The hair loss shampoos that we use to wash our hair are mostly toxic in nature. There is a wide variety of soap based hair loss shampoos coming up in the market but of late it has been discovered that they are not safe for use. Most of the soap based hair loss prevention shampoos have saponified oil of olive and jojoba as their main ingredient. Saponification refers to the procedure of adding potassium hydroxide and sodium to the vegetable oil or to the animal fat. This leads to the formation of alkaline soap solution.
Talking about the pH level of hair, the ideal range is between 4.5 and 5.5. Hair is more towards the acid side and less on alkaline. The problem here lies in the fact that these soap based hair loss shampoos lend alkaline to the hair, thereby raising the pH level to above 7. What happens is that when your hair are washed with this alkaline solution, it causes the cuticle cells to swell and rise above the surface, giving the hair a very bad texture. On the other hand, when hair are washed with an acidic solution, the cuticle gets sealed making the hair soft and smooth.
Soap based hair loss shampoos leave behind the deposits of minerals which make the hair look dull. It seems as if your hairs have lost their shine completely. However, the change might not be noticeable immediately. It usually takes a couple of weeks to start realizing that the quality of your hair is deteriorating. If you go a few years back and try to recall, you will be able to understand why your mother and grandmother used to wash their hair with vinegar or juice extracted from lemon. The basic reason is that they contain pH level of 2. If you rinse your hair with acid, your hair cuticles get sealed and that helps to restore the lost glow and shine.
Most of the hair loss prevention shampoos produced in the lab nowadays use mild surfactants such as ammonium laureth sulphate and sodium laureth sulphate. These surfactants thoroughly clean the hair but do not deprive them with the natural skin oils. With this, we can say that sometimes lab made shampoos are better than the natural hair loss prevention shampoos. These soap based shampoos instead of helping in getting rid of the problem of hair loss sometimes lead to the damage of hair.
If you still wish to go for a natural hair loss shampoo, then look for the one that contains cleansing agent as its ingredient. Some good cleansing agents are Saponaria Officinalis (soapwort) and Quillaja Saponaria (soapbark). Another option of cleansing agent that you can consider is Sapindus Indica (soapberry). These cleansing agents do not cause any harm to your hair. So, always choose hair loss shampoos that are acid based.