Recently, more and more women refuse expensive means for washing hair. But the fact is that they contain many aggressive chemicals that cause various diseases of the scalp and lead to hair loss. Modern shampoos, which are touted in advertising as a panacea for all problems, often do not have the desired effect. Therefore, many women are looking for a safe substitute for them. And more and more often they ask the question: is it possible to wash your hair with household soap? And still there is no definite answer to it. To understand why, you need to figure out whether such a replacement is necessary for modern shampoos?
Harm of hair cosmetics
Almost all shampoos currently on sale contain a large amount of sulfates. They are added so that they foam better and dissolve dirt and grease. It is convenient for both manufacturers and consumers: they are inexpensive and easy to use. But for hair and scalp, such products do huge harm. Sulfates have the ability to penetrate the blood and accumulate in the body, causing cancer and other diseases. Hair after applying shampoos can become either too oily, or dry and split, start to fall out and dandruff appears. But besides sulfates, many modern detergents add many preservatives, flavors and colorings. And the natural plant extracts promised in advertising often turn out to be synthetic. Therefore, allergic reactions, itching and dandruff appear more often after applying shampoos. And people who are faced with such problems are wondering if it is possible to wash your hair with household soap?
The secret of our grandmothers healthy hair
Proponents of refusing shampoos argue that 20-30 years ago there wasn’t a wide variety of hair care products, and our grandmothers did not complain about such problems and had luxurious hair. And they washed their hair mainly with laundry soap. Of course, healthy nutrition and the ecological situation of that time were also very important. Women hardly used a hairdryer, styling products or chemical paints. But the fact that the hair was healthy and beautiful was also greatly affected by washing the head with laundry soap. To understand why this unattractive detergent was preferred, you need to know what effect it has.
Composition and types of laundry soap
We will now only talk about a tool that is manufactured according to GOST. This piece of soap is usually sold without a wrapper, has an unpleasant odor and an unattractive brown color. It contains no chemical additives. Such laundry soap consists of saturated fatty acids: lauric, palmic and stearic. They occupy from 60 to 72% in its composition, as evidenced by the numbers on the bar itself. Get them from natural raw materials of animal origin. In addition, such a soap contains a large amount of alkali, which explains its excellent cleansing properties. But it is precisely this quality that is used as an argument by those who say that washing your hair with laundry soap is harmful. But still, this tool still has many supporters. How can this be explained?
Useful qualities of laundry soap
In fact, this detergent has a number of undoubted advantages:
- it has high antibacterial properties, helps in wound healing;
- due to the presence of alkali, laundry soap perfectly launders any dirt and bleaches the fabric;
- the ability to kill viruses allows it to be used for the prevention of influenza and other diseases;
- soap solution relieves swelling, inflammation and treats minor burns;
- helps with fungal diseases, acne and abscesses;
- The use of laundry soap to wash the body helps get rid of all skin problems and protects against viral diseases.
Why is it useful to wash your hair with soap
- Due to the presence of a large amount of fat, this soap works well on dry hair. Fatty acids tightly envelop each hair, moisturizing and nourishing them.
- It perfectly cleanses any dirt and is even used to lighten badly colored hair.
- Washing your hair with household soap will help get rid of hair loss.
To do this, use only it to wash your hair twice a week. Dark soap works best.
- After using this natural remedy, the hair becomes strong and fluffy, easy to style and stop falling out.
- It is very effective to wash your hair with laundry soap for dandruff. The procedure should be carried out a couple of times a week, and after washing off with ordinary water, it is advisable to rinse the hair with a decoction of a string, oregano or burdock.
The opinion of experts about laundry soap for hair
Trichologists and cosmetologists unequivocally oppose the use of this tool for shampooing. The main argument that they use is the presence in the household soap of a large amount of caustic alkali. They say that it greatly overdries the hair and can lead to the formation of dandruff. The level of acid-base balance exceeds all permissible norms in it. Experts believe that if you wash your hair with soap, your hair will become dull and lifeless, it will fall out, dandruff will appear and your skin will itch. With prolonged use of this tool, you can completely ruin your hair. The alkali will destroy their protective shell, and they will take on a well-groomed appearance, will puff and fall out. From the side, the head will appear dirty, and on the comb, after holding it through the hair, a grayish coating will remain. But there are many people who have been using household soap for washing their hair for a long time and do not observe such effects. On the contrary, they say that the hair has become healthier. How is it really: washing or washing your hair with laundry soap is beneficial or harmful?
Reviews of people who have tried this tool
Among women who have used household soap for hair at least once , there are two opposing opinions:
1. Those who for a long time suffered from dandruff, hair loss and dryness, consider this tool to be a salvation. Such reviews are not unique: "I have been washing my head with laundry soap for a long time and am not going to use shampoos." They note that the hair became strong and healthy, ceased to become electrified and fall out, dandruff and itching disappeared.
2. There is an opposite opinion.
Some people, having tried washing their hair once with household soap, write in a panic that the hair has become like tow, they are gray and lifeless. It is very difficult to wash off, so the head looks scruffy and dirty, and a gray coating remains on the comb.
Who to believe?
First of all, you need to consider that people are all different, and what is good for one may be poison for another. It is undesirable to use such soap if your hair is weakened by perm, dyeing or styling. If the hair and scalp are too dry, then it can dry them even more. Another explanation for this phenomenon is that the hair should get used to a new remedy. And positive effects appear only after 3-4 times of using household soap. Usually, after the first wash, the hair looks worse and is restored only after a month of its use. In addition, so that this tool really benefits your hair, you need to use it correctly. After all, those who positively answer the question of whether it is possible to wash your hair with household soap does not reveal all the secrets of its use. And in order not to harm your hair, you need to follow a few rules.
How to wash your hair with soap
1. For washing, you need to take a dark soap, on which the numbers indicating the percentage of fat content are knocked out, it is better if it is 72%. Only it is natural and made in accordance with GOST. In no case do not use for the head and body modern types of laundry soap with additives, bleached or aromatized.
2. In order not to harm your hair, you need to wash your hair not with soap itself, but with a soap solution. The easiest way to get it is if you rub the bar on a fine grater, and then beat in foam. You can also dip a bar of soap into the water and wash it off for about ten minutes. A cloudy, yellowish solution with a lot of foam is used to wash the hair.
3. This solution should be well soap pre-soaked hair. It is undesirable to rub the skin intensively so as not to provoke increased release of fat. If you want to get rid of dandruff and other problems, then you need to hold a soap foam on your hair for 5-10 minutes.
4. Laundry soap requires thorough rinsing. Moreover, it must be washed off first with clean cool water, and then acidified. It is undesirable to use hot water, since it does not wash the soap solution well. And acidified water for rinsing is needed in order to neutralize the effect of alkali.
5. How to prepare rinse water? To do this, you can take a solution of vinegar, preferably apple, or squeeze lemon juice into warm water. To understand if acid will harm your hair, you need to try the solution on the tongue - it should be slightly acidic. You can also rinse your hair with decoctions of herbs: burdock, oregano, chamomile or a string.
To find the answer to the question whether it is possible to wash your hair with household soap, each person should do it himself. Only on the condition of the hair depends on whether it will bring benefits or harm.