Washing your hair every day is not as good for it as you may think. There are some things that we do without thinking about it. Washing our hair is one of them. But while we assume that using the latest shampoos can give us beautiful hair, it can actually be detrimental to our tresses, according to organic hairdresser Tabitha James Kraan. She believes that hair responds better when you use a cleaner product which doesn't contain the chemicals that many shampoos today do.
"It's become habitual to use shampoo. Hair's like our skin, it should always have a slight sheen on it to protect it," she explained. "Shampoo is a detergent and it's designed to get rid of oil. It strips it away and leaves very little on the strands. The consequence of this is that we are left with hair that has lost its protective layer. Under the microscope hair looks like fish scales and they should be closed and smoothed. But shampoo lather buffs that up, so it won't move as freely, it won't shine and will be much more reactive to moisture. A lot of shampoos are full of silicones to combat this but it's all completely fake."
Tabitha believes it's more important to focus on replacing the hair's natural oils. To do this, get an organic, gentle oil and use 50p sized amounts, working it through damp hair.
"Massage it into the scalp and then through the hair then leave it on for about an hour," said Tabitha. "If you decide to sleep with it in and wash it out after, you are taking away the excess and the hair will have taken what it needs."
Tabitha is adamant that oiling and conditioning your hair is more important than washing and shampooing. She advises that you should only wash your hair every five to seven days.
"I'm not saying don't clean it I'm just saying don't wash it, you can do more damage with the wrong shampoo than with any other product," she explained. "But there are lots of things you can do to clean it in between. As well as using oil, when applying conditioner, keep it off the roots and use it through the middle and ends to keep your hair healthy."
