Pre-shampoo conditioners

Conditioning your hair before shampooing helps give damaged hair protection against detergents, and it also gives dry, damaged, or chemically treated strands extra moisture. Available pre-shampoo treatments include moisturizing creams (I love J. F. Lazartigue’s Pre-Shampoo Cream with Shea Butter), hot-oil treatments (think Alberto VO5), and homemade hot-oil treatments (heat 2 to 4 tablespoons of almond or sesame oil and apply to hair). These conditioners are usually applied to dry hair and left on for up to an hour. Hair is then shampooed and a regular rinse-out conditioner is used. Note: If hair is fine, thin, or oily, you may not need the after-shampoo conditioner.

Oily hair looks oily upon waking and generally must be washed every day or every other day. Normal hair can go for 2 or 3 days without shampooing, and dry hair looks ftne for 3, 4, 5 days - even a week - without a shampoo.

Clarifying treatments

Most shampoos on the market are strong enough to clarify without help, but for people who frequently use styling products, darifying treatments can help return locks to their original gloss and bounce. These treatments - which are available as pre-shampoo formulas or as actual clarifying shampoos - dissolve product remnants, allowing vestiges of hairspray, gel, mousse, and more to be rinsed from strands. Clarifying treatments are also helpful for people who live with deposit-causing, mineral-rich water. Overuse of clarifying products can strip necessary sebum from the hair, so limit treatments to once a month.

A good collection of Makeup and Beauty Tips and Tricks.