What is the Purpose of Shampoo?

The purpose of shampoo solely relies on the issues that we face while maintaining our hair. It doesn’t matter if you are a grown-up man/woman or you have a kid who has hair-like fur. To maintain that hair, one has to take certain methods which will help them to keep their hair shiny, smooth, and attractive. Using shampoo on a routine basis is surely placed number one on that to-do list.

So what is the purpose of shampoo? As a major anatomy of our body, hair needs to be treated equally as we care about our other body parts. The shampoo contains various pure chemicals and nourishing ingredients that directly adjoin the process of hair care and also supply the necessary ingredients to keep your hair shaped as you desire. In this article, you will find the purposes and whereabouts of shampoo. Read thoroughly, some of them you may find astonishing.

Different parts of the hair

Before diving into the purposes of shampoo first let’s understand the basic buildup of human hair as it is the primary field for applying shampoo.

A hair has two main portions:

1. Hair Shaft
2. Hair Root

The visible one up above our skin is called a hair shaft. The other portion which is deeply penetrated into our skin is called the hair root. Hair is made of a fibrous protein called Keratin. The outermost layer of hair is called the follicle which contains everything within it and prevents the hair from damaging by losing the moisture and keratin within it. The hair color that you have is made up of the pigment known as melanin. For the hair, this is produced at the hair bulb or the hair root, and the color is transferred all the way to the hair shaft.

7 Purposes of Using Shampoo

It’s quite well-known that the primary purpose of shampoo is to take the hair but once applied they work simultaneously on different segments of hair care. So let us jump into the purposes of shampoo, shall we?

1. Makes your hair attractive

At a glance, the basic reason for using shampoo is to take care of our hair and make it attractive. In this process shampoo initially takes out all the dust and other unwanted particles. It also brings out the natural color of our hair at the highest level.  Thus we find shiny and smooth attractive hair every time we shampoo.

2. Keeps your scalp clean

An oily substance named ‘Sebum’ keeps your head skin and scalp clean by moisturizing it. But it also makes the surfactant of the scalp oily if not controlled properly. Sebum also causes dandruff. So to keep our scalp clean, the use of shampoo is very important.

3. Reduces hair loss

Hair fall happens due to DHT (dihydrotestosterone) hormone defuncting the hair follicles to the defunct. If the reason for that is because of dandruff on the scalp then it can easily be sorted out with regular use of anti-dandruff shampoo. It is a common way to reduce hair fall.

4. Releases stress hormone

Research has shown that when we shampoo our hair it sends a happy feeling signal to our brain which leads to the release of Cortisol or otherly known as stress hormone. Thus every time we shampoo our hair it lowers our stress and makes us relaxed.

5. Removes and prevents parasite

Our hair often is attacked by parasites which cause miserable pain and disturbance. They are also harmful to our health as they live upon the human body. Parasites like Lice can be removed and prevented by using special shampoo as it clears out existing Lice and prevents their further intrusion by cleaning the scalp.

6. Treats hair color

Shampoo can be a great deal when it comes it terms of treating hair color. Some specialized shampoo contains chemical agents that won’t strip your hair of its hue. That greatly improves dry locks, fading color, and a lack of moisture issues. Hair-treating shampoos are being used to treat hair color by toning up or down dyed hair without fading the dyed color and making any discolored hues.

The most popular type of color-treated shampoo is purple shampoo.

7. Clarifies other hair products

We often use various hair products which keep a bad impression on our hair. Extensive use of silicones, styling products, and conditioners leaves a mark on hair by building layers of exhausting chemicals. These often endanger healthy hair. A clarifying shampoo helps us to cleanse every other waste left by hair products.

10 Types of Shampoo for Different Purposes

As the purposes of using shampoo rely on the very cause of the reason shampoo is being used, there are thousands of types of shampoo in the market. Although the primary use of using shampoo is the same they bear distinct differences among them. Some of them are briefed below.

1. Regular Shampoo

Regular shampoo is a basic type of shampoo that we use regularly. They contain a low percentage of mild cleansing agents. The purpose of using regular shampoo is rather simple and without any major intent. They usually clean the hair and scalps.

2. Clarifying Shampoo

Hair products like sprays, gels, creams, and other forms of hair care products leave a buildup of unnecessary layers of chemicals, To clean this mess, clarifying shampoo is very useful. Clarifying shampoos contain a high percentage of sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) which deep cleans your hair. Using it once a week and conditioning will do the trick.

3. Protein Shampoo

The base of the hair is Keratin which forms the core structure of it and the keratin itself is formed with protein taken from blood. A protein shampoo injects protein into our hair. If your hair lacks protein it causes the hair to be breakage-prone, rough, and fragile.  Protein shampoo strengthens the hair.

