Shampoos are designed to cleanse the hair and scalp, removing dirt and grime without stripping away too much of the natural sebum.

A little "How To" - First, thoroughly saturate scalp and hair using warm or cool water (hot water tends to dry out hair and scalp). Apply a small amount of shampoo (about the size of a quarter) to palm and rub hands together to evenly distribute. Now apply shampoo to scalp with the balls of your fingers. The primary objective of shampooing is to clean your scalp, not wrestle your hair, so concentrate on massaging gently and allow suds to be distributed throughout hair while rinsing. It's not necessary to do the "rinse and repeat" routine unless you have an oily scalp. Shampoo is a common hair care product used for the removal of oils, dirt, skin particles, dandruff, environmental pollutants and other element particles that gradually build up in hair. People expect a lot from shampoos. Shampoo cleans by stripping sebum from the hair. Sebum is an oil secreted by hair follicles that is readily absorbed by the strands of hair, and forms a protective layer. Sebum protects the protein structure of hair from damage, but this protection comes at a cost.

Chemistry of shampoos

People expect a lot from shampoos. Unfortunately, it is not easy to tell a good shampoo from a poor one. Cost, fragrance, and lots of foam is what most people look for in shampoo products. Lather and foam is of little importance , but they often get the most attention.
Foaming occurs when surfactant molecules gather around air instead of oil. The result is millions of tiny bubbles. Obviously, the air bubbles are using the surfactants that should be removing dirt and oil. We have all seen shampoo advertisements showing happy, beautiful people taking showers with their heads heaped high with mounds of lather. These images have taught the public to associate lather with cleansing ability.

How shampoo works

Shampoo cleans by stripping sebum from the hair. Sebum is an oil secreted by hair follicles that is readily absorbed by the strands of hair, and forms a protective layer. Sebum protects the protein structure of hair from damage, but this protection comes at a cost. It tends to collect dirt, styling products and scalp flakes. Surfactants strip the sebum from the hair shafts and thereby remove the dirt attached to it.

While both soaps and shampoos contain surfactants, soap bonds to oils with such affinity that it removes too much if used on hair. Shampoo uses a different class of surfactants balanced to avoid removing too much oil from the hair.

Shampooing is frequently followed by conditioners which increase the ease of combing and styling. A transparent sweet liquid, a by-product of soapmaking. Glycerin is used in many cosmetic products. It acts as a humectant.

You have been Shampooing your hair ever since you can remember. But have you ever given a thought to the actual 'right process' of shampooing hair? You might think its not a big deal. All it requires is to wet your hair, apply shampoo, lather and wash.

Shampooing frequency for normal hair depends on whether hair is curly or straight. Many shampoos are pearlescent. This effect is achieved by addition of tiny flakes of suitable materials, eg. glycol distearate, chemically derived from stearic acid, which may have either animal or vegetable origins. Shampooing frequency for normal hair depends on whether hair is curly or straight. Shampoo and condition straight hair every day for a sleek, radiant look. Shampoo intended for animals may contain insecticides or other medications for treatment of skin conditions or parasite infestations such as fleas or mange. The shampoo is now finished and ready for use. Shampoo is meant to remove dirt, sebum (a.k.a. oils), and product buildup from your hair.

Shampoo Benefits for Hair

The object of shampoo is to cleanse the hair without stripping it of natural oils leaving it supple, tangle-tree, glossy and full-of-body. Choose a shampoo that is formulated to suit your hair type. Normal hair needs a balanced cleanser; dry hair needs gentle cleansing and greasy hair requires deep cleansing.