Find the right shampoo for your hair 

Just like women with hair that's too long, too short, too curly, too straight, too flat, etc., men also have real existential problems. 

Men have different hair types: 

• Normal hair: it's soft to the touch, shiny without being greasy, easy to style and quite supple. It's a pretty irresistible hair type that makes you want to run your hand through it. 
• Dry hair: unless your hair is very long, it doesn't look like split ends, but it's easy to spot because it's dull and brittle, lacking in sebum, with a sensitive, fragile scalp and, in the worst cases, irritated: it's no joy. Gentlemen, if you have curly hair by nature: it can be maintained!
• Greasy hair: heavy, limp, sometimes you can see dandruff on the scalp, nothing delicious about that either.
• Hair with dandruff, a widespread condition that reflects an irritated scalp.
• Hair loss. A source of stress for so many men, it's no wonder that hair implants are so popular. Whether hair is falling out on the sides, the famous gulfs... or in the center of the head, many men are affected by baldness.
• Gray or white hair is not necessarily age-related. Many young men have white or gray hair. They require special care. 

Generally speaking, hair type depends mainly on heredity, but lifestyle also plays a very important role in hair quality. A healthy diet low in saturated fats and sugar, regular physical activity and sufficient sleep can all play a part in hair type. 

If you're a man, and you recognize yourself in the categories listed above, and you think you're not using the right products for your hair type: you've come to the right place, as we're going to share our top tips with you.

Because, as heavily implied above: not using the right products won't do you any favors. 

A different kind of male routine

What is the average time for a woman's routine vs. the average time for a man's routine? 

On average, a woman's routine lasts about 6 hours on a good day and 12 hours 40 minutes on a bad day. If a woman says she's going to start getting ready, it's an anxiety attack and a defibrillator for those waiting for her. They know that the bathroom will be transformed into a minefield, with hair masks, body and face scrubs, hair styling and make-up: we're not there yet. But what are men's beauty routines? Rather express: we look for time optimization and efficiency. 

Men want products with clear labels, with clear benefits, adapted to specific problems. More and more, they're looking after themselves, like to have a soft, well-trimmed beard, shiny hair and an itch-free scalp. Because you too, gentlemen, have learned to listen to yourself and choose your products according to your individual needs. We know that you use products as much as possible in the shower to save time, but there's no question of slathering on day cream in front of your mirror in the bathroom while singing Céline Dion. 

In practical terms, a man's kit generally consists of : 

• The right shampoo 
• A styling wax 
• A facial cleanser 
• A razor 
• Beard oil 
• A good deodorant 
• A fragrance
• Toothpaste 
• Toothbrush

With this ideal toiletry kit, one man can save the world. 

So let's take a look at shampoo, which is usually chosen with care. No more bottom-of-the-drawer stuff. Stuff you stole from your mothers, your sisters, your wives, your buddies. You've realized that men's and women's hair, and more importantly, scalps, have very different sensitivities. Hormones in particular play a key role in these major differences. If your girlfriend has dry skin, and you have oily skin: borrowing her face products won't solve your problem, so it's pointless and exposes you to a good argument: avoid it. So what to choose? How to choose? How do you discover your hair type, for example? We're going to give you the keys to choosing the right shampoo. 

How to choose your men's shampoo

By the end of this article, you'll know exactly what to buy, what to use and what to do with it! 

Shampoo for normal hair 

As their name suggests, they're normal. No major problems to report, easy-to-maintain hair that should be shiny and healthy. 

First of all, you have the hair that many men dream of. And if there's no sign of baldness on the horizon, you're the chosen people. 

Here are the characteristics that make you a lucky boy: 

Your hair is : 

• Sweet 
• Glossy
• easy to style
• Flexible

Congratulations, gentlemen, genetics has favored you. 

But that's not all: men with a healthy lifestyle, i.e. those who follow the advice below, also increase their chances of having normal hair: 

• sport 
• good nutrition
• not too much alcohol 
• not too many cigarettes 

If you don't particularly want to have greasy hair or lose it, here are a few tips to keep your hair in tip-top condition: 

• Choose gentle or extra-gentle, natural shampoos with easy-to-read formulas. Our Douceur de lait d'amande powder shampoo is ideal for regular hair washing. 
• Don't wash your hair every day - it's all too tempting in the shower, but resist to protect your scalp. Daily washing can be irritating and tend to make your hair greasy. 
• Avoid using products that are unsuitable for your hair. A shampoo lying around in your shower may be too moisturizing for normal hair, or not moisturizing enough at all. Use your own products, and that's it! 
• For those who are brave and have a little time (3 minutes) BEFORE shampooing, massage your scalp! Good blood vessel irrigation = a healthy scalp = fabulous hair. 

