Understanding your hair’s pH level is important for proper hair care. During the changing seasons our hair can sometimes take a while to adjust to the change in temperatures, but it can also take some time to adjust to the new products we are using on our hair.

Sometimes the products we have been using on our hair for months no longer work and our hair either becomes too dry or too oily. It can sometimes be very difficult to find the right balance. But if you want to learn how to restore your hair’s natural pH level, its really quite a simple process once you understand your hair. The natural oil that our hair secretes is a natural oil called sebum. Sebum maintains the moisture and balance in our hair. The hairs natural pH balance is between 4.5 and 5.5 scale. But what is most important is that we understand how to measure our hair’s level of Alkaline or Acid. The scale is from 0 (strongly Acidic) to 14 (Strongly Alkaline). Having a level of 7 represents neutrality.

In order to understand what products you should be purchasing, you need to understand what the right level is for you and your particular hair type. If you are using products that have a high pH level, than you are stripping your hair of its natural essential oil. In this case our hair becomes much too dry, making it prone to breakage and further damage.

The key to healthy hair is to understand the needs of your hair and taking the time to know what your hair really needs.

-Janice Johnson, founder of the Curly Hair Salon and editor of the Curly Hair Guide

P.S. Many hair care brands state the pH levels on their products – Davines and Abba to name a couple.