Types of Shampoo

All shampoos fall into one of two categories:


1. cleansers (Prell, Herbal Essence, Breck) that need a follow-up conditioner

2. combo of cleanser and conditioner that don’t clean as well as a straight cleanser and don’t

condition as well as a conditioner but will do a good job of both tasks. Most shampoos are in

this category but differ as to which kind of conditioning ingredient they contain.



All conditioners (whether as a separate product or combined in a shampoo) accumulate on the

shaft and can’t be removed by using the same product all the time. It’s good to use a simple

cleansing shampoo after every two or three uses of a conditioner or a conditioning shampoo.



Other special shampoos types:

1. Dry shampoos: powders brushed onto hair and are then brushed out. They don’t really clean,

but it’s a good stopgap if you can’t shampoo.

2. Baby shampoos: these are meant for babies, who have fine hair and not much of it. It’s not

strong enough for an adult, even if you use it everyday.

3. Shampoos for color-treated hair: these need to be rich in moisturizers and protein to return

water to the shaft. They should be low in alkalinity, and should not have sulphated castor oils

that will strip color.

4. Shampoos for processed hair: these need to be rich in moisturizers and protein to return

water to the shaft. They should be low in alkalinity.

5. Daily use shampoos: these are very gentle and have low amounts of cleansers and usually

contain conditioners. They’re not strong enough to remove the normal buildup of styling

products.