Haircare FAQ

Shampoo is a common type of haircare product used to cleanse the hair from dirt, bacteria, oils and dead skin. A shampoo product usually comes in a viscous formula, dry or sometimes in a bar form like a bar of soap.

Most shampoos feature specific or a range of benefits such as heat protection, volumising, colour protection, hair strengthening, enriching, reduction of split-ends, repairing and so on.

Shampoo is used by applying a small amount to wet hair and massaging it into the roots, lengths and ends of the hair before rinsing it out thoroughly. A shampoo is often used in conjunction with a hair conditioner.

A shampoo is typically used to cleanse the scalp and hair lengths from dirt, oils and other impurities built up throughout the day. It is often used with water and massaged into the hair as a lather to thoroughly rid the hair of impurities before being rinsed out.

Shampoo bars are basically liquid shampoo formulations but in a soap bar form. Unlike a liquid formulation, you create the cleansing lather and use the same way as you would a bar of soap, either by running the shampoo bar through the lengths and scalp several times or working up a lather in between your palms and working it into the hair.

Shampoo bars are a great alternative is you’re looking to increase the amount of shampoo you use.

This depends on personal preference, your hair type and the brand you use. To find the shampoo or haircare product that suits you best, you should find a product tailored to your specific to your specific hair concern.

For example, if you have dyed hair, you may wish to look for a shampoo with added colour protective ingredients and heat style defending technology.

This depends on personal preference, your hair type and the brand you use. To find the shampoo or haircare product that suits you best, you should find a product tailored to your specific to your specific hair concern.

For example, if you have dyed hair, you may wish to look for a shampoo with added colour protective ingredients and heat style defending technology.

A dry shampoo is essentially a shampoo formula in a lightweight powder or a fast-drying spray, consequently offering a water-free option for your hair. Sometimes it comes in a paste form and available in different shades to match your hair colour. This type of shampoo absorbs excess sebum and other oils from the roots, to freshen up your hair and increase its wash longevity.

Dry shampoo works without the need for water. It's often used between regular washes and a great time saver. Like a regular wash and rinse shampoo, dry shampoo can contain specific or a variety of benefits such as heat protection, colour protection, regular oil production, boost volume and more.

Before application, remember to shake the aerosol can well. Spray a generous amount of hair shampoo into the roots and lengths of your hair and hold about 25-30cm away.

Run your fingers through the lengths to make sure the formula is fully absorbed into the hair.

Style as per usual.

Remember, do not rinse out the product once the dry shampoo has been applied.

Read more here: The do's and don'ts of Dry Shampoo

Dry shampoo is a great way to decrease the number of washes. Too many washes can strip away the moisture of certain hair types, such as too coarse, curly, thick or fragile hair. Dry shampoo also lets you go longer without suffering matted or oily roots.

The best time to use dry shampoo is before bedtime as it will absorb the oil in your hair during the night. In the morning, you’ll only have to do touch-ups and regular styling.

There are so many benefits to dry shampoo. Some benefits include:

• To be able to shampoo less frequently
• To stretch out a beautifully blow-dried style
• To conserve hair colour
• Eliminate odour
• To add volume
• To refresh a style or curls
• To save time
• To add texture to flat, straight hair
• To soothe an irritated scalp

A good dry shampoo should not leave behind residue or gunky buildup. It should absorb into the lengths of your hair instantly. Also, it should not leave a sticky finish or an unappealing scent either. If you have fine hair, opt for a lightweight formula that won’t cause your hair to deflate and look flatter than it already does.

A conditioner is a softening substance used to improve the strength, vitality and appearance of the hair lengths. It usually comes in a liquid, viscous form and is applied to the hair after shampooing to improve its condition.

A hair conditioner is a specific type of hair product to improve the appearance, feel and manageability of your hair by reducing the friction between hair strands to allow easier brushing, combing and prevent tearing which causes damage. It may also act as a defending barrier against outside aggressors.

A hair conditioner can:

• Reduce knots
• Minimalise the appearance of frizz and flyaways
• Add shine and smoothness to the hair
• Soften hair texture
• Volumise the hair lengths
• Reconstruct the individual hair shaft

The best conditioner for you depends on your type of hair. There are a variety of hair care brands that create specific conditioners to treat and improve a specific hair concern from overly dyed hair, frizzy hair, extremely dry and brittle hair to oily hair.

