HOW TO GET RID OF PRODUCT BUILD UP IN NATURAL HAIR
You just washed your hair the other day, but now you’re seeing little white flakes everywhere. You may have a great hair care routine, but if the styling products you use don’t work well together or aren’t properly removed later, they can cause many problems for your hair and scalp.
Keep reading to learn more about how product build up happens and what to do to remove it, with some recommended products to use to keep your hair healthy and strong.
Why Does Build Up Occur?
Product build up happens when ingredients in the styling products you use end up creating a barrier around your hair—usually a white cast that eventually flakes along the scalp and strands. These ingredients harden over time and keep your hair from absorbing moisture from water and moisture-rich products intended to revitalize hair, such as shampoos and conditioners.
Some common ingredients in your hair styling products that can cause hair to repel moisture and lead to product build up include:
Mineral oil
Polyquats or polymers
Vegetable oils
Plant gels
Even though some ingredients in hair styling products claim that they’re “natural,” they may actually fight against your hair. For example, vegetable and mineral oils are more cosmetic than therapeutic for your hair, so they might help with styling, but don't increase the health of natural hair the way an oil or leave-in conditioner might.
These ingredients have large molecules that sit on top of the hair shaft rather than penetrate it. This causes build up and prevents products that are intended to penetrate hair or introduce moisture from doing so.
How to Get Rid of Build Up
When experimenting with products, or even if you apply them in the wrong order, build up can happen as soon as the next morning after your wash day. It can be frustrating, but to remove the build up, it’s best to start from base. While this usually means washing your hair again, it’s important not to strip the hair of moisture even further, because it’s been dehydrated since your last wash. Here are some of our favorite cleansing products that gently remove build up and reintroduce moisture to natural hair.
Royal Oils Pre-Shampoo Build Up Remover uses micellar water to hydrate the scalp before shampooing. This scalp pre-treatment breaks up not only dirt and oil, but also other hair products that may have accumulated over time.
After you’ve applied the build up remover treatment, a good follow-up step is to apply Royal Oils Scalp Care Shampoo to your scalp, and work the excess lather down the strands. With a rich lather that is free of sulfates, dyes and parabens, this shampoo works great at removing product build up and restoring moisture to the hair shaft.
For a gentler cleansing, we recommend the Royal Oils Moisturizing Co-Wash It provides deep moisturization with coconut oil to gently cleanse and improve hydration at your roots.
For an all-day leave-in treatment that helps improve scalp health between washes, use Royal Oils Instant Soothe Scalp Elixir. Infused with menthol and peppermint oil, it not only smells great, but it also keeps scalps flake-free. The applicator tip also works great for protective styles.
Don’t let build up ruin your style AND your hair’s moisture. Use products, like these from the Royal Oils Collection, to care for your hair and keep it looking great.
