What Does Fortifying Shampoo Mean? Is it Good for Hair? [Top 5 Picks]
Do you suffer from hair fall and shedding? Does your hair lack the healthy natural sheen that you crave? Your hair might be fragile and lacking protein, making it vulnerable and causing breakage.
There might be an easy solution to all of these! Add a fortifying shampoo to your regular hair care routine. But finding that one fortifying shampoo to solve your haircare problems is quite tedious.
Not all shampoos are equal nor are all of them suit for everyone. But more often, we do not undertake the necessary research to find the best shampoo for each of us.
That is why we have done all the trials and errors for you, to save your precious time. Read on to get more help choosing the best fortifying shampoo for you.
What does fortifying shampoo mean?
As the name indicates, fortifying shampoo aims to strengthen your hair follicles with proteins, vitamins, and other supplements.
It is a supplement to your regular shampoo, that cleans your hair, roots, and scalp. It moisturizes The hair from the root to the ends. It also leaves your hair soft, voluminous, and easily manageable.
If your hair had undergone a chemical treatment like relaxing or bleaching, you definitely need to add a fortifying shampoo to revitalize your hair back to its natural state of health.
Is fortifying shampoo good for hair?
Hair thinning and loss is quite a common concern among both men and women. While a human being sheds 50 to 150 hair strands each day, abnormal shedding of hair can be quite concerning and scary.
And there can be various reasons for such abnormal hair fall, one of the main reasons can be that your blog is fragile and weak, especially if it was a sudden onset. A fortifying shampoo can be a lifesaver in such cases.
1. Provide nutrients and supplements
The main role of a fortifying shampoo is to act as a hair supplement to strengthen and keep your hair healthy. Depending on the nature of the supplement, a fortifying shampoo can promote hair growth, add shine and gloss to your hair or reduce hair loss and breakage.
2. Cleans and refreshes
A fortifying shampoo gently cleanses your hair strands, root, and scalp without stripping off the natural moisture. It removes the dirt, oil, product build-up, and dead skin cells, and leaves your hair refreshed and clean.
3. Moisturizes from within
A fortifying shampoo helps to coat your hair strands from root to tip with protein and thereby sealing your cuticles. This helps in retaining the moisture and nutrients within.
4. Revitalizes colored or bleached hair
Chemical treatments like coloring, relaxing or bleaching weaken your hair follicles and make them fragile and vulnerable. A fortifying shampoo can help in revitalizing and rejuvenating the weakened hair and help to prevent hair fall and hair breakages.
5. Tame your frizz and manage your hair
Some fortifying shampoos have conditioning ingredients in them which help you to tame that pesky frizz and flyways as well. This can help you to manage your hair easily on a daily basis.
How often should you use fortifying shampoo?
As mentioned earlier, a fortifying shampoo is essentially a hair supplement and thus they are not usually your regular cleaning shampoos. They can be used once a week to revitalize your hair roots and follicles. But use your regular shampoo on the other days.
Using some fortifying shampoos during every wash might lead to quick product build-up as they can be quite thick and strong.
Everyone’s hair might react differently, so listen to your hair and scalp. Use the fortifying shampoo based on your hair requirements.
If your hair looks lifeless and sheds more than usual, it is time to wash using a fortified shampoo. If your hair is highly porous, then a fortifying shampoo with keratin will be better suited to wash once in two weeks.
Low porosity hair requires more moisture, so use a fortifying shampoo that focuses on that, at least once a week.
Chemical-treated hair will benefit from washing at least once a week, alternating with your regular shampoo. Bleached hair can use a fortifying shampoo with protein supplements once a week too.
But watch out if you have dry hair or scalp as some of these fortifying shampoos can strip off the natural moisture. So ensure you use a conditioning shampoo or a conditioner without fail, especially after a wash with a fortifying shampoo.
Top 5 fortifying Shampoos for your hair
Here are our top five picks for the best fortifying shampoos for hair growth and reducing breakage.
1. Garnier Fructis Grow Strong Shampoo
This apple-scented fortifying shampoo from Garnier Fructis has Active fruit proteins, namely vitamins B3 and B6, and fruit and plant-derived proteins.
