and so will the money in your wallet.

 Gigi on her wedding day...with a "hairy friend :)"