Product buildup in hair: Your healthy head survival guide

Author: Shehnaz Shirazi

How can you tell if your hair is suffering from an excess of product buildup?

What short and long term effects does product buildup really have on your scalp?

How can you identify and fix these kinds of problems?

These are just a few questions that may be running through your mind when you hear the words "product buildup" associated with your head of hair.

What is it? How does it happen? Is regular shampoo enough? Should I stop using styling products? How can I fix it?

Fear not - we’re here to help.

Signs and Symptoms of Product Buildup in Hair.

There are many signs and symptoms of unhealthy buildup in hair. For example:

  • Your scalp may become itchy
  • Your hair may become harder to style
  • Your hair isn’t working well with you regular shampoos and conditioners and has become harder to style or work with
  • Your hair is drying out and struggling to keep moisture
  • You’re spending longer amounts of time drying your hair
  • You’re noticing an increased amount of dandruff
  • Your hair is becoming too oily

    • Are you experiencing more that one of these symptoms?

    If so, don’t hesitate to take action.

    Let’s examine these symptoms a little more closely:

    Dandruff and Product Buildup

    As an experienced electrical engineer and product specialist, Jen Miller of JenReviews suggests that dry skin and dandruff can be a result of inadequate shampooing.

    Failing to shampoo properly or not using the right kinds of products to compliment your skin can lead to reactions that cause rapid skin cell shedding.

    The evidence? Dandruff.

    The article also notes that some conditioners and shampoos containing considerable amounts of oil may also cause allergic reactions that result in dandruff.

    When a wide variety of products are used on the hair, specifically on or around the scalp, failure to properly clean these areas can lead to the products not being properly washed away from the head. This buildup of product can lead to inflammation of the scalp.

    Oily hair

    Oily hair has a huge negative effect on hair product buildup on the head.

    This article from the International Journal of Trichology claims that polymer, which is a type of film created by hair care products like hair sprays, gels, and mousses, can do great harm to the scalp.

    According to the journal, everyday shampoos are not well equipped to remove all of the polymer built up on the hair shaft. In order to remove it fully, a clarifying or deep cleaning shampoo is needed.

    So, what does polymer do? For one thing, it makes the hair a lot more oily. It can also lead to increased amounts of dandruff and make your scalp prone to infection - all because of product buildup.

    The solution? Use a good clarifying shampoo. Clarifying shampoos use lauryl sulfates as their primary detergent which can be properly used to cleanse and purify the hair.?

    Hair that’s harder to style

    • p>As this
    article in Science Direct would suggest, the shampoo’s function is primarily to clean the hair and remove the contaminant particles that make up this buildup.
    • p>Failure to do so will result in products not working properly on the hair.

    Shampoos are made to condition and cleanse the hair. By depositing cleansing ingredients onto its surface, fiber friction is decreased - the charge interaction between the hair, which is negatively charged, and the conditioning agent, which is positively charged, makes it smoother and easier to brush through.

    Clarifying shampoos, which act as a kind of "reset" button for the head of hair, cleanse the scalp completely from product buildup. With this clean slate, any new product applied has a fresh effect on the hair.

    Plus, its usefulness will not be effected by that which has already been put on the hair.

    Alright — so now we know the dangers. Time for some solutions.

    Clarifying shampoos

    Use clarifying shampoo instead of normal shampoos.

    Clarifying shampoo are like normal shampoos on steroids. They deep cleanse and detoxify your hair and scalp thoroughly.

    Here are the best clarifying shampoos that work best for scalp and hair buildup.

    Boar bristle brush

    A boar bristle brush works extremely well to stimulate your scalp and loosen up dirt and dust from your hair.

    Brush once in the morning and once before going to bed to clean your hair.

    Time to invest in your hair health!

    For a hair detox, we highly recommend using one of these products to crush unhealthy buildup for good.

    Today’s the day you start putting some serious care into that scalp.

    • p>We’re with you at every step of the way.