Here are some good pointers to keep an eye out:

Conditioner for oily hair

If you’re prone to oily, greasy locks, you may wish to skip the conditioner all together. As most conditioners are designed to rehydrate the hair, a conditioner can often make the hair feel worse. However, there are some that help with an oily situation.

Here’s what to do:

• Avoid benefits that say ‘super hydrating, moisturising or good for curly hair’. These types of conditioners add generous amounts of moisture and will cause your hair to be limp. 
• Find labels that state ‘volumising, light, strengthens or rebalancing’.
• Find conditioners that are packed with proteins. Proteins are an excellent ingredient to manage oil production on the scalp.
• Apply only to the mid-shafts and ends, focusing less on the scalp.
• Spend extra time rinsing the product when you shower.
• If your hair is fine AND oily, perhaps try conditioning first, rinse and then shampoo (as unorthodox as it sounds).

Conditioner for dry, damaged and brittle hair

If your gorgeous hair is damaged, bone-dry and filled with split ends, then it’s crucial to find a conditioner that prevents future damage and brings back moisture, strength and vitality to the lengths.

Here’s what to do:

• Lay-off the labels that say ‘refortifying or volumising’ for now.
• Look for hydrating ingredients like Coconut, Argan Oil, Avocado and Aloe Vera.
• If you hair is slightly dry - Find conditioner labels that promote strength, moisture, hydration, smoothing, rebalancing or curly (if you have curly locks). These conditioners are great for bringing back hydration without weighing the hair down.
• If your hair is very dry and brittle - Find a conditioner that really packs a punch in the hair care department. Conditioners like these promote ‘repair from damage, extra hydrating, frizz control’.
• These conditioners are a great choice for those with over-dyed, chemically-dyed or coloured hair.

Every gorgeous gal has a conditioner they love. Someone’s best may not be for others. It depends on the brand and how well a conditioner treats a specific hair concern.

For the best conditioner tailored to your hair concern, read through our glossary:

Hydrating/Moisturizing Conditioner: The best for adding or maintaining moisture, shine and smoothness to the hair. Ideal for thick, curly, coarse or dull-looking hair

Strengthening/Fortifying Conditioner: The best for reconstructing overly-damaged, dyed, highlighted, weak and brittle hair

Volumizing Conditioner: The best for limp and fine hair. This conditioner adds shine, smoothness and extra volume without weighing the hair down

Balancing Conditioner: The best ‘middle-road’ option. Will add moisture and shine but without leaving it feeling too oily or too dry. A great option for those with healthy hair but wish to add a touch of shine to the hair lengths

Smoothing/Straight Hair Conditioner: The best for those with split ends, brittle or frizzy hair, or prone to flyaways. This conditioner is made with added moisturisers and smoothing agents that seal the cuticle and create a softened start for a straight hairstyle.

Curly Hair Conditioner: The best for those with naturally curly hair. These conditioners are typically moisturising and are filled with agents designed to specifically reduce frizz and flyaways.

Read: How to wash your hair extensions

A haircare treatment is any kind of haircare product designed to restore, nourish, condition and improve the hair lengths from stress, outside aggressors and damage.

Modern haircare treatments can come in the form of a lightweight oil or serum, a nourishing hair mask, shampoo or conditioner, or a leave-in spray. As there are different types or hair, existing products are designed to treat a specific hair type or concern so remember to read the label carefully to find the right one for you.

Yes, keratin is good for you hair. Keratin is a protective protein that makes the most of our natural hair, skin and nails however it can be prone to outside damage. As keratin is fundamental to rebuilding the strands and smoothing the cells of our hair, a loss of keratin can lead to frizz, split ends and damaged, thinning hair. This is why haircare companies have created a variety of keratin infused serums, shampoos and conditioners to restore the levels of natural keratin we’ve lost.

The best hair repair treatment is the one that suits your specific haircare concern the most. Different brands will stock different serums, hair oils, balms, moisturises and sprays designed to treat and condition a specific hair concern, so remember to read the label carefully.

For example, if you have dry hair that’s prone to breakage, you may wish to find a treatment enriched with hydrating ingredients and rebuilding actives to restore the hair’s natural elasticity, volume and smoothness.

