I've spent the past few months digesting what cosmetic chemists, engineers and scientists in the hair care field have talked about. The basic thing is that most hair care products do what they are intended to do and do their jobs well. Shampoo is to clean, conditioner is to condition and styling products help style. One guy was like shampoo is meant to clean not repair. We don't expect our dish washing detergent to clean and then fix our broken plates. So why are we asking that of our shampoo? I thought that was funny.
The caveat is that the look, feel and function of hair is subjective. So many are hesitant to give definitive answers because it depends. For instance, conditioners all basically do the same thing. The variable is if it's too heavy or if it's too light for your own hair. Too heavy can weigh down the hair leaving it limp and not looking aesthetically pleasing. Too light can leave hair feeling rough and dry. Large companies who have the money for extensive R&D can thoroughly test and then label products that are more geared towards fine hair vs coarse. Even then, it's still subjective. Some people need more slip while others need more products to coat damage.
I know that my hair is fine. I've been told by both Black and White hair stylists that my hair strands are fine in diameter. Some products for fine hair are just too light for me and the ones meant for thick and coarse hair work better and vice versa. Because of all that, many cosmetic chemists suggest that the general public just go out there and try various products. There is no one size fits all. They even say start lower priced because they all basically do the same thing. Most oils, extracts and highlighted ingredients are strictly for marketing and are not the workhorse of these products.
What I've gathered is that the overall key player seems to be conditioner and conditioning agents aka what we deem as moisturizers. Outside of preventing chemical damage, heat damage, mechanical damage and environmental weathering, using conditioner is the most important aspect of a hair care routine. They make hair feel better, look better, make it easier to comb and protect hair from future damage.
I'm only bringing this up because I been playing around with drugstore products. I've been highly impressed by how the Pantene Moisture Renewal shampoo and conditioner leaves my hair feeling. On the back of Pantene's regular line of conditioners it states the conditioning level. The Moisture Renewal conditioner conditioning level has the lower end of the moderate level of conditioning. So I went for broke and tried their Smooth and Sleek conditioner. It has a conditioning level of intense conditioning. Lo and behold, this formula doesn't have as much slip and almost makes my hair feel tangled. This reminded me of trying those conditioners from Pattern Beauty. The lightest one was great, but the heavy one was sticky and weighed my hair down. This might explain what is going on with foaming mousses and their use of polyquaternium-55 that leaves my hair tangled. It is not only a holding ingredient, but also a conditioning one. Supposedly, polyquaternium-55 can be too conditioning for fine hair and cause excessive buildup. I wasn't aware that over conditioning could contribute to my problems. All I have ever heard was that over conditioned hair was greasy and flat. I didn't know that also included tangled and sticky. I thought those attributes were caused by something else.
I'm having to break the habit of the go big or go home mentality when it comes to my hair. I don't necessarily need to use the most intensive, most moisturizing or strongest products. It's difficult to conceive this idea because I only want the best of the best for my hair. However, I don't actually need all that. The best is not always key ingredients or using the maximum strength. I guess this year is going to be about finding balance and accepting that some things are meant to be simple.
I use the Ors Creamy Aloe Shampoo cause it's chelating.
