Dawn Dish Soap as Hair Care: Can I use Dawn on my Hair?

Dawn Dish Soap as hair care? I had never heard of that until a friend posed the Dawn question on Facebook yesterday.

Happy Hump Day! Woot Woot! Welcome to another Ask the Pro Stylist Q&A where I answer your beauty, hair and nail queries. Bizarrely, I awoke singing “It’s a Sunshine Day” and ready to tackle my crazy busy Wednesday, after a hectic Tuesday that did not afford me time to write. Today, a friend and former Beauty Culture classmate wanted to know if a small amount of Dawn Dish Soap can be used on her hair monthly to clarify it.

Ok Deirdre, I have a “hair” question for you. A few people have told me that once a month I should wash my hair with a teeny-tiny bit of Dawn Dish Detergent to get all of the hair care products out. I know I did the whole beauty culture thing in Sewanhaka, but I have never heard about this. (I never took my state board after we graduated)  Is this something you would recommend?

Thanks,  Maggie

Great question! I would say no. A clarifying shampoo is used before a Keratin or Brazilian treatment…and people have suggested using Dawn Dish Soap if out of said shampoo, but that is in a pinch, not for always. There are better products that clarify the hair without stripping, and dish detergent will not only strip the products, but also the hair color and whatever other chemical processes have been done.

I am a big advocate for the use of professional hair care and not pharmacy brand products and especially not dish detergent. As a matter of fact, I just did the dishes with Dawn, and my hands are screaming for cream. Imagine what it would do to the hair!

Now anything in moderation is not harmful and a “teeny-tiny bit of Dawn Dish Detergent” would probably not hurt, