Haircare is important, but have you ever thought about scalp care? If you haven’t, then you should. A clean, healthy scalp promotes good cell turnover and creates an ideal environment for the hair to grow. Just how exfoliation plays a big role in one’s skincare routine, your scalp can benefit from it too. This step helps to remove dead skin cells and keep the area around the follicle squeaky clean.
Another way to ensure that your scalp stays healthy is to keep a tab on its pH balance. In simple words, your ph balance acts as a protective barrier that fights bacteria and keeps the fungus at bay. It’s also responsible for preventing hair breakage by sealing the hair cuticles so that its moisture and natural oils are maintained. To give us insight on how important it is to keep a check on one’s scalp pH balance, Dr Kiran points out some interesting facts.
The Importance Of Keeping A Tab On Your Scalp’s pH Balance
According to Dr Kiran, the pH of the scalp should be 4.5-5.5 to prevent infection and keep the scalp healthy. The pH of the hair should stay between 4.5-7. If it exceeds 7 then you risk causing damage to it. The hair becomes more vulnerable to damage because it may swell up rapidly and take the acid or base (alkali) into the hair, beneath the cuticle and this may damage proteins and certainly remove some oils. However, non-porous hair can handle pH variation better than porous hair, but one must still try to keep the pH in range.
Dr Kiran also shared a visual representation of what pH actually is and why you should learn more about it.
Dr Kiran also mentioned in her IG stories that the scalp’s pH balance can get affected if the hair is bleached, damaged or otherwise. As far as hair treatments are concerned, keratin hair treatments have a pH of 2.8, but hair relaxing and hair perming rely on very alkaline (high pH solutions) to achieve their objective.
To check the pH of your scalp, you might want to bring home some pH strips. You just have to dip them into the solution or press the strip into an object and see what colour they turn into. Match it with the corresponding chart that comes with the strip to check your results.
Hair rinses are a natural way to restore the scalp’s pH balance. Here’s why they’re so important.
- Remove buildup of alkaline shampoo/soap surfactants which cause frizz.
- Removes hard water buildup
- Removes chlorine
- Removes product buildup (except silicone which needs deep cleansing shampoo or clay)
- Increases shine, manageability, seals the cuticle and reduces the frizz
These are some of Dr Kiran’s favourite hair rinses!
Hibiscus Tea Hair Rinse
Citrus Acid Hair Rinse
Vitamin C Hair Rinse
Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse
The pH strips can be used not only to check the pH balance of your scalp but can also be used to check shampoos and conditioners. Once you have a clear idea, don’t forget to use one of the rinses suggested by Dr Kiran.
Featured Image: Shutterstock
