What Happens if you Leave Shampoo in your Hair for Too Long?

There are a lot of reasons why people may leave shampoo in their hair for a while when in a shower.

The reasons depend upon the individual using a shampoo, but generally speaking some of the reasons are listed below:

1. The shampoo feels good on the person’s scalp and they leave it on longer as a result.
2. Sometimes people find it entertaining to get a ton of lather whipped up and then apply it to their hair and use their hands or fingers to play with it.
3. The shampoo has a lovely aroma and the person enjoys inhaling it.
4. It’s a color depositing shampoo and the person using it has the opinion that the longer you leave the shampoo on your hair, the better.
5. The shampoo is designed to treat dandruff or some other scalp issue and it’s suggested to leave the product on the scalp for a specific amount of time to achieve the best results.
6. Shampoos which are advertised to add volume or trigger hair growth or some other benefit (other than removing dirt, oils and/or grime) is thought to work better when left on the hair.
7. Sometimes people get distracted in the shower. They apply the shampoo and then use their loofah or shave or engage in other shower activities and they delay rinsing their shampoo off.
8. They have a misunderstanding about the damages which full strength shampoo left on the scalp and hair may cause over an extended period of time and discount that information.

Personally I use the bare minimum of sulfate, no/low chemical shampoo on my own hair. I also dilute a small amount of the shampoo I use with a lot of water to minimize the impact.

Even then, I might dilute it or use just enough to remove any dirt or toxins from my scalp, follicles and hair.

That’s just me and what I believe is best for my scalp as well as my hair. Not everyone agrees with me.

Regardless, I do believe that leaving shampoo on the head for too long, whether it’s sulfate free or not, will have less then positive results.

Personally I don’t really buy into the concept of shampoo products which are designed to do anything but remove the dirt, oil, toxins or other build-up on the scalp or throughout the hair.

Of course everyone may have their own reasons for doing a wide ranges of things with their shampoo products and cycles, but if they asked my opinion, I would recommend:

1. Use only the very best shampoo possible for the hair type, texture and condition
2. Only use the appropriate amount of shampoo they need to effectively cleanse the hair
3. Rinse it from the scalp and hair immediately once they are finished with the cleansing cycle

Best wishes to all.