Short answer: No

Anyone who hasever binge watched natural hair Youtube videos or has read several hair blogshas surely come across a video or post telling you how shampoo is bad for yourhair. Now, when you first read this statement, you’re probably like: “EXCUSEME, WHAT?!” After all, shampoo is what keeps your hair clean so I understandyour confusion completely!

The reason a lotof people feel that shampoo is ‘bad’ is because a lot of shampoos can be verydrying. And as we all know (or as we SHOULD know), dry hair = breakage. This isbecause most shampoos contain sulphates. Sulphates are very drying and that’swhat gives that dry, straw-like feeling a lot of us have experienced whenshampooing our hair. And because of this, you find a lot of naturals co-washtheir hair instead of using shampoo. Co-washing is when you use a conditionerto ‘wash’ your hair instead of using a shampoo. This was something I did for along time until I realised that not using shampoo very often was leading to anitchy scalp – yes, my hair was moisturised. But it felt greasy. For somepeople, sticking to co-washing and only shampooing once a month or so worksPERFECTLY for them – it just didn’t for me. Also, as my hair got longer andthicker, stuff was always getting stuck in my hair LOL so shampooing more isessential. This is why I say haircare is ALL about trial and error.

With all my trialand error, I have found ways to still use shampoo whilst keeping my hair softand moisturised. Here are some of my tips:

• Use asulphate-free shampoo: nowadays, a lot of brands have caught on to the factthat people are trying to avoid sulphates. Sulphate-free shampoos are no longerso hard to find and they can clean the hair without stripping all the moistureout. I love the shampoos from Crème of Nature, Shea Moisture and OGX.
• Alternateusing shampoo and co-washing: this is a really good middle ground for those whofind co-washing helpful. If you use shampoo this week, try co-washing next week
• Tryusing cleansing conditioners/rinses: this is one I’ve been loving for the lastyear or so. Cleansing conditioners/rinses are products that are somewherebetween a shampoo and a conditioner. So they are proper cleansers but thecleansing power isn’t quite as deep as a full on shampoo. These are a greatmiddle ground because they keep the hair moisturised butclean. Some of my favourites are from Camille Rose, Devacurl and Shea Moisture.
• Onlyuse the shampoo on your roots: this is a tip I SWEAR by and have done foryears. I only use the shampoo on my scalp and the first 2 inches of my hair.When you rinse the shampoo out, it will run over the rest of the hair. Most ofthe build up and dirt tends to be on your roots so that’s where you need tofocus on cleaning. You should totally avoid using shampoo on your ends. Yourends are the driest parts of your hair so adding shampoo will only dry them outmore.

There we have itguys! Shampoo is not bad for your hair. You just need to use it wisely.