FAQs

      1.  How many types of hair are there?

There are 4 types of hair, i.e. normal, dry, oily, and combination

• Dry hair: often look dull and will have split ends. Dry hair may feel itchy and will break down easily.
• Oily hair: look greasy and will often have dandruff problems. It may look good for about a day after a shampoo wash, but will soon lose its shine and appear lifeless.
• Combination type hair: show both the characteristics of dry and oily hair. Often, the scalp and hair roots will have oily feel, but the hair ends will be appear dry and split.
• Normal hair: appear shiny but won't feel greasy. This type of hair is easy to manage and stays good-looking for even after a week after washing.

    

      2.       How to identify your type of hair?

By identifying the type of hair, it will help to find the way to maintain and care the hair in a proper way.  Someone’s skin characteristic can tell someone’s type of hair. If the skin or facial skin is oily, usually the type of hair is also oily.

One very simple and effective way of determining your hair type is with the help of the tissue paper test. You should ensure that you wash your hair and scalp with a shampoo one day before taking this test. For this test, you should take a tissue paper (a delicate facial tissue type) and press it at the center of the head and on the sides behind the ears. Remember to only press the tissue paper and do not rub it on the head. A careful look at the tissue paper now will be able to tell you about your hair type. If the tissue paper looks dry after this test, your hair if of dry type. If you happen to find traces of oil in the tissue paper, your hair is of oily type. Combination type and normal type hairs are a bit more difficult to identify. If your head is oily and your hair ends are dry, you most likely have a combination hair type. If your hair is non-greasy and looks shiny, your hair type can be said to be normal.

     3.       Why hair can be dry or oily?

It is due to the microscopic gland located at the base of each hair shaft that is called sebaceous glands. They secrete an oily/waxy matter, called sebum, to lubricate and waterproof the skin and hair, mostly on the face and scalp.  

The finer your hair, the more hair you have per square inch of scalp, which relates to the more oil glands, and the more oil glands, the more oil. Those with fine hair have as many as 140,000 oil glands on their scalps, according to Philip Kingsley, a New York City and London hair care specialist.

Besides, other factors that contribute to oily or dry hair are:

• Intense heat and humidity can also accelerate oil production
• Stress boosts activity of androgen, hormone that can accelerate the production of sebum by sebaceous gland
• Genetic factor
• diets
• Chemical process on hair, for instance curling, blowing, bonding or excessive application of hair style products can cause the hair to be dry

Below is the picture of hair follicle (schematic view of hair follicle and sebaceous gland

     4.       What does it mean shampoo is detergent?

It is because shampoo behaves as a surfactant and tends to produce more foam than soap. Shampoo is a detergent, just like laundry detergent, dishwashing powder and the stuff you use to clean your bathroom. It cleans out the dirt in your hair, but is very harsh and also takes the natural oils that make your hair shiny, soft and strong. Most shampoos contain mineral oil. A byproduct of the distillation of gasoline from crude oil, mineral oil is what's left over. It's so abundant that it costs more to dispose of it then it does to package and sell it, so it ends up everywhere. It's added to shampoos and conditioners to give hair an artificial shine caused by coating it with a thick oil. Mineral oil cannot absorb into your skin like other oils do, so it sits on top and forms a barrier preventing oils and toxins from being released as a normal part of your skin's lifecycle. This is one of the reasons you'll find that the more shampoo you use, the more often you need to use it. In the long run, coating your hair with mineral oil makes it weaker, and more prone to damage. 

      5.       Why are SLS/SLES and Paraben harmful to use?

SLS and SLFS (sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate) are foaming agents that can cause irritation to skin and eye. They can be found mostly in soaps, shampoos, toothpastes, floor cleaner and dishwashing liquid, and just about anything that produces a foamy lather. They also puts infants and children (whose eye are developing at a more rapid rate) at risk for improper eye development when it's absorbed through the skin and accumulates in eye tissues.

In its final report on the safety of sodium lauryl sulfate, the Journal of the American College of Toxicology notes that this ingredient has a "degenerative effect on the cell membranes because of its protein denaturing properties." What's more, the journal adds, "high levels of skin penetration may occur at even low use concentration."

