Shampoo info
I have received a report from a list member who has found that using a
shampoo with CAPB and IPBC (cocamidopropyl betaine and iodopropynyl
butylcarbamate), when followed with aloe vera gel as conditioner, has
been quite helpful with pulling, even while reading at night.
Since I had also had a similar experience--there is something in such
shampoos that just seem to make the skin feel good--I thought I'd pass
it on and encourage others to try. This should be a bit more popular
than asking people to diet. You got to wash your hair, anyway, right?
If you don't want to spend your time reading lables, then here is what
to look for: use either White Rain Classic Care Extra Body (my
personal favorite) or Clairol Herbal Essences Extra Body, both of
which are inexpensive. There are a lot of special shampoos made for
salons that would do, too; check their labels and pay the premium. If
you want extra super power, go for one that also has EODG
(ethoxydiglycol) in it, like the White Rain Classic Care Extra Body
does. That really does seem to give it an extra edge, and not just
for the extra body that it is put in there for.
For the chemically inclined: there is some evidence that CAPB is
antibacterial, that IPBC is antifungal, and that EODB is a penetration
enhancer. But maybe the magic is that all these compounds are four
letter words!
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People who have found certain soaps and/or detergents useful for TTM
often find that longer contact of those agents with the scalp is
better. The shampoos that people are sending good reports on have an
antifungal in them. The longer it sits the more time it has to
penetrate and get to work, although no one I know of has tried to
measure what is the best amount of time to let it sit..
I have found out two more things about IPBC, the antifungal that is
added to White Rain and Herbal Essences shampoos. (1) It is found
more likely in those shampoos that add a lot of plant and/or animal
extracts to them. One of the problems with adding such organic
materials is that fungi like to grow in and on them. In particular,
it looks like Herbal Essences uses IPCB because of the plant juices it
adds to the detergent. (2) IPBC is also found in Toppik, the shake-on
hair thickener some TTMers use. The reason for this is that Toppik is
actually made of tiny pieces of ground-up hair and/or nails (keratin),
and some fungi like to grow on that natural animal product, too. I
don't know if using Toppic has the same side benefit of using an IPBC
shampoo, but it does stay in contact with scalp for much longer (all
day, basically), so it might have time to work even though its not a
liquid.