Detox Your Hair for Spring
A Comprehensive Guide to Choosing the Best Detox Shampoo
It’s springtime! From a clean new haircut to refreshing your hair colour, it’s time to look for a detox shampoo to kickstart your springtime transformation. Detoxifying your hair is like pressing the reset button on your hair’s health. This simple process can hydrate your frizzy locks, restore your hair’s health, and even remove build-up products and chlorine residue you didn’t know existed. While these benefits sound great, the efficiency of your spring hair detox depends on the quality and ingredients in the detox shampoo you use. Here’s everything you need to know about completing a spring hair detox and which products to look for.
Will Detox Shampoo Strip Hair Colour?
No, but detox shampoos can reduce built-up colour in certain areas where dye has accumulated. More specifically: Detox shampoos will fade some semi permanent hair dyes, but they won’t completely strip away your colour. They also won’t create a uniform colour as their efficiency depends on the dryness of your hair. If you’re looking to create healthier hair and gently fade your colour, a detox shampoo is a good option, but it’s not ideal if you’re looking to completely remove your existing colour.
If you really want to strip away your hair colour, a detox shampoo isn’t the best option. Removing existing hair dye is called ‘colour correction’ and is best left to the professionals. Look for a hair stylist with experience in colour correction to get rid of your existing colour and help you start again with a fresh, even-looking hair colour.
Can Detox Shampoo Cause Hair Loss?
Great quality detox shampoos are not directly linked to hair loss, and usually promote healthier hair rather than hair damage. However, there are a few instances where excessively potent, chemical-based detox shampoos can cause hair damage, which can potentially contribute to hair loss:
Scalp Irritation can inhibit hair growth: Chemical-based detox shampoos can be harsh, especially if they contain strong cleansing agents or high levels of harsh surfactants. If the detox shampoo you’ve chosen irritates your scalp, it could lead to inflammation or dryness, which may contribute to hair shedding or make your scalp less conducive to healthy hair growth.
To minimise this risk, choose natural detox shampoos crafted from native botanicals proven to cleanse and purify your hair without irritation.
Overuse can disrupt scalp health and hair growth: Using detox shampoos too frequently can strip your hair and scalp of its natural oils, leading to dryness, brittleness, and potentially hair breakage. This can create the impression of hair loss, especially if your hair is already fragile or damaged.
Underlying hair growth conditions: If you experience hair loss or thinning from a condition like androgenetic alopecia, stress, or a nutritional deficiency, the use of a harsh detox shampoo could worsen your symptoms.
If you’re experiencing hair loss after using a detox shampoo, the product is probably too strong or harsh for your hair and scalp. Just like our skin, our scalps are unique to us and change person to person. So, abandon the product and look for safer, more natural alternatives such as V&M’s Balancing Shampoo.
When to Use a Detox Shampoo: Timing Your Hair Detox for Best Results
Using a detox shampoo at the right time can make all the difference to achieving healthy, vibrant hair. The best time to incorporate a detox shampoo into your routine is when your hair starts to feel weighed down by product buildup, excess oil, or pollutants such as smoke or air pollution.
After winter when you heat style your hair more often
A great time for a detox is after a period of heavy styling (such as after winter when you’ve been heat styling your hair a lot due to cold weather) Lots of heavy styling uses high temperatures, hairspray, gels, and leave-in products which are hard on your hair and can cause product build up on your scalp without you realising.
After travelling to areas with poor air quality from pollution or bush fires
Been to Bangkok or Delhi recently? Some major cities have exceptionally high fine particle pollution ratings with poor air quality. Not only is poor air quality bad for your lungs, it’s also bad for your hair. If you’ve been travelling in an area with heavy pollution, or bushfires yielding heavy smoke, your hair can become heavy and appear dirtier. This is the perfect time to use a detox product.
After using the same products for a long time
Product rotation is key to skin and haircare, especially when you rotate between products within high quality brands. So if you notice your regular shampoo isn’t giving you that fresh, clean feeling anymore, it might be a sign that your hair needs a deeper cleanse. This is where a detox shampoo comes in super handy.
After using very cheap supermarket shampoos containing nasty ingredients
While many mainstream products make your hair feel silky, they leave a buildup of silicon on your hair strands that leads to greasy looking hair, and ultimately causes damage. If you’ve been using very cheap, supermarket brands containing silicon, don’t worry, it’s never too late to start protecting your hair. Using a detox shampoo is a great way to cleanse away this silicon and restore the health of your tresses.
When to use the best detox shampoo Australia
If none of the above apply to you, you can use a general rule for your hair detox. Generally, detoxing your hair every 4 to 8 weeks, depending on your hair type and lifestyle, can help maintain a healthy scalp and restore your hair’s natural lustre without stripping it of essential moisture.
What Detox Shampoo Is Best for Your Hair Type?
Choosing the right hair product for your hair type is all about the quality of the ingredients within the product. Beware of products labelled as detox shampoos that contain heavy surfactants, as they strip your hair of its natural oils. They initially feel like they’re cleansing your hair as they remove built-up product and oil from your scalp, but they’ll also cause scalp irritation and can eventually lead to hair breakage.
Instead, look for natural brands that offer high quality ingredients designed to nourish and restore your hair. The best clarifying shampoo in Australia gently calms and clears built-up products and oil, without disrupting your scalp’s own hydration balance.
Detox Shampoo for Low Porosity Hair: Finding the Right Fit
Low porosity hair has tightly closed cuticles that make it difficult for moisture and products to penetrate, so finding the right detox shampoo is essential to avoid dryness and product buildup. When choosing a detox shampoo for low porosity hair, look for formulas that are sulphate-free and gentle, as harsher ingredients can strip your hair of its natural oils, leaving it even more prone to dryness.
A detox shampoo with ingredients like lavender, green tea and cranberry can effectively cleanse your hair without causing excessive dryness, helping to remove buildup while maintaining your hair's moisture balance. It's also important to use detox shampoos sparingly—every 4-8 weeks is usually enough—to avoid over-cleansing. Pairing your detox routine with a deeply nourishing treatment conditioner afterward can help ensure your low porosity hair stays healthy, hydrated, and manageable.
Spring is the perfect time to detox your hair with a high quality detox shampoo. Whether you want to cleanse away built-up products or press the reset button on your hair’s health, a detox shampoo is the perfect place to start. Choose an exceptional natural product by trusted Australian brands, like V&M Spa’a Balancing Shampoo, to offer gentle yet effective cleansing and detoxifying ingredients. Your hair will have never looked better.
