Shampoos with Sulfates (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) and Hair Loss

First of all, many thanks for this great blog. I’m a regular reader.

My question is about mild shampoos. I often read contradictory comments about whether or not washing your hair on a daily basis could cause hair loss particularly when these extra mild shampoos contain ingredients like Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate and all parabens, that may cause skin irritation, drying, and hair loss due to follicle damage. So if someone has to wash his hair every day, is using a shampoo without those ingredients is better for the scalp and the follicule ?

Shampoos and washing your hair does not cause hair loss in general. In men genetic traits (androgenic alopecia – male pattern balding) causes hair loss. In women hair loss can also be genetic or hormonal (example: menopause).

Shampoos have ingredients that can irritate the skin/ scalp in some people and that can be an issue, but it is not the main cause in terms of hair loss. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and its likes are just detergents that wash way dirt in the most basic sense. Some believe these chemicals may be too harsh and there are other alternative (more expensive) shampoos that do not contain such chemicals. If you believe your shampoo has something to do with hair loss then it is rather easy to change your shampoo over reading through blog posts and conflicting Internet information.

In general, if you have the genes for hair loss (male pattern hair loss) washing your hair with or without the Sodium Lauryl Sulfate as it’s ingredient will likely not be a factor. There is, however, a multi-billion dollar industry that will try to convince you otherwise.