This depends on the level of damage to your hair. If you have significant damage, you may wish to implement a haircare treatment no greater than two times a week into your daily hair washing regimen for a few weeks until you notice a visible change of your hair condition.

Read: How to get thicker hair

Read: Secrets to repair your hair

A hair mask is a type of treatment used to balm and nourish damaged hair. Compared to a conditioner, a hair mask spends more time being absorbed into the individual hair strand more than your average shampoo and conditioner, allowing you to reap the benefits in a single use.

A hair mask is an excellent treatment to reduce the effects of hair damage and leave your locks looking healthy, feeling soft and restoring it to its natural elasticity.

Hair masks are often used to assist with hair treatment or as an alternative to hair conditioner and usually applied after washing. If you’re hair has significant damage or wish to keep your hair extra hydrated and shiny, we suggest you use your hair mask regularly in your hair care routine, once or twice a week minimum.

This really depends on your hair type. A hair mask is a great haircare product to revitalise damaged locks, so if you have long hair of intensely damaged hair, you may consider swapping out your conditioner for a mask. Hair masks are fast-acting and designed to condition AND nourish the hair, thus they have more ingredients to treat damaged hair more effectively. A good indicator is a hair mask often feels heavier in consistency. Longer hair and damaged hair needs more attention compared to thinning or healthier looking hair.

Those with longer hair often opt for a hair mask. This is because there’s more surface area to cover, thus it takes more time and effort to keep it in condition. Using a hair mask on long hair provides a more intensive treatment and condition, thus lessening the amount of washes for longer hair.

Traditionally no. A hair conditioner is designed to smooth and untangle the hair lengths to hair. A hair mask nourishes and conditions the hair. Also, a hair mask has more versatile application methods.

Depending on the level of treatment, a hair mask can be applied in two ways; wet or dry.

If you’re after an intensive hair treatment, apply a generous layer of your hair mask to the lengths and ends of dry hair and leave in for 3-5 minutes. Rinse off thoroughly and wash as per usual.

If you’re after a light treatment, apply the hair mask after shampooing. Leave in for 3-5 minutes and rinse thoroughly.

A hair mask has a greater amount of ingredients to nourish and treat a haircare concern as well as active conditioning ingredients. A hair conditioner is strictly designed to smooth and soften the hair lengths.

This depends on preference as a conditioner or hair mask can target and treat a specific hair concern. If you have severely damaged hair, you might consider swapping your conditioner for a hair mask for faster and more visible results.

Leave-in hair oils are the multi-tasking miracle products that do the same job as a nourishing, hydrating conditioner. These oil serums are great for restoring dry, damaged hair to its natural, glossy appearance or defending the hair from heat styling.

Leave-in oils can come as a smooth serum, cream or thin, liquid formula. Leave-in oils are often found in a small tub or a bottle and dispenser.

To avoid the feeling of heavy, greasy hair, we suggest to stay away from the scalp area and focus on applying the leave-in serums to the mid layers and ends of the hair.

Rather than applying the oil serum directly to the hair, try squirting a small amount to the palms, rub them together and then apply the oil treatment to wet hair for an even distribution.

Depending on the level of hair damage, gradually increase dosages of the oil serum to establish just how much treatment you need.

Hair sprays are the most popular choice of hair styling product that is sprayed onto the hair to shape and volumise the locks, while protecting the individual strands from humidity and the natural elements.

A high-performance hair spray often features several benefits depending on the brand. A hair spray often has heat-protection, is soothing on the scalp, doesn’t dry out the hair and features enriching ingredients. Different products may vary in terms of their levels of hold. A hair spray for professional stylists will have stronger holds than at-home sprays.

Make sure to apply the hair spray AWAY from your face. Spray at least 20cm away from your hair, run and massage your fingers through the hair immediately after application to style.

These hair treatments usually come in small to mid-sized bottles with a pump application, and result in a lightweight spray, mist and sometimes a cream formula. This formula is dispensed into the hair as a spray, which is instantly absorbed without the need for washing.

Leave-In spray treatments are used to manage and control a variety of hair issues, including hair fall, used as a heat buffer from styling, taming frizz, thickening thin hair, untangling and more.