4. Volumizing Shampoo

A volumizing shampoo helps you to keep your hair fine and limp. The formula of a volumizing shampoo is pretty lightweight. It forms a natural film over hair cuticles and transforms thin hair into proper hair. It increases the volume of hair and makes the hair roots uplifting and strong. It creates a full and bouncy look to your hair.

5. Color-Safe Shampoo

The color-safe shampoo is for color-dyed hair. After dyeing, hair color tends to fade away or gets discolored after a certain time. A color-safe shampoo contains ingredients that keep your hair moisturized and protected. After you dye your hair regular use of this shampoo will help your hair to heal from dyeing stress and keep the original dye color tone at the same time.

6. Moisturizing Shampoo

The most common issue we face with our hair is the lack of moisture in it. Due to this, our hair becomes frizzy, dull, and disoriented. A moisturizing shampoo has moisturizing elements like aloe vera, oils, shea or cocoa butter, and silicones that keep your hair dehydrated by creating moisture.

7. Natural or Organic Shampoo

Those shampoos which contain plant-based ingredients are called natural or organic shampoos. There are tons of ‘Natural/ Organic’ labeled shampoos out in the market. But remember, to label a product organic, you only need 1% of the ingredients to be plant-based. Organic shampoo is always a popular choice among users who have sensitive scalps.

8. Anti-Dandruff Shampoo

The common issue about hair we face is dandruff on the scalp. An anti-dandruff shampoo cleanses out the itchy scalp and prevents housing dandruff. These shampoos are formulated with Ketoconazole which treats the hair and scalp to minimize hair loss and dandruff.

9. Dry Shampoo

Dry shampoos come in liquid, powder, and aerosol spray forms. If you have oily and greasy scalp and hair then this shampoo is very convenient for you. It can be used sitting in any place and it will absorb extra moisture, and oil instantly. Just apply and you are ready to move!

10. 2-in-1 Shampoo/Conditioner

Some shampoo is called 2-in-1 because they contain some conditioning elements along with usual shampoo ingredients. This makes it an on-the-go type of shampoo. This type of shampoo is for basic regular use.

Drawbacks of Shampoo

Though shampoo is meant to be a great hair care product it has its drawbacks too. Remember that shampoo is an artificial formulation of chemical ingredients. And every chemical in one way or another leaves a harsh impact on the human body, especially on the scalp and hair. Daily use of excessive shampoo triggers off the strengths of hair’s natural life. Using the right shampoo in the right amount is as important as it gets. Otherwise, you may face the exact problems in a larger aspect, which you are using shampoo to solve. Daily use of shampoo can cause:

1. It may fade the natural texture and shine of your hair.
2. Make your hair dry and frizzy.
3. Make your scalp dry, which brings more dandruff.
4. Make your hair weaker, stiff and damage-prone.
5. May cause hair fall issues much worse.

Avoidable Shampoo Ingredients

Some shampoo comes with chemical ingredients which draws more disadvantages than it helps your hair. As such:

• Silicones: Silicons can make your hair smoother and helps to lock in the moisture so that your hair looks good even after you have just washed it. But the same silicone that locks the moisture in causes hair build-up, which is made up of sweat, dead cells, and sebum (an oily substance created in the scalp). These clog the pores of the hair roots and cause dandruff to form. So try to use water-based silicons instead.
• Artificial Fragrances: Some of the shampoos have artificial fragrances within them. The thing about fragrances is that they may be listed as one ingredient, but it is actually made up of over 50 to 200 different chemicals! These ingredients may cause skin irritation, allergic reactions, and eye discomfort. This is why you should at least try to avoid artificial fragrances where the shampoo has parfum/fragrance listed in the ingredients list.
• Phthalates: It is a widely used chemical used in shampoo which is a plastic softener. It is suspected that it interacts with other chemicals and may cause chronic health issues and birth defects. These days, most if not all shampoos in Europe have gotten rid of phthalates from their formula due to this reason. But the US still has some shampoos that still have it.
• Parabens: It is a kind of preservative used in shampoo and cosmetics which scientists have speculated as the reason for breast cancer and skin allergies. It is still common to find shampoos with parabens in them due to how cheap it is to make and put into a shampoo but you should try and avoid them as much as possible.

FAQs

Final Thoughts

Hair is an important anatomy of the human body and as it is exposed to heat, cold, dust, sweat, and other difficult surroundings of the environment it needs to be maintained more carefully. Shampoo is the primary defense we use to prevent & cure maximum hair-related problems. Not just humans, we even use shampoo to wash the fur of our furry companions i.e. dogs, cats, etc.

The core purpose of using shampoo is to keep our hair and its root surface clean and healthy. Besides there are some other uses of shampoo on hair which varies from case to case. Shampoos vary from type to type in terms of use on different kinds of hair and hair problems they are being used to deal with. There are advantages and drawbacks of using shampoo but at the end of the day, it is our prime weapon against fighting hair and hair skin issues.

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