Head and shoulders bad for your hair??

coffeelover

Hi.
I was talking to a friend and she said she heard 'Head and shoulders' is bad for your hair. Is this true?

Sibylla

Just googled it and there seems to be a lot of talk about hair loss. I've used it a few times and never had any problems. Never heard anyone say that before.

Acoshla

Head and shoulders is very tough on your hair, it's often recommended for use in stripping colour out of your hair if you dyed it too dark etc.

MASTER...of the bra

Looking at the ingredients at the back of shampoo bottles, I doubt any of them can be "good" for you.

Faith

A hairdresser once told me to never, ever use it if you dye your hair because it strips the colour.

degausserxo

As others have said, it strips your hair. It has a high level of sodium lauryl sulphate in it, which is what strips your scalp of the dead skin, but it takes colour with it. Generally sls-free shampoos like Dove and a couple of the Aussie shampoos are better for coloured hair because of this.

coffeelover

Thanks for all your replies..
I never realised it was soo bad :eek: I have never dyed my hair though. So what shampoos would you reccommend? I'll give Dove and some of the aussie shampoos a try degausserxo

Goldenegg

Bumble and bumble or any of the kerastase (sp?) products are brilliant! Can be a bit pricey but worth every cent for your hair!!

Acoshla

L'Oreal shampoos are very good, they have a good range for different hair types too. I know you said your hair isn't dyed but just to give an example their shampoo is often recommended for coloured hair by hairdressers, so it must be as good as the H&S is bad!

squeakyduck

I love Aussie products. The leave in conditioners are just lovely, my hair looks fab after them! Their heat protection products are fantastic as well!

princess-lala

Head & Shoulders is great for dry scalp and whatnot and stripping the hair of colour.

Ive never seen hair loss with it!

OP why have you been using it? Its not "bad" for your hair!!

Asphyxia

My sister swears by it and it's brilliant for dandruff Aussie is okay I haven't used it in a while.. I like Bedhead products because they're sulfate free.

I always found TRESemme to be really good for shine and manageability, but unfortunately I'm quite limited shampoo wise at the moment due to dandruff. I've always been too scared to use Head and shoulders though, because I wouldn't want to risk using it in case all the stories are true! It's had a bad rep now for about a decade. Can't claim it to be true or not though.

coffeelover

Head & Shoulders is great for dry scalp and whatnot and stripping the hair of colour.

Ive never seen hair loss with it!

OP why have you been using it? Its not "bad" for your hair!!

Ya I use it because its brilliant for dandruff
But I'm going to give some of the shampoos ye mentioned a try

Madame Razz

I wouldn't say that it's 'bad' for hair, it's just quite a strong shampoo. It's great for stripping colour, or for use as a clarifying shampoo if there is a lot of build up of product in your hair.

Acoshla

Oh yeah dunno how I forgot Tresemme, I love that, and I love that it comes in giant bottles so you don't have to buy it for ages.

princess-lala

Spadina wrote: »

Oh yeah dunno how I forgot Tresemme.

Eh....didn't I tell you to avoid that??

Goldenegg

If your suffering from dandruff there is a kerastase shampoo for sensitive scalp.I forget the proper name for it but I know it comes in a light turquoise colour. I suffer from the odd exzema break out and when that happens, it seems to go to my scalp. I think there is aloe Vera in it and while it soothes your scalp it rids it of unwanted flakes!

I find T-Gel works good too although it's not the best smell in the world.

Acoshla

princess-lala wrote: »

Eh....didn't I tell you to avoid that??

Did you? I always found it good, but switched to L'Oreal when I dyed my hair last year and liked it.

coffeelover

Got some aussie products today So gonna give them a try first

Aoifums

Head and Shoulders gave me dandruff and just made my scalp sore. Never again.
And I know it sounds really weird but if you sniff from the bottle it has a really strong smell which gave me a blinding headache.

user1842

Goldenegg wrote: »

If your suffering from dandruff there is a kerastase shampoo for sensitive scalp.I forget the proper name for it but I know it comes in a light turquoise colour. I suffer from the odd exzema break out and when that happens, it seems to go to my scalp. I think there is aloe Vera in it and while it soothes your scalp it rids it of unwanted flakes!

