Some natural shampoos dont seem to lather a great deal. How can a shampoo clean the hair without a lot of lather?
Shampoos dont need to generate lots of suds to clean hair effectively. Heres what happens when you shampoodetergent and soap molecules have two ends: a hydrophilic (water-loving) head and a lipophilic (oil-loving) tail. The oil-loving tails attach to the oil and dirt in your hair. When you rinse, the water-loving heads attach to the rinse water, so the oil and dirt are pulled out of your hair. When detergent molecules mix with water and align in a spherical shape, suds, or lather, are formed. Lather doesnt really assist the cleansing process, except that it might make it easier for you to feel that your shampoo has been evenly distributed. Weve been conditioned to like lather. But many shampoos rely on inexpensive, petrochemically derived detergents such as sodium lauryl / laureth sulfate, olefin sulfonate and cocamidopropyl betaine for their foam-building properties. These chemicals can dry out the hair and scalp, and may cause allergic reactions as well as environmental problems. Aub