Leave-In sprays are great if you’re susceptible to fine hair or hair fall, or prefer a quick and easy-to-use treatment to hair damage if you dislike the hassle of hair masks.

Like hair masks, Leave-In sprays/mists can be used to treat a number of different hair issues but are dissimilar to masks in that you leave the formula in the hair. Leave-In sprays are also suitable for styling, especially if you intend to involve heat.

Hold the spray close to affected areas and press the pump to dispel spray/mist onto wet hair. Move and apply spray/mist right to the roosts and massage gently. Do not wash the formula out. We suggest blow-drying the hair after spray/mist application in order for the properties to work quickly.

A heat protection hair product, i.e, a heat protection serum, oil or spray, are specialised hair care treatments specially used before artificial heat styling to counteract and defend the hair lengths and ends against the effects of heat damage.

These are usually left tin the hair lengths to absorb into the hair shaft without rinsing. A heat protection serum and spray contain specific agents to create a temporary, yet long-lasting barrier against artificial outside aggressors, and can sometimes feature nourishing ingredients from Argan Oil and hydrogenated Castor Oil to condition the hair and add shine without weighing the lengths down.

Heat protection hair products can be applied to wet, towel-dried, damp or dry hair and do not leave an oily finish.

Whether you’re sporting brunette highlights or possess a head full of platinum blond locks, colour-treated hair needs extra care and attention if you wish to extend the life of your hair colour. Keep your gorgeously dyed locks in tip-top condition with these handy tips and tricks!

1. Wait a full 72 hours before shampooing or conditioning - The hair cuticle is open after colouring, which allows dyes to penetrate the hair shaft. If you wash and condition the hair too soon, the colour may be flooded away! It takes three days for the cuticle layer to close so wait a while in order to reap the benefits of a vibrantly coloured head of hair.

2. Use a sulphate-free shampoo or conditioner - sulphates are sometimes used to create the foaming effect in shampoo and conditioners. These ingredients can strip away your beautiful hair-colour treated hair, as well the hair’s natural oils and moisture. There are plenty of sulphate-free shampoos and conditioners available today so shop around.

3. Wash hair in a cooler water temperature - Maintain colour-treated hair by rinsing it in cool or cold water after shampooing and conditioning. Similarly to how when warm water opens the pores of your skin when you exfoliate, so does the hair cuticle when you wash. Cold water will help seal in moisture from your conditioner, while preventing dyed-colour from fading.

4. Wash hair less - Over washing the hair can increase the chances of colour fading. Try washing your hair 2-3 times a week to maintain hair colour and extend the vitality and shine of your coloured-locks using dry shampoo instead.

5. Instead of using conditioner to protect hair colour, use leave-in treatments - Leave-in hair treatments are fantastic. Coloured hair needs extra attention and hydration. A leave-in hair mask or serum keeps the hair smooth and hydrated for longer and minimises the number of washes. Find one with UV protection filters so the sun won’t fade the vibrancy of your hair colour.

Yes they do! Fanola’s ‘No Yellow’ and ‘No Orange’ range of shampoo and masks are designed to lighten, rebalance and soften dyed hair while banishing unwanted orange, brassy and yellow tones left over.

You can read all about it here

What is it?

Fanola ‘No Orange Range’

• Includes a powerful blue-toned shampoo and hair mask that enriches and hydrates dyed hair for a softer finish. 
• Both shampoo and mask creates a silkier finish while eliminating artificial looking orange tones that come with the dyeing process.
• Both shampoo and mask contain fast-acting ingredients that bind cooler colour shades to the hair lengths, balancing out red tones and pH levels.
• Great for maintaining naturally blonde, sun-kissed looks – dyed, de-coloured or natural hair.

Fanola ‘No Yellow Range’

• Includes a powerful dark purple-toned shampoo and hair mask that enriches and hydrates dyed hair for a softer finish.
• Both shampoo and mask creates a silkier finish while neutralising artificial looking yellow tones that come with the dyeing process.
• Both shampoo and mask contain fast-acting ingredients that bind cooler colour shades to the hair lengths, balancing out warm tones, bright yellow shades and pH levels.
• Great for maintaining cooler toned icy, ashen, bleached blonde, grey or platinum blonde locks – dyed, de-coloured or natural hair.