Why pH matters….
Normal, healthy hair has a pH value of 4.5-5.5, which is acidic.
Hair that has a pH value above 7 is alkaline – porous and damaged.
When hair is healthy it will attract and hold hair color better and longer than hair that is damaged, which will repel color and fade quicker.
PROPER pH LEVELS IN YOUR PRODUCTS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO LOOK FOR TO ENSURE YOUR HAIR IS HAPPY AND HEALTHY!!
If your shampoos, conditioners, and styling products don’t have the pH written on the bottle – DOESN’T MATTER IF ITS “PROFFESSIONAL” OR DRUGSTORE BRAND – you are running the risk of not only pulling out your color, but causing unnecessary frizz or, on the other side of it, weighing your hair down. Why do most companies not put the pH on the bottles of product? Because it’s expensive to send little Jimmy up a ladder to check the pH of a giant vat of product and if its off the whole tank is useless. The manufacturers of these big companies DON’T CARE ABOUT YOU, YOUR STYLIST, OR YOUR HAIR! Their end game is $$$. The marketing on the front of those bottles: “Made with goji berries from the Appalachian mountains”, “infused with extract of chamomile”, etc… they are pandering to you! Those ingredients don’t matter if the pH is off!!! Your skin, hair, and nails all live within the pH levels of 4.5-5.5. If your products are higher than that you not only run the risk of ruining your hair, you are also washing off your skin’s acid mantle, causing dry and irritated skin and potentially allowing contaminants into your body. If it is NOT WRITTEN ON THE BOTTLE YOU ARE GUESSING!! Why would you spend lots of money for beautiful hair and then risk ruining it with a product that isn’t pH balanced???
What is your acid mantle?
The acid mantle is a very fine, slightly acidic film on the surface of human skin acting as a barrier to bacteria, viruses and other potential contaminants that might penetrate the skin. Sebum is secreted by the sebaceous gland and when mixed with sweat becomes the acid mantle.
So what do we recommend?
At Mane Street Hair & Color Studio, we only use and sell shampoos and conditioners that have the pH levels written on the bottles. We search high and low for companies that are smaller and care more about the ingredients than the packaging. (Fun fact: the two most expensive things in your products: the bottle itself and the fragrance – think about that the next time you grab a $$$ bottle of product – what are they really selling you?) And as a bonus, almost all of the products we carry are made in the U.S.A.! Can you find these products in other retail stores? Maybe but not likely. We stray from companies that divert, sell to big box companies, and don’t take pride in their product. If you do find them in other places (::cough, cough:: Amazon or Ulta), check with us first. We guarantee our prices are either cheaper or on par and if not, we will price match! Buy your products where you get your hair done, not where you buy your groceries!
FUN FACT!!!
Why does Johnson’s baby shampoo not hurt babies eyes?
While our outsides are a pH of somewhere between 4.5-5.5, our insides are a pH of 7 (neutral). Johnson’s Baby Don’t Cry Shampoo is also a pH of 7 and so is babies skin for the first few months of life because they lived in a pH of 7 for nine months and it takes about 6-12 months after birth for their acid mantle to develop so they need a higher pH for their skin and eyes. So if/when you start to notice your snuggle bunnies skin start to develop a rash or dry skin try switching to a pH balanced shampoo. Most likely the baby has produced it’s acid mantle so the baby shampoo, while it will still be gentle on their eyes, is severely drying out the skin. This shampoo is awful for anyone older than one year of age! (We’ll take that doctor’s co-pay, thank you!) š
