Nothing is further from reality. In fact, we could say that, in general, we tend to give too much importance to shampoo. Shampoos act externally and, consequently, do not have the ability to penetrate the scalp. What’s more, if they did, it would be dangerous. As no shampoo reaches the roots, none can modify the health of the hair. His appearance yes, but not his health.
In our dermatology consultations we receive multiple queries about hair health. We offer below answers to the most frequent ones.
Frequent doubts about the hair
How often should we wash our hair?
The health of the hair is not influenced, in any case, by the frequency of washing or by the type of shampoo. It is a matter of aesthetics and hygiene, as well as choosing when to change your sweater. We decide when to do it, but the health of the skin (of the scalp) is not influenced by the frequency.
To remove fat, grandmothers can wash one day a week. Adolescents, on the other hand, will have to do it much more often, especially since they are in a hormonally explosive moment. Children, before puberty, have almost no fat on their heads and can also wash one day a week.
During menstruation, women will not need to wash their head as often, because it will not produce as much fat.
Why are shampoos, lotions, and vitamin supplements not helpful?
Because no shampoo or lotion penetrates the skin until it reaches the root of the hair. In addition, the former is a product that rinses quickly.
Regarding vitamins, whether applied externally or orally, it must be assumed that a healthy person with a varied diet does not need vitamin supplements. What happens is that the pharmaceutical industry wants to attract the entire world population, not only the sick, but also the healthy.
There is also no vitamin, shampoo or lotion that influences baldness: it depends almost exclusively on genetic factors. What’s more, our body, if we leave it alone, works much better.
Why is our hair falling out so much?
People confuse hair replacement with hair loss. Actually, the most common is that we shed our hair. When we were animals and lived in the open air, the molts made more sense, because they served to regulate the temperature of the body. In fact, many mammals continue to make a synchronized seasonal molt, which means that every year, in the same period, they renew their hair. In your case, the process is climate-controlled.
Humans, however, have lost this synchronization, because we have heating, coats, air conditioners and other temperature regulators that are not always the same and that greatly mislead the body. Even so, we maintain the tendency to make constant hair “shedding”.
Let’s take this opportunity to clarify something fundamental: hair loss and baldness are two radically different things; One imagines that because his hair falls out he will bald, but this is not the case. There are baldness processes that do not imply a greater fall, but simply that the root does not work well. If we fill the shower or the comb with hair, it is surely a sign that we are very healthy, because I renew my hair effectively.
Frequency doesn’t matter
In summary, we can use the shampoo that we like the most and wash as often as we want, since in no case will it influence our hair health, but only our appearance and hygiene. Moreover, a Rasta who has not washed his hair in years has the same risk of baldness as a professional athlete who washes it three times a day.
The same can be said of alternatives to shampoo such as vinegar or other degreasing potions: if you feel comfortable using them you can do it. But if we prefer “traditional” methods, we can continue to use shampoo.
Specifically with vinegar, which now seems to have aroused some interest, it could be said that it only has a slightly degreasing function. Therefore, it can give a nice look to some hair types, but a good shampoo with conditioner will undoubtedly achieve much better results aesthetically.
Ramon Grimalt is Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (International University of Catalonia)
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original.
