The False Claims of Hair Care Products

For several years now I have been searching for the right shampoos, conditioners, moose, and leave-in-conditioners to help sculpture my naturally wavy hair, tame frizz and reduce split ends while keeping my hair manageable, shiny and strong. Is that too much to ask? Apparently it is. I've tried so many different brands from Suave, VO5 and Pantene Pro V among so many others. Like Rachel Alford's states in her article, "Looking for Conditioner or Other Products for Your Damaged Hair?, A "Been There Done That" Guide to the Best Hair Care Products", I have also spent many years searching for the hair care products only to wind up disappointed with the results.

Rarely will you be able to find a single hair care product that will tackle all of your hair care worries. If you want a product for damaged and curly hair, you will have to buy two different products to get the results you are looking for. The same goes for fine or limp hair, straight hair, curly hair, damaged hair, etc. In order to get the results you are looking for you might as well combine all of the shampoos yourself into one product. Yet, even if you did this, would the results still be the same? Probably? Why? Because most shampoos, not matter how expensive, don't live up to the claims on the back of the bottle. I don't know why this is and it's very puzzling. I don't think anyone will figure it out.

I have naturally wavy hair that is easily tangled and I need something that leaves my hair manageable, strong, and frizz-free. With this in mind, I am always watching TV commercials for hair care products and one day I saw one for Sunsilk shampoos and conditioners. Once I saw their different lines: dry hair, no major issues, kinky, frizzy, poofy or flat. I thought I would try this line as it was fairly new and they might have some new way of actually helping my hair. I started out with the pink bottle stuff, the dry hair shampoo and conditioner; it made my hair soft and a little more put together but it still didn't have everything I needed. Next I tried the green bottle, the frizz-free line thinking it would help my waves a bit more; my hair was softer, and shiner, but I still had a problem managing my waves and my hair would often get tangled. So along with the shampoo and conditioner, I used a leave-in detangler, from the child's hair care section, and hair cream from Herbal Essence that was made for waves and to tame frizz. With all of these I was able to get the results I needed. Phew! What a lot of work just to take care of my hair.

I was happy with the results after using all four products yet it was pain to have to do everyday. On top of everything else, I would often have to switch to using Head and Shoulders every so often because my scalp would become irritated and Head and Shoulders would stop the itch. Head and Shoulders is good for the scalp, but a wreck on wavy hair that needs conditioning and manageability. What was I to do now? For years I had been on and off with shampoos and conditioners and using them intermittently with dandruff shampoos.

Recently, I found out I have allergies and my skin is sensitive to certain ingredients in lotions, cleaners, perfumes, and yes, hair care products. So now I am back at the beginning trying to find out what to use that won't irritate my scalp, yet will help me keep my hair strong, manageable, frizz-free and will enhance my waves. If only I could find hypo-allergenic shampoos and conditioners…

I imagine there will be more trial and error sessions in the future. My advice to anyone who is going through the same thing Rachel and I have is to go to the maker's website and see if they offer free samples. If they do, that is great. Order them and you will be saving yourself money that way. If the company doesn't offer free samples, talk your friends and see if they have tried the product you are thinking about. They may have some useful insight for you. The other thing you can do is just buy travel sizes of the products in the store and try those. If they don't work like you had hoped you won't be out a lot of money and left with extra shampoo and conditioner you likely won't use.

For those who don't want to go through the trial and error phase like so many of us have already done, there is a book called, Don't Go Shopping for Hair-Care Products Without Me, 3rd Edition, by Paula Begoun. Inside this book is load of great information on the true and false of hair care products, myth-busting, The Salon Guarantee, Safe Shopping Rules, Patented Secrets, Hair-Care Formulations, Hair Problems Versus Scalp Problems, Hair Color, Perms and so on. I highly recommend this for anyone who is frustrated and tired of switching hair care products in search of the right kind that will yield desired results.