If you struggle from dry, brittle or frizzy hair and don't seem to be able to combat it despite trying numerous conditioning masks and hair oils, you may need to switch to a low pH shampoo.

Although the pH of most shampoos is not actually disclosed, it’s actually one of the most important factors in your hair and scalp’s overall health.

I learnt this when I first started using shampoo bars and discovered that so many of them were leaving a dull residue on my hair. The reason why? Because the majority of 'shampoo bars' are actually soap based. This means they don't use a surfactant but instead use the same base as a standard soap bar which is around 9 -10 on the pH scale making it very alkaline. This is fine for the skin but not for the hair.

(Note, if you want to make sure your shampoo bar is not soap based check the ingredients list - soap based bars will have sodium cocoate, sodium olivate or sodium castorate somewhere at the beginning of the ingredients list.) 

Since the hair shaft pH is around 3.6 and the scalp’s pH is around 5.5, it's not rocket science to conclude that using products with a higher pH will disrupt this natural harmony. Low pH or pH balanced shampoos won't strip your hair and scalp of it's natural oils which protects it from dryness, frizz and damage. A slightly acidic shampoo will also seal the hair cuticles to keep it strong and shiny.

After researching this subject in more depth I found one study which claimed just 38% of consumer brand shampoos are low pH.  This suggests that  the majority of mass produced liquid shampoos which contain common sulfate-based surfactants such as SLS and SLES measure high on the pH scale. 

Our sulfate free shampoo bars are formulated to be the right pH level for your hair so they keep the cuticles on your hair shaft lying smoothly against the inner cortex. If the cuticles don’t lie flat against this inner core, your hair loses moisture and condition much quicker and over time, which causes split ends, brittleness, breakage and dryness. 

So there you have it! All our bars are pH balanced and measure less than 5.5 on the pH scale but if dryness is your main concern, we would recommend our Revive bar for best results. 

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