How Much Shampoo To Use?

Washing your hair seems to be one of the easiest tasks and most people do not give it a real thought to how much shampoo they must be using.

However, the fact of the matter is that the quantity of shampoo that you use can actually affect the health of your hair.

Unfortunately, until now, there isn’t a set or fixed volume of shampoo that anyone or everyone can use to wash his/her hair.

For instance, men usually have shorter hair as compared to women and they obviously need a lesser quantity. Not just this, women tend to vary their hair length. Those with longer hair require a larger volume as compared to women who sport shorter or shoulder-length hair.

So, what exactly is the right volume that you should be using?

How Much Shampoo is Right for Me?

While there’s no fixed volume that anybody and everybody can use, a guideline perhaps could help. So, here are a few things to keep in mind with regards to the volume of shampoo that you need while washing your hair:

Most women need just about 10 ml or two teaspoons full for washing their hair. Now, if you have longer or fuller hair, you might not agree with this. I will get back to it later.

As far as men are concerned, they need to use enough shampoo so that they are able to coat every strand and lather up from root to tip, depending upon the length of their hair.

More often than not, men need shampoo that is equivalent to the size of a dime to a half dollar-sized dollop.

Now, there are men who could have more dirt in their hair because of being out in the field from morning to evening. Such men need a little more quantity, of course. However, they must make sure that they don’t overdo it.

Getting back to women’s requirements regards to how much shampoo they need, here are some points that need to be considered:

5 Factors That Determine How Much Shampoo You Should Use

The length and thickness of your hair

If you are someone with long tresses, you definitely need more shampoo than someone who keeps her hair just about shoulder-length.

It is not just the length of your hair that matters but also the thickness of your hair. If you have thicker and fuller hair, you would definitely require more shampoo to wash your hair.

Use of Hair Styling Products

Some women tend to use a lot of hair styling products. So, if you fall in this category, then you need a little more shampoo in order to wash off all the product build-up in your hair. 

Some of the most common products that people tend to use to style their hair include hair gel, wax, mousse, spray, volumizer, etc. All these products consist of chemicals and they leave a residue behind. In order to wash them off, you obviously require more shampoo.

Frequency of washing hair

If you wash your hair once a week or once in two weeks, then you need more shampoo as compared to a woman who washes her hair every third or fourth day for the simple reason that your hair might get dirtier than the other.

Environmental Factors

The environment that you live in also bears a deep impact on your hair. For instance, those living in large cities have to face pollution caused by vehicular traffic, factories, burning of fossil fuels, etc.

All kinds of pollutants and dust particles settle in your hair and thus, they require thorough washing for which they need more shampoo.

Now, compare this to someone living in countryside where there’s minimum or no pollution. It is quite obvious that such people would need less volume of shampoo for washing their hair.

Work Environment

The environment that you work in may also play a role in determining the volume of shampoo that you need to use.

For instance, if you are an archeologist who has to spend her day at a muddy site, you obviously need more shampoo than a sales representative who spends her day sitting behind her desk.

Basically, anyone with long tresses or who works out in the field needs to use a larger volume of shampoo to get cleaner hair.

Why Do People Over-Shampoo Their Hair?

Let me begin by saying that a lot of people tend to use more shampoo than what they actually need.

The real problem with wet shampoo lies in the fact that it is very hard to determine how your hair will look post-shower when they are all dried up. Thus, in order to clean their hair thoroughly, most people tend to over-shampoo their hair rather than under-shampooing them. 

This situation is quite understandable since they have to choose between using an unnecessary volume of shampoo for good cleaning results or using a lesser volume that is bound to leave their hair greasy and unclean.

But this is not all!

Shampoos are not only formulated but also advertised as something that makes your washing hair a pleasurable experience – a nice fragrance and bouncy, lovely hair.

As a result, users prefer to use more volume than what is actually necessary so that their hair would smell nice. 

How To Use Less Shampoo When Washing Hair?

Using excess shampoo is not good for your hair and thus, it becomes all the more important to try and minimize the volume of shampoo that you use. Here are some great tips that can help:

• Make sure your hair is completely wet before you put shampoo on top of your hand. You must ascertain that your hair is not damp but soaking wet. This will help you lather well with a lesser volume of shampoo.
• Squeeze a slightly less amount of shampoo in your hair than what you often do. Try to cut the volume a little bit and see how things work out for you. If your hair is great after drying up, you need to continue trying to use the reduced volume every time you wash your hair.
• Do not be in a rush to rinse off your hair. Let the shampoo stay on your hair for a bit longer and try to scrub your scalp thoroughly but gently. Try rinsing with a lot of water so that no trace of shampoo is left behind. This is important since such traces can build up and even lead to dandruff.

Conclusion

Washing your hair properly is important to ensure better and healthier hair. Excessive shampoo can strip your hair of natural oil and result in a dry scalp. Thus, it is all the more important to make sure that you do not use excessive shampoo.

Follow the tips mentioned above while washing your hair and I think you should be able to take care of your locks pretty well.

See also: How to Use a Shampoo Brush – A Step-by-Step Guide