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Case Study – Switch To Paraben & Sulfate Free

It is our general observation that hair and scalp health improves when we move clients onto professional ranges that are paraben and sulphate free.

Here’s a case study about a 48 year old male client.

PROBLEM: A male client came in complaining of excessive dandruff and flaky scalp. He is recovering from cancer and takes very good care of his health. His hair has thinned on top considerably but he is not bald and this has occurred as a result of a genetic issue rather than any medication or cancer treatments. I asked him about his hair care regime and he indicated that he only used an “organic” shampoo from the health food shop.

When I asked him about whether he conditioned his hair he looked at me blankly and said “What for?”
The brand he mentioned (which shall remain nameless for legal issues) is quite popular amongst the “health demographic”. However after speaking with a colleague whose business is formulating hair care products, he indicated that this popular brand is little more than “dishwashing detergent”.

We have noticed that hair health of both male and female clients deteriorates after using this brand. When we asked this industry professional about why this would be, he indicated that the only way to achieve a $10 price point per bottle of shampoo was to cut corners. In his words “The ingredients they use are super cheap. You can create a shampoo that is by all intensive purposes sulphate and paraben free, but it doesn’t mean that it’s going to be good for you.”
Despite promoting itself as “natural” with “organic” ingredients, this range is not certified organic which means that they’re making you think that it’s better for you.

Back to our male client: a common mistake that most men with thinning hair make is to not condition their hair. Conditioning hair has a two-fold action to smooth the hair and soothe the scalp.

I moved my client onto Uspa’s Tahetian Lime shampoo and conditioner. This range is made to balance out scalp issues such as oily scalps and dandruff. It increases circulation in the scalp by stimulating bloodflow into hair folicles to improve the health of your hair. It creates a deep cleansing to assist with removing product build-up and provides an invigorating cleanse and condition.

My instructions to him were to shampoo 2 – 3 times per week and condition his hair every time he shampoo’s to help restore the moisture in the scalp.

Now the shampoo and conditioner I recommended cost $64 compared to the $15 or so that he was paying for “natural dishwashing detergent” as my colleague would put it. But the changes in my client’s hair were immediately noticeable: his thin hair looked more “plentiful” if I can say that – it just looked like he had more hair (which he noticed himself and he started getting comments on). When I asked him about his flaky scalp, he said it had disappeared completely.
I asked him whether he thought it was worth it, he replied “I was a little dubious that the product would fix my scalp issues because nothing had fixed it in the past. Having said that, I’ve never paid so much for hair care either. But the product is so concentrated that the shampoo has lasted me a lot longer than the other product I was using, so I’ll have to say I’m converted. I don’t understand it but it looks like I’ve got more hair.”

Let’s be clear – this particular brand may not suit everyone. I have a client who could not use the Tahitian Lime because the pure organic essential oils were too strong for her. Make no mistake, pure organic essential oils definitely have a therapeutic effect, which is why these products are professional lines, intended to be recommended by a professional stylist after understanding their client’s needs and situation.

If you have a hair problem that can’t seem to resolve itself, come in for a consultation and we’ll see if we can’t provide a solution.

1 reply
  1. Quinn Livermon
    Quinn Livermon says:

    Your articles are really informative, thanks for the great info. I will definitely rethink my hair care choices and look at freeing myself of nasties like parabens and sulfates! Cheers.

    Reply

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