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If you are fighting to stop hair loss, it’s a good idea to check what hair products you are using regularly. Many common shampoo and conditioner brands contain harmful ingredients that could damage the health of your scalp and hair–leading to longterm damage and breakage.
With that in mind, choosing your hair products carefully is an important step in achieving healthy, thick hair–especially if you are using drugstore shampoo.
pH Of Drugstore Shampoos
According to Erum Ilyas, board certified dermatologist at Montgomery Dermatology, the pH of your shampoo is an important part of keeping your hair strong and healthy. Likewise, the wrong pH can lead to damage.
She explains, "There is some research that suggests that pH of shampoos can cause or make our hair more susceptible to breakage. Our hair needs an acidic pH to make it less susceptible to frizz and friction against other hair follicles that can result in breakage."
This is especially important to consider when you are regularly using a shampoo from the drugstore.
Ilyas continues, "One study showed that 75% of salon shampoos had the right pH whereas only 38% or drugstore brands did."
With that in mind, if you are experiencing hair loss, breakage, or thinning, it's a good idea to swap out your drugstore brand shampoo for one that is more likely to have the right pH for healthy hair.
Ilyas also suggests checking the ingredients on your shampoo bottle for any harsh surfacants.
She explains, "Ingredients in shampoos that can lead to a higher risk of hair breakage and possible loss are ones that strip the hair of its natural oils, surfactants in particular. The one most hear about tends to be sodium laureth sulfate."
