Our scalp produces sebum which covers our scalp and hair and serves as a natural protective barrier. After a few days, our scalp has accumulated so much sebum that our hairline starts to become greasy and we want to get rid of it.
However, water alone cannot bond effectively with the grease and dirt particles in our hair. This job is done by surfactants, which dissolve these particles and bond them to themselves so that we can wash it off. Surfactants are so-called washing-active substances that are used in shower gels and shampoos.
However, harsh surfactants can dry out and irritate our scalp due to their strong oil- and lipid-dissolving properties. The skin barrier, i.e. the natural protection of the scalp, can be weakened. In the worst case, this can lead to irritation and itching. You can easily recognise a shampoo that degreases your scalp and hair very much by the fact that your hair can hardly be detangled when wet - without an additional conidtioner - and sounds "squeaky". In this case, the only thing that helps is to use a conditioner to give back to the hair what was previously taken away by too strong surfactants.
Aggressive surfactants are, for example:
Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate (ALS)
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)
Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)
Sodium Myreth Sulfate (SMES)
Sulfates also make shampoos lather up nicely. But you should know that a lot of foam says nothing at all about the cleansing power of a surfactant. However, we automatically associate a lot of foam with a feeling of cleanliness. We have learned this from an early age and therefore do not want to do without this feeling.
A shampoo with a mild surfactant is nevertheless completely sufficient to free the scalp and hair from dirt particles and excess grease. If it has enough nourishing substances in addition, in some cases even an extra rinse can be skipped.
Mild surfactants used in natural cosmetics are usually so-called sugar or coconut surfactants. The best known sugar surfactants are Lauryl Glucoside, Coco Glucoside or Decyl Glucoside. Another mild coconut-based surfactant is Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI).
The natural cosmetics brand Waschkram uses only SCI in its solid shampoos and combines this surfactant with nourishing and lipid-restoring ingredients. The cleansing performance is very good and does not dry out the scalp. Additionally, the Waschkram shampoos lather really well, so you don't have to do without a lush lather.
