What is in moisturizing shampoo?

Moisturizing shampoo is shampoo that tries to keep the pH of the hair at about its natural level, around 5.0 or so. When the pH of the hair gets too high, the hair becomes too alkaline, and the cuticles open, the hair becomes dry and brittle, and the shine disappears. Is the pH of the hair gets too low, on the other hand, it will become hard and rough. So a big part of moisturizing shampoo is aiming to keep the hair in that sweet spot between the cuticles opening too much, and the hair becoming too hard.

Of course, a moisturizing shampoo isn't your only line of defense against dry and brittle hair. A good conditioner will help heal any damage you may have caused with a rough shampoo, and help to replenish some of the oils that you've stripped away with your shampoo. On the other hand, conditioner can only go so far, so the less damage you can cause, preferably by using a good moisturizing shampoo, the healthier and more vibrant your hair will be in the long run.Once you cut out sulfates, either most or all of them, you're left with a few options for gentler cleansers that indicate you're using a truly specially-formulated moisturizingshampoo. Lauryl polyglucose, isethionate, and cocamidopropyl betaine are some of the most common of this gentler class of cleaners, or surfactants.

• Ingredients to look for on a bottle of shampoo include emollients and conditioning oils. Some moisturizingshampoos also contain silicone. While silicone will smooth hair and create shine, it's an ingredient to avoid if you have fine hair.