Does hair become ‘immune’ to shampoos and conditioners?
You must have heard of people saying that the same medicines or insecticides usually become less effective over time. Medicines become less effective in humans because the continued ingestion and presence in the body reduces the response to it, or increases tolerance. Similarly, a particular insecticide might be very effective initially, but gradually the insects it is supposed to act against might develop resistance to the effects. Just like these two examples, many people have developed an assumption that hair somehow becomes ‘immune’ to the effects of shampoos and conditioners, and therefore need to be frequently changed. The jury is still out on the unanswered question ‘can changing shampoo and conditioner be helpful?’, so this blog will try to take a balanced view of the same.
What Happens When Your Hair Gets Immune?
People apply shampoos and conditioners for a reason. They want their hair to be bouncy, shiny, not have frizz, grow long, not fall off etc. Many people have seen that when they use the same shampoos and conditioners for extended periods, these effects seem reduced. In spite of regular use, their hair feels less soft or shiny. Worse, some people develop other relates issues like dandruff. This is when people start getting the feeling that their hair care products are just not cutting it, and they need to change.
Possible reasons for immunity
When such instances occur, many people begin to wonder, ‘Do I always have to change my shampoos and conditioners?’ But let us take a step back and see if ‘immunity’ is the only reason for the supposed lack of effectiveness of the shampoo or conditioner. Often, a change in the ambience could be the reason. For example, the air around you getting drier or more humid or filled with dirt due to change in the climate, or because of the setting up a factory near you. You also know how important water is. The change in effectiveness might not be due to the shampoo at all, but because of the water becoming harder or having some additional soluable mixed. So, the change of shampoo and conditioner could be said to be the effect of a change in other factors like air or water. Then there are other non-physical reasons for the cosmetics you use becoming less effective. You might be going through a lot of stress, or you might be taking some strong medication, which you also need to also consider.
What to do in case you really need to change?
So, the trusted natural shampoo and conditioner you have been using could have become a little ineffective on your hair. As we detailed above, it could be because your hair has become immune to their effects, or it could be because of some of the other reasons stated. Whatever the reason is, you could do a few things for sure. Here are some of them:
- In case your water supply now provides water that is ‘harder’ than before, you need to look for a chelating shampoo. This kind of a chelating shampoo can prevent the buildup of minerals in your hair.
- Try to shift to shampoos which have lesser or zero parabens, sulphates or silicones.
- Apart from your regular shampoo and conditioner, add a clarifying shampoo to your arsenal, and use it just once a month, not too frequently.
- Apart from store purchased products, you can take some steps at home as well. Do an apple cider vinegar rinse once a month. The solvent for this should be a 1:4 vinegar water mix. If hard pressed for time, look for a trusted brand for the same.
Use BXT Products
Whether it is chelating shampoo you are looking for, or a dependable apple cider vinegar mix, you need to look no further than Biotin Xtreme Hair Care. All of their products are color safe with no parabens or sulphates. Do check them out if you haven’t already.
