Hair loss is a very common problem that troubles many today (women may be affected more). Also common are queries about hair loss solutions and you get very common answers – “Shampoo”.

There are quite a few varieties of shampoos available in the market today. However finding which one is the right one for you is not as common as the different varieties of shampoos. Shampoos come with various ingredients. But instead of knowing what kind of ingredients suits you, it will be of great help if you can understand your hair first.

Understanding hair doesn’t mean that you need to study human physiology. It is just as simple as observing how your hair behaves in different climates, reacts to different oils or shampoo. In case of women one needs to be very careful about hair behavior during menses, or when in extra work mode or putting extra emotional stress on themselves.

Before knowing how to choose a right shampoo, lets dispel the myth that hair loss can be completely cured just with the help of a shampoo. Shampoos only help in keeping the hair clean. And they do nothing more than that.

Hair generally gets dirt when sebum, an oily substance in the skin’s glands, coats the shaft. All the dead cells and other airborne dirt settles on the hair making it dirtier all the time. If this is not cleansed regularly the hair may lose its shine and health and thus result in hair loss in most cases.

Generally hair is divided in to different types based on how it behave - oily, dry and normal. Though these types look very similar to different skin types, all other different types fall into these categories.

Oily Hair

Oily hair may seem shiny as sebum is released from the skin rapidly than in other hair types. Oily hair needs a shampoo that cleans hair, probably daily. How occasionally do you need to clean the hair, depends on how much oily your hair gets. Use mild shampoo that does not sharp detergents which spoil the hair. Shampoos which promise hair growth may not be the right ones. But use your discretion to find which one is better for your hair, while also using a strong shampoo once every week.

Dry Hair

As the hair cuticles raise the moisture from the skin and scalp escapes easily thus resulting in Dry hair. If this simple point is understood, selecting a shampoo helps dry hair becomes easy. Shampoos that help keep the moisture in your hair and (or) those that help keep the cuticles down will be more effective with dry hair. Ofcourse care needs to be taken while venturing out in the sun.

Normal Hair

Normal hair is normal hair that doesn’t have the problems that are exhibited by dry hair or oily hair. Infact normal hair is more easy to maintain and few people have problem with it. A rinse once in every two or three days, keeping it clean and dry and giving it enough moisture will help normal hair. Any shampoo that is good for oily hair or dry hair is good enough for normal hair as long as it is not used continuously over a period of time. Shampoos with Mild detergents and simple ingredients are good enough.