Posted by Kettle Care Team on Oct 23rd 2023
Healthy Haircare - Talking to our Scientist
The last months we studied a lot about the science of developing a good shampoo and conditioner, the chemical process of all the ingredients, what they do and don’t do for your hair, scalp and hair follicle.
Yet, for our customers the question has been: Why does choosing the right shampoo and conditioner matter? It’s easy to grab the first shampoo and conditioner you see in the aisle. But why is it important to take the time to find the right products for your hair’s needs?
So we thought let’s start at the beginning and talk to Klaus, our ‘Mad Scientist’, to take a look at the science and development.
Klaus, in easy terms, why does choosing the right shampoo matter?
Well, when you wash your hair with shampoo or damage it through other treatments like coloring, the small Keratin scales on the hair’s surface start to lift up, and the areas become negatively charged. The harsher your shampoo—think shampoos with Sodium Laurel Sulfates—the more the charged Keratin scales stand up. Your hair will start to tangle and look dull, as the light shining onto it is reflected in a diffused manner. Also, other damaging chemicals and the environment can now wreak havoc on your exposed hair.
What did you do to address this issue with the Kettle Care shampoo?
In our Kettle Care Shampoo we use gentle cleansing agents that do not strip the hair and scalp of its natural moisture. We also do not use chemical flash foaming agents. Foam is actually not an indicator that a product cleanses well. Flash foaming agents are actually harsh to the hair and irritating to the scalp. Thus, our shampoo is only medium sudsing, yet it cleanses effectively while being gentle to your hair and keeping it strong. It also is soothing to the scalp and keeping it and its hair follicles healthy.
Klaus, how should one use the new Kettle Care shampoo - one for all hair types and textures?
After quite a few tests we came to the conclusion that it is better to stay with a gentle shampoo formulation rather than to also offer a harsher, clarifying one as well. Should you have more oily hair, or more buildup in their hair, just wash it twice, to gently remove all unnecessary oils and product. This is a gentle, yet very effective hair cleansing process for all hair types and textures.
Why and how should one select the right conditioner? There are so many on the market.
Well, to reverse the negative charge of cleansing, a second treatment, a conditioner treatment is commonly used. Conditioners contain positively charged molecules with attached oils or synthetic silicones that smooth the small Keratin scales and restore your hair’s natural silky shine.
The higher the positive charge the stronger this molecule will adhere to the hair and the more effective it will be and restore your hair's surface. For our Kettle Care products, we use a Coconut Oil Quaternary. This means it has four coconut oil-based chains attached to it. Therefore, it will very effectively repair your hair with coconut-based oils and not synthetic silicones. The Keratin scales will lay down again and the hair will not tangle.
Plus we have other healthy additions in our conditioner like oils, fine Silk Protein, d-Panthenol and 9 botanical extracts, that will moisturize these scales and make your hair healthy looking and beautiful again. With all those high quality ingredients there is no need for forever synthetic silicones. Our conditioner is smoothing for your hair, soothing & protective for your scalp and good to our environment.
Still, one conditioner for all hair types and textures?
Yes! Again, the Kettle Care staff did a lot of testing and we started all over again more than once. That was til we finally realized the magic is in a few high quality ingredients and then the different application for different hair types and textures.
First of all, knowing now how quaternaries work, you understand that they need some time to infuse the hair for a few minutes. Thus, let the conditioner with all its powerful ingredients infuse the hair for 3 to 10 min.
Then rinse it out; more thoroughly for oily and fine hair. For dry and curly hair you might just rinse it off the scalp and leave some in the end of the hair. For long dry and curly hair work in a bit of the conditioner in the tips of your towel dried hair to ease the first brushing and prevent fly-aways. Our conditioner is light enough to be left in the tips or ends for this hair type and texture. You will love the shine.
Is the new Shampoo and Conditioner safe for colored hair?
The new Shampoo and Conditioner should be safe for your colored hair. Usually hair coloring does not like an alkaline environment -think pH above 7. WHen your hair gets colored, usually the treatment includes alkaline components. That is the reason why your hair will get a bit of a funny scent when it gets dried with hot air afterwards. When soaps are made with lye, which is highly alkaline , sometimes not all the lye is consumed and the resulting soap will have a pH of above 7. This will remove some of the coloring of your hair as this is a similar environment as when your hair was colored. Our shampoos and conditioners have a pH set to just below 5, which is exactly where your skin will like to be and not have its microbiome damaged.
Thank you Klaus for your insight - in easy to understand terms.
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