Shampoo for oily hair

Is your hair heavy, limp and difficult to manage? Do you wash it every day but find it regresses at a crazy rate? Are you one of those people whose hair greases or regrays quickly? The aim of your shampoos is to : 

• postpone the deadline for the next
• soothe a scalp that is most likely in pain 

Our 1st piece of advice is to banish shampoos containing silicone and sulfates in favor of ultra-gentle, natural compositions. 

For example, our best-selling Douceur de lait d'amande shampoo is ideal for this type of hair. 

Oily hair means a scalp that cries out for help, sometimes silently, sometimes with severe itching and patches. 

Involved: 

• Too much stress for one person 
• A diet too rich in fat, sugar, alcohol ... 
• Ill-adapted hair care with shampoos that are too nourishing or too irritating.

Here is a series of tips to put an end to greasy hair once and for all: 

• Avoid aggressive scalp massages when shampooing: this is to avoid stimulating the sebaceous glands, which will fight back with massive sebum production. 
• Choose a gentle or even extra-gentle shampoo: in this case, Gentle Almond Milk is an absolute go-to that should seriously change your life (or at least the quality of your hair).
• Avoid daily washing, always with the same objective in mind: leave the scalp in peace and the sebaceous glands in peace. 
• Don't use a hairdryer near your skull: it dries out the skin and releases sebum. 
• A good natural scalp mask from time to time to soothe irritation. 
• When styling, avoid tight-toothed brushes and combs, which spread sebum all over your hair. 
• Finally, it's time to realize that a healthier lifestyle is urgently needed to restore balance to the scalp. Avoid foods that promote toxins: fast food, alcohol, industrial food, cold meats and fried food.

All these tips, combined with regular washing of your pillowcases and combs, should help you regain your serenity between 2 shampoos. 

Shampoo for dry hair

A man with dry hair is not uncommon at all! While this may immediately lead you to believe that you'll need to buy as many products as a woman to maintain your hair and restore its strength and shine, it's a classic urban misconception. 

You don't need a huge budget to maintain dry hair: all you need is a customized routine. 

How can you tell if your hair is dry? 

• They lack sebum
• Your scalp is fragile and potentially irritated
• Your hair is dull and brittle 

You've reached this point for a variety of reasons, most of which are as follows: 

• Unsuitable hair treatments that are often too aggressive, weakening the hair and drying it out. 
• Shampooing too often and rinsing with water that's too hot. 
• Straightening or blow-drying with too-hot hair dryers. 
• Excessive use of poor-quality styling creams, gels and waxes (with compositions that are very high in alcohol).   

To find out how to get back on track quickly, without breaking the bank, look no further than our top tips: 

• There's no need to use a thousand and one products to wash your hair: the ideal product for you is a fortifying shampoo rich in sulfate- and silicone-free keratin. We invite you to read and appreciate our article on the subject, which will give strength and shine to your dry, weakened hair. 
• You can also use a nourishing, moisturizing shampoo such as our Argan Nutritive Shampoo, especially if you have curly, frizzy or dry hair. 
• A good massage inspired by your hairdresser's techniques, gently massaging your scalp. 
• When it comes to drying, be careful not to rub your hair like a brute with your towel, so as not to damage your skull. If you're using a hairdryer, the same recommendation applies: be gentle, there's no need to feel the extreme heat.  

Anti-dandruff shampoo

Here I'm talking to those with irritated, itchy, flaky scalps. Those who can't stand dandruff on their sweaters and jackets. 

The main cause of all your problems: a sensitive or irritated scalp, or even both. Contrary to popular belief, men can suffer from both oily hair and dandruff: the winning combo. 

2 types of dandruff : 

• Dry dandruff, particles of dead skin caused by excessive and too rapid renewal of the scalp's epidermis
• Oily dandruff is the most problematic: it suffocates the roots and can accelerate hair loss. It's the kind of dandruff that makes your head itch.

What to do? 

