Shampooing: September 2008 Archives

(From L-R; the Gentle Cleansing Shampoo, the Hair & Scalp Nutritive Conditioner, and the Leave-In Conditioning Mist)

Hair weaving and extension services are big business in professional hair care, literally, accounting for millions and millions of dollars in salon revenues. Indications are that the market will continue to grow as women opt for, at least on occasion, augmented hairstyles of varying lengths, colors and textures.

Up until now, expenditures have been concentrated in the sale of commercial hair and fees to stylists for performing these services. The care for weaved and extension styles, however, have been for the most part a disjointed affair - forcing weave wearers to search for a shampoo from one line, a conditioner from another line, and then a scalp care product from yet another.

During the shampooing of hair, a few processes are at work simultaneously, which are as follow:

1. While shampooing, physical abrasion of wet hair is being caused by rubbing movement of the fingers during the sudsing of the shampoo and the cleansing process. According to Okumura (1984), this rubbing action is responsible for cuticle damage or cuticle abrasion and the cuticles are chipped away from the surface of the hair.

2. Towel drying can also cause damage to the hair due to rubbing movements.

3. The detergents of the shampoo can slowly but gradually dissolve a small portion of the non-keratinous cell membrane complex and the endocuticles.