Have you been seeing detoxifying scalp treatments everywhere lately? Us too. The category is one of the biggest trends in hair care at the moment and if your hair is looking a little lackluster lately or feels greasier than usual, a deep cleanse may be the answer. Read on to learn more about how good scalp health equals good hair days.
You likely devote one to three steps of your nightly skin care routine to removing product, sweat, dirt, and other impurities from your face. Have you ever thought about how much of the same stuff builds up on your scalp every day?
Generally, your regular shampoo is sufficient enough to cleanse your scalp, but in the summer months especially, when your hair is exposed to chlorine, sea water, sunscreen, sweat-inducing temperatures and lots of dry shampoo, a more specialized treatment may be in order.
Detoxifying scalp treatments, which can be found in the form of clarifying shampoos, scrubs and leave-in sprays, are formulated to remove excess sebum, dead skin cells, product build-up and other impurities that weigh hair down, can prevent hair growth and impede general hair health. Many formulas also help balance the skin and treat and prevent irritation from conditions like seborrheic dermatitis.
Scalp treatments are often meant to be used in place of a traditional shampoo and thoroughly massaged into the crown of the head. For a deeper treatment, you can leave the product on for a few minutes before rinsing.
As with your face, it’s not a good idea to over-cleanse or exfoliate. This can strip the skin of natural oils and cause dryness and irritation. Use these types of products once a week or less, depending on when you feel like your scalp could use a deep clean.
A favorite product that takes scalp health to the next level is the AMH cleansing shampoo, which targets a myriad of issues with its luxe, innovative formula. We like that it’s a hybrid of a traditional shampoo and a scalp treatment, so it can be used regularly.
Key ingredients include salicylic acid to remove pore-clogging dead skin cells and debris, zinc pyrithione to prevent and treat scalp inflammation and dandruff, as well as to provide sebum control, and panthenol, a derivative of vitamin b5 that promotes shiny and nourished hair.
The shampoo, which has earned a cult following among celebrities in Korea, claims to promote hair growth and prevent hair loss by keeping the scalp healthy. Fittingly, AMH stands for Add More Hair.
Bottom Line
“It’s important to keep your scalp free of dirt and bacteria and if you’re putting a lot of product in your hair, you do have to be more conscious of cleaning that out routinely,” says Dr. Christine Shaver, an NYC-based dermatologist who specializes in hair loss. While she isn’t convinced you need a special product to do this, if you’re intrigued by the many scalp treatment products hitting shelves or feel like your regular shampoo isn’t getting the job done, it can’t hurt to give a scalp detox a try.