• If you suffer from any of these types of dandruff, we recommend that you carefully read the article Six mistakes to avoid when you have dandruff. 
• Then discuss it with your dermatologist or pharmacist, who will probably recommend a zinc-based dietary supplement for men. 
• Always use natural shampoos, bought in the natural, clean beauty sections of department stores or pharmacies. Avoid the sulfate-laden shampoos in supermarkets. The ingredients must be easy to read, understand and gentle.
•  Big-box "anti-dandruff" shampoos are no friend of yours, as they're enriched with allergens, sulfates, water and silicones: so many substances that will cause even more damage to your fragile scalp.
• Avoid wearing caps, bonnets and scooter helmets for long periods, to avoid suffocating a scalp eager to breathe. 
• Review your diet: it's said over and over again that an unbalanced scalp inevitably means hair in poor condition. So don't eat too much fat, sugar, alcohol or tobacco. Limit excess! 
• A good clean anti-dandruff shampoo alternates with a mild shampoo. I'm putting it back here, but douceur de lait d'amande is our best seller for a reason: it's the savior of damaged scalps and hair that constantly regrays. 

Anti-fall shampoo

While some accept their fate, it remains the number one scourge of men: baldness. And here, I'm talking about my experience as a future bald woman. It would be a lie to say that I don't care, that my boyfriend doesn't care and that he didn't panic when the top of his head started to recede. He consulted several specialists, ending up in the office of an implantologist who laughed in his face and told him to come back in 10 years. 

Gentlemen, if you're reading this and losing your hair, I understand.

ESSENTIAL questions then arise: 

• Why are you losing your hair? 

To ease everyone's mind, let's start by saying that we naturally lose between 50 and 100 hairs a day. 

For men, 70% of hair loss is genetic, so if you have a receding hairline and think it's unfair, blame your father or grandfather. 

The main cause of hair loss is a hormonal reaction. The male hormone testosterone evolves over time. It mutates into dihydrotestosterone, leading to the following chain reactions: 

• Collagen becomes less supple
• The capillary bulb is compressed 
• The hair fiber becomes thinner and thinner, until it's too thin and weak for the hair follicle to remain implanted. So it falls out. A sad story. 

Poor blood circulation in the capillaries can also explain hair loss. This won't solve the problem completely, but regular, gentle scalp massage can stimulate lazy vessels.

Finally, there's a reason for the well-known expression "pulling your hair out". Stress is a major factor even in people with no hereditary concerns. 

I've got this friend who lived in London, worked day and night, went out partying at weekends and had a not-so-great lifestyle. He was completely bald at the top of his head, despite having a father and brothers with sublime hair implantation. 2020, the covid, he returned to Paris, met a girl, changed jobs and started living again. The hair loss has come to a screeching halt, and I'd even go so far as to say that some of his hair is back where it belongs. So, in conclusion, relax! 

• What can be done about hair loss? 

No shampoo on the market today will save or 100% prevent baldness. If you come across a product claiming the opposite in your supermarket the day after tomorrow: it's just marketing.

DOs to limit falls: 

• Ban from your hair care routine products from big-box stores, those whose composition isn't natural, those whose labels you can't read. Go for clean, clear, gentle compositions. The aim: to pamper your scalp as much as possible. 
• Not too many shampoos, i.e. every other day.
• Avoid industrial styling products, preferring aloe vera, a natural wax or a few drops of vegetable oil to style your hair. 
• Once or twice a year, don't hesitate to take a course of dietary supplements for hair and nails. They will provide nutrients that will help strengthen your scalp. 
• In addition to capsules, be sure to choose foods enriched with vitamin B, which stimulates the production of keratin: the protein that forms hair and nails.  
• Continuing with this little food focus, make sure you eat the right ratio of proteins, vitamins and minerals. 

Shampoo for graying hair 

Does hair that's starting to turn gray look bad? It's been George Clooney's seductive asset for years. Whether you're overjoyed to be graying, or a little sad, I've got some very important information for you: gray hair can be maintained. 

Men start to experience grey hair at a more or less early age, with the 1st grey hairs generally appearing in their thirties. 

White hair is the result of a decline in pigment-producing cells, also known as melanin, at the base of the hair follicle. Everything happens at the base of the follicle, and the process of melanin creation is called melanogenesis. 

No melanogenesis, or an altered version of it, and you're graying. Melanogenesis decreases with age, so this is perfectly normal. 

Sometimes you can also get grey hair prematurely for the following reasons: 

• Heredity: your parents had gray hair at a very young age.  
• An autoimmune disease of the skin, your scalp is also attacked: you lose your hair and when it grows back it's white. 
• Stress: the expression "grey hair" must certainly come from here. Too much to worry about and the body can go haywire.
• The environment: pollution, cigarette smoke...

