Many types of shampoos in varying price ranges can help you to get the beautiful, shiny locks you crave. Mostly, it's a matter of your personal preference. However, depending upon your hair type, not all shampoos are created equal when you look to achieve lustrous locks.
Shampoo Variety is Key
Maintaining a certain variety in your shampoo routine is important. Even if you have the best shampoo in the world, perfect for your hair, it will still eventually create build-up on the scalp if you use it every day for an extended amount of time. This can make for limp, lifeless locks - a dull look that you want to avoid.
Thus, you should find two or more shampoos you like and switch them out periodically. You'll be amazed at how different your hair looks and feel after that first use with the alternate product - and believe it or not, it's simply because you're using something new!
Proper Application - Shampoo vs. Conditioner
Applying shampoo with the proper strategy not only provides you with clean shine, but also saves you money by using less of the product! To achieve healthy, shiny hair, make sure you do not wash your hair daily; shampooing each day can strip your hair of its natural oils, which act as moisturizers.
Shampoo’s purpose is to rid your hair of the natural oils that build up around your scalp. Therefore, the main “culprit” exists around the crown of your head, rather than the ends of your hair.
For that reason, only apply a nickel-sized amount of the shampoo to the crown of your head, and lather well - don't worry about applying the shampoo to the ends of your hair. The oil and dirt your hair has collected since its last washing will be concentrated on your scalp, and when you rinse the shampoo out of your hair, the lather will rinse its way down to the ends of your hair, helping to cleanse those parts of your hair sufficiently as well.
When applying conditioner, in a nutshell, it's the opposite technique. Though we go into this method in more detail in our section on conditioner, you essentially only want to apply conditioner below your crown, or even just at the ends. This allows you to avoid adding any unnecessary oils to your crown because your scalp produces plenty of oil naturally. These techniques help to maintain a balance in your hair for great shine and softness.
Be Mindful of the Right Shampoo for Your Colored Hair
The process of coloring or bleaching hair inherently causes the strands to become drier, especially with repeated colorings. Thus, you want to ensure that your shampoo nourishes your hair, as well as preserves your dyed color.
Although the jury is still out on whether or not shampoos tailored for custom hair colors are effective, choosing a shampoo meant for color-treated hair is a great strategy for maintaining healthy hair. Typically, these shampoos have increased moisturizers, which will help rebuild the strength of the hair strand structurally.