I find T-Gel works good too although it's not the best smell in the world.

Nizoral is the name. Used for hair loss too

The Cool

I used Head and Shoulders once about 5 years ago. Never again. It was far too harsh for my scalp, I can't remember what it was like on my hair but it burnt my scalp, left me with little pimples and my scalp totally scarlet. Bad buzz.

Kadongy

Goldenegg wrote: »

If your suffering from dandruff there is a kerastase shampoo for sensitive scalp.I forget the proper name for it but I know it comes in a light turquoise colour. I suffer from the odd exzema break out and when that happens, it seems to go to my scalp. I think there is aloe Vera in it and while it soothes your scalp it rids it of unwanted flakes!

I find T-Gel works good too although it's not the best smell in the world.

T-Gel contains coal tar. Coal tar is carcinogenic.
There is debate whether it is carcinogenic when in as mild a concentration as in t-gel. The simple answer would be yes it is.

Cider vinegar is great for dandruff, and cleans your hair better than anything else I've tried. It's not supposed to be used more than once a week because it's so acidic. Probably not an option for people with senstive scalps either.

coffeelover

Tried the aussie shampoo and it smells devine .. But my hair became greasy a day after using it. Will it take time for my hair to get used to using a new shampoo? (I used to use loads of the head and shoulders)

Eviledna

I'm going to go against the tide and say that Head and Shoulders is great. I had psoriasis for years and the minty head and shoulders is the only thing that kept it under control. I'm blonde and it has never "stripped" or faded my colour and I use it every 2nd day. I use loreal elvive pink conditioner and I get lots of compliments on my gladly flake-free shiny "healthy"-looking hair.

Remember folks, hair is simply dead matter, composed mainly of the protein keratin. It has no nerve or no blood supply beyond the follicle and despite countless claims by shampoo vendors nothing can "breathe life" into your hair or make it "healthy". I know it's only about looking good, but saying head and shoulders strips the hair is imo bs. It may slightly fade red and brown colours, but it does not damage the hair.

degausserxo

Eviledna wrote: »

I'm blonde and it has never "stripped" or faded my colour and I use it every 2nd day.

It wouldn't really effect blonde though, as it's not really a colour if you get what I mean.

I know it's only about looking good, but saying head and shoulders strips the hair is imo bs. It may slightly fade red and brown colours, but it does not damage the hair.

It's not bs at all. Two friends of mine went to get their hair dyed from brown to a lighter colour, and they were told to use H&S for two weeks before getting it done because it removes colour.

m.j.w

Dunno whats its like in coloured hair but I use Tesco own brand anti dandruff stuff. I used to use head and shoulders because I do suffer from dandruff but I found it was very harsh on my scalp and I actually felt burning if I left it in do long. The tesco stuff does the trick and it is so cheap!

ynul31f47k6b59

Aoifums wrote: »

Head and Shoulders gave me dandruff and just made my scalp sore. Never again.
And I know it sounds really weird but if you sniff from the bottle it has a really strong smell which gave me a blinding headache.

It caused dandruff with me too. My scalp is really prone to drying out, so I need to change my shampoo every few months and use treatments often. Funnily enough, the old Vo5 hot oil treatments brought my hair back to normal after the Head & Shoulders episode. I'm an Aussie fan too, and I use their 3-minute-miracle a good bit (but I leave it on overnight).

Never, EVER use Head and Shoulders on coloured hair. Or the Timotei in the copper tube. They strip the dye completely.

Tayla

I always hear raves about the aussie range but the smell of it sickens me, I can't stand it!

Cutie18Ireland

Head and shoulders now have one for coloured hair so i doubt that would strip colour

coffeelover

I'm going to go back to using head and shoulders even though it's bad for it but I have never had a problem with it.

GreenFaery

I never heard of head and shoulders being bad for your hair. I've been using it almost everytime I wash my hair! Think I'm a bit too freaked out to use it anymore!