The 1st gray hairs generally appear on the top of the head and at the temples. 

There's nothing alarming about white hair, it's perfectly normal for men and can even be quite sexy if well cared for. 

For those who embrace their gray and white hair, you should know that the texture of your hair is also different, so you need to give it the right care. If your hair is white and gray, it's more fragile and porous than normal hair. 

• Use gentle, natural, moisturizing shampoos. Our nutritive argan shampoo is super color-friendly and super moisturizing. It will clarify your hair without ever causing the dreaded "yellowing effect". 

• Once a week, use a shampoo to neutralize the yellowing effects. Once again, beware that the most dubious compositions are often those of supermarkets and private labels. Instead, turn to pharmacies, natural concept stores and the green areas of the stores you frequent.  

Shampoo for athletes

Women often put off their sports sessions until the day they know they need to shampoo their hair. If you don't believe me, ask around! 

Why do they do it? Because they know that frequent shampooing is not good for their hair and scalp. 

And yet, after a sports session, we often want or need to cool down. A good shower to bring the temperature down, hair included.

You have dirty hair because perspiration evaporates from your scalp, which leads to sebum on the lengths (even if you have short hair) and therefore dirty hair that doesn't smell very good... So when I tell you that washing your hair every day isn't ideal, you say: ok, so give us some solutions? 

First of all, if your sports session didn't require too much physical effort: you don't necessarily need a shampoo. Sometimes, a comb or brush stroke can help you distribute sebum to reduce the dirty hair effect, and remove impurities and anything else that might have dulled your hair during exercise. 

Whether you're an everyday or Sunday sportsman, here are our top tips for optimizing your shampoos: 

If you've done a strenuous workout and sweated like an ox during your session: 

• Use a shampoo that's gentle on your scalp. We can't stress this enough, but only clean, vegan, silicone-free and sulfate-free compositions should be allowed on your head. 
• Choose shampoos enriched with prebiotics, good bacteria for strengthening the scalp after intense perspiration. Our Almond Milk Gentle Shampoo is just the thing. What's more, its super-light, water-free format is ideal for carrying around in your sports bag. What could be more unpleasant than a product spilling on your clean clothes? Nothing, really. That's why powder shampoos are like classic shampoos, only a thousand times better!

If you've done a short session, sweated a bit but not enough to wring your hands at the end, we recommend : 

• Rinse your hair with water to remove the bulk of impurities, odors and some of the sebum scattered in your hair. 
• If you really need to wash your hair after having washed it the day before: at this stage, you really need to invest in a gentle, sulfate-free, allergen-free shampoo. A gentle interlude for the scalp. 
• If your scalp is irritated after all those washes, you've got a bit of time on your hands and you like to take care of yourself: our ultimate recommendation is a good natural scalp hair mask. Our ideal aloe Argan hair mask is 70% aloe vera, an ingredient with highly soothing properties. Leave on for 1 hour and follow with a gentle shampoo. 

And what about the beard?

And yes, gentlemen, beards deserve special attention too! 

Before thinking about your beard, it's essential to think about cleansing your skin: that's the basics. As a general rule, use only natural products, with few or no surfactants, good ingredients and, once again, formulas that are easy to decipher in the blink of an eye. Use a powder cleanser, such as one with charcoal, if you have oily skin, or a shea-sensitive superfatted soap if your skin is rather dry. 

For a well-groomed beard that doesn't sting (think of those you kiss for pity's sake), use a nourishing oil morning and night. 

 Here again, it's worth putting a little bit of money into it: most oils, even those from drugstores, are not very expensive, and for good reason: the compositions are not clean, with very few or no natural ingredients. If you buy this type of product, you run the risk of irritating your skin and missing out on the moisturizing benefits. Our precious muesli and pure vanilla oil is a little jewel of hydration, its divine scent will give you a real power of seduction. It's a woman's recommendation, so don't doubt it! 

You now have the keys to hydrated hair, a healthy scalp and a soft beard. To sum up, if I had to give you my last piece of advice: 

• Take an interest in what you apply to your hair, you deserve ingredients that are just as high quality as the ladies. 
• Do your beauty shopping in specialized green/clean beauty stores or on brand websites directly (even faster and more efficient).
• Don't steal the products lying around in your shower, ask for advice if you don't know what to use (online experts, spouses, etc.). 
• Remember that quality products are always a little more expensive than what you can find in supermarkets. It's a budget, but it affects your health and well-being, so this is no time to be stingy. 

Now there's no excuse not to use the right products!