The shampoo strengthens the fragile roots that lack natural keratin.
It uses apple extract to boost hair growth with its enriching polyphenols and antioxidants.
The Garnier Fructis Grow Strong Shampoo has ceramides that leave the hair shinier even after the usual chemical and heat damage.
This shampoo also gently cleans the root and scalp leaving the hair immediately refreshed and visibly shinier.
Pros:
- Affordable price tag and value for money.
- Mild and pleasant smell that doesn’t cause irritation.
- It is a cruelty free product and you are guilt free.
Cons:
- Not Sulfate free.
2. KERASTASE, Genesis Bain Nutri Fortifiant Shampoo
The salon favorite brand Kérastase comes in highly recommended by various stylists who regularly suggest it to their clientele as a hair fall control measure.
The shampoo has ginger roots that stimulate new hair growth, edelweiss native cells that acts as an anti-aging product, and arginine that has an amino acid that strengthens the hair and reduces breakage.
The shampoo clarifies gently and reinforces fiber nutrients that reduce the risk of hair fall due to breakage. No more greasy feeling just after your hair wash, thanks to the caffeine particles that leaves a clean and fresh feeling as well as boost the hair follicles.
Pros:
- Visible reduction of hair breakage and fall with regular usage.
- Leaves hair shiny and gloss right after the first use.
- Pleasant smell that makes you feel like you just stepped out of the salon
Cons:
- High price tag.
3. Maui Moisture Fortifying + Hemp Seed Oil Hydrating Vegan Shampoo for Dry Hair
While most hair care products have deionized water as the primary ingredient, this line from Maui has aloe extracts as the first ingredients.
This makes sure your moisture-thirsty hair stays hydrated for a longer time.
The shampoo is light and doesn’t weigh heavy on your fine, delicate hair.
The Maui Moisture Fortifying shampoo has a unique blend of aloe vera, pure coconut water, and lush hemp seed oil that will ensure your dry hair quenches its thirst and stays soft and delicate as it should be.
Pros:
- Perfect for dry, brittle hair.
- Doesn’t weigh down fine, delicate hair.
- The entire line is 100% vegan and sulfate and paraben free.
Cons:
- Might seem a little lighter for coarse dense hair.
4. Aromatica B5+Biotin Fortifying Shampoo
Specially marketed for brittle and fine hair, B5+Biotin Fortifying Shampoo provides nutrition to scalp and hair follicles with a unique blend of vitamins.
Vitamin B5 also called pantothenic acid and Vitamin B7 (Biotin) are essential for hair growth and health.
They also strengthen the protein connection between the root and scalp, thus reducing hair fall and shedding.
Pro-vitamin B5 (Panthenol), another key ingredient, coats the hair strands and locks in natural moisture inside them, thus giving natural gloss and shine to your dull hair.
Pros:
- The shampoo has Vitamin B5 and Biotin to strengthen roots and follicles and reduces hair fall.
- It also locks in natural moisture and gives a natural sheen to the hair.
- The brand is 100% Vegan and Cruelty free
- The shampoo is Sulfate and Silicone free thus retains more moisture and oil.
Cons:
- Has a mild aroma to the product, which might cause irritation to a few.
5. Carol’s Daughter Goddess Strength Sulfate Free Shampoo for Curly Hair
Considered as one of the holy grail brands among the curly hair community, Carol’s daughter has come out with the fortifying line.
The Goddess Strength line stars ginger, castor oil, and black cumin seed as its ingredients.
The castor oil and ginger strengthen weak and brittle hair and reduce breakage up to 94% with a few uses.
The shampoo is completely sulfate and paraben-free and thus doesn’t strip off any natural moisture from your hair.
The castor oil and black cumin seed Oil ensure the hair is slippery and smooth to detangle without much hair loss during the process.
Pros:
- Strengthens weak hair visibly within a few uses.
- Perfect for curly, coiled, and wavy hairs
- The shampoo is sulfate and paraben free
- Doesn’t strip off the natural oil from the hair.
Cons:
- Might seem too heavy for low porosity hair type