Interestingly, sodium lauryl sulfate "is used around the world in clinical studies as a skin irritant," notes the journal. The publication expressed additional concerns:

• Carcinogenic nitrosamines can form in the manufacturing of sodium lauryl sulfate or by its inter-reaction with other nitrogen-bearing ingredients within a formulation utilizing this ingredient.
• Other studies have indicated that sodium lauryl sulfate enters and maintains residual levels in the heart, liver, lungs and brain from skin contact. This poses the question whether it could be a serious potential health threat from its use in shampoos, cleansers, and toothpastes.
• Still other research has indicated sodium lauryl sulfate may be damaging to the immune system, especially within the skin. Skin layers may separate and inflame due to its protein denaturing properties.
• Although sodium lauryl sulfate is not carcinogenic in experimental studies, it has been shown that it causes severe epidermal changes in the area it is applied, indicating a need for tumor-enhancing assays.
• Additional studies have found that sodium lauryl sulfate is heavily deposited on the skin surface and in the hair follicles. Damage to the hair follicle could result from such deposition.

In Germany, where there is a concerted effort underway now to label cosmetics and personal care products as certified natural, formulations containing sodium lauryl sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate cannot be so certified, reports Michael Wrightson, president of Logona Kosmetik.

Parabens are chemical used as preservatives to fight bacteria and fungus. They are widely available, cost very little to manufacture and use, and can be found in a lot of products, such as shampoo, shaving gel, cleaning liquid, tooth paste and food additives.

Parabens might pose a risk since they can mimic the hormone estrogen, which is known to play a role in the development of breast cancers. Researchers have found parabens in breast tumors and believe there is a relationship between parabens and tumors.

      6.       Why do we need conditioner after shampooing?

Because shampoo is harsh enough to strip the natural oils from your hair, you need something to replenish them. So, conditioner was born. You need to wash your hair every day not because it gets dirty, but because the oils from the conditioner don't last and need to be replenished.

The oils in your hair come naturally out of your scalp to nourish it. Stripping them away causes damage, and breakage over time. In a way you do need conditioner, if you use shampoo - because it covers up the damage that's been done.

     7.       Which kind of shampoo to use for oily or dry hair?

For dry hair, it is suggested to use a product with a relatively high moisturizer content. It is due to the lack of natural oil produced by the scalp, thus not only we need to moist the scalp, but also to rejuvenate the scalp condition.

For oily hair, it is suggested to use a non-moisturizing product, a product that can prevent hair loss. This is due to the scalp over produce the oil and scalp with this condition tend to have hair that easily fall. 

      8.       Why do we have to use natural product?

For 2 main reasons:

·         Environmental issue: a product with natural ingredient will not pollute the environment. We are not talking only 1 person or 1 household using a chemical products here. The waste water of our bath or washing will not create a healthy environment

·         Long term healthy issue: products with natural ingredient usually will not have exposure to healthy risk, and therefore will maintain the nature of our own body. Should there be a healthier alternative, always choose that alternative.

      9.       Is it harmful to use the current available shampoo in the market?

All products that have passed health regulation are supposed to be safe. The comparison that necessary to be highlighted is that how healthy it is to consume a fast food fried chicken. Up to present time, it is not forbidden by law or health regulation to eat fast food fried chicken. However, comparing to dining with steam chicken, it will be much healthier to eat steam chicken than to eat fast food fried chicken, in a short term or long term. 

      10.       How to distinguish a truly natural shampoo and a not natural one?

From the ingredients listed in the shampoo. Natural shampoo should not contain harmful chemical ingredient such as SLS/SLES, all other anionic type of detergent (ie. sodium dodecyl sulfate or  ammonium lauryl sulfate), Paraben, Mineral Oil or any other kind of harmful chemicals, but should consist of natural ingredients that do not bear any risk to scalp, skin or health. 

      11.     What is castile soap?

Castile soap is soap made of vegetable oils instead of animal oils. The way to distinguish a castile soap and ordinary vegetable oil soap is the content amount of olive oil in the soap. The olive oil should be the majority ingredient among all other vegetable oils.

      12.       Why castile soap is good to use?

Due to its natural ingredients content and healthy impact to the skin. The other plus point is the natural glycerin contained in the soap that creates high moisturizing to the skin. 

       Source:

             http://www.sohealthyandnatural.com/dirty_dozen.html
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             http://thegoodhuman.com/2007/06/21/what-are-parabens-and-why-should-you-avoid-them/
             http://thebeautybrains.com/2008/08/11/do-sulfate-shampoos-cause-hair-color-loss/
             http://republikfashion.multiply.com/journal/item/10/Napa-Sich-Klo-Da-Cuci-Rambut-Mo-Pake-Conditioner..
             http://www.cewek.info/2010/02/dampak-negatif-detergent-bagi.html
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             http://www.tantoday.com/forums/salon-discussion/29226-science-behind-mineral-oil-2.html
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          http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-castile-soap.htm