Shocking: The Shampoo Hoax

When discussing hair and scalp care with patients, they are often astonished to hear that washing their hair with shampoo has ZERO proven benefit. Not only does shampooing have no benefit, but in many cases, it can lead to noticeable harm to the scalp and the hair. As I discuss in my bestselling book “Sick Skin” shampooing is one of those practices the skincare industry created out of whole cloth and ingrained in common use under the belief that it carried a health benefit.

However, shampoos which are a detergent-based category of products, largely strip away surface ingredients from the hair and the scalp, thereby disrupting skin and hair shaft integrity. And while some shampoos confer a desirable texture to hair or provide a likable fragrance, those are not health benefits, but cosmetic. In people with sensitive skin, the effects of shampooing can lead to uncompensated increased disruption of the skin barrier and hair dryness, leading to scalp irritation and hair breakage. More often than not this does not lead people to stop shampooing as they are operating under the “health benefit” belief. Most people are on a never-ending quest for the perfect “moisturizing” shampoo, which is an oxymoron. Detergents do the opposite of moisturizing.

How did this widespread belief take root? Through incessant and progressive promotional campaigning. Shampoos as a widespread product category and practice began taking off in the mid 20th century. Commercials for shampoos often use language that sounds “medical” or “scientific” with words such as “nourishing,” “healthy,” and “glow.” But in reality this language has no scientific or health merit but is rather a manipulative promotional effort designed to convince the consumer of the need for using the product at hand.

To promote the use of shampoos, manufacturers have introduced various qualities to those products to create an experience which encourages product application. Those experience-based devices or tricks have no health advantages but nonetheless are used to give the impression of benefit. Such tricks include foaming or lathering agents, scent and fragrance, or essential oils.

Most healthcare providers use shampoos without questioning their utility, which is helpful in seamless promotion of shampooing as a “necessary” practice.

When asked to consider to stop shampooing for health reasons, the majority of people are baffled to put it mildly. They usually have a number of concerns. First, what about the “dirt?” To which my answer is: “there is no dirt.” The so-called dirt is a term that was reinforced (if not made up) by the skincare industry to promote the use of shampoos (and other abrasive products.) The concept of “dirt” is similar to the dental hygiene concept of “film” which was used by Claude Hopkins in putting together the “Pepsodent effect” - a ploy that was used to promote the use of toothpaste and tooth brushing as I describe in detail in my book “Sick Skin.”

There are several variations of “what about the dirt,” specifically: “oil” and “bacteria.” The difference between the very nebulous sounding “dirt” as opposed to oils and bacteria is that the latter two are an actual integral part of the skin making up the organ’s ecosystem. Vilifying those elements is deeply concerning as deliberately disrupting them has consequences for normal skin function, the majority of which are poorly understood.

So what is there to do? While shampooing has no proven value, it is something one can live with. However, it is important to realize that it has no concrete utility. Therefore, if one is firmly attached to shampooing their hair - i suggest they do as little of it as possible. Consider this: if you have dry and sensitive hair and scalp, your shampooing is making your condition worse by making your scalp and hair dryer - meaning more sensitive. If you must use shampoo - consider compensating for the drying effect by using a conditioner. If you have decided to stop using shampoo be advised that for some the first two to three weeks may seem a little unfamiliar regarding hair texture and possible more oiliness. In the few people I’ve seen over the years who have experienced increased oiliness once they stopped shampooing, this quickly reset to normal and their hair texture as well as the general condition of their scalp was invariably less dry, less sensitive and the hair was shinier and easier to manage. All of this was achieved without having to spend any extra funds on expensive products.

So, consider the bottom line. Shampooing while being a highly pervasive practice has no proven health benefits and may harm your scalp as well as hair. Decreasing or discounting shampooing can result in significant improvement in your dry and sensitive scalp condition. If you must shampoo to either treat a medical condition or for cosmetic reasons - consider shampooing as infrequently as possible and use a conditioner to offset dryness caused by shampooing.

For a deeper dive, check out my book "Sick Skin - Skincare Made Simple" on Amazon, now available in audio. Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter. Remember, effective skincare begins with understanding your skin’s unique requirements and making informed choices accordingly.

Watch “The Shocking Truth: Shampoo Hoax” on YouTube.

Thanks for reading and God bless. 

Yuval Bibi, MD/PhD - Board Certified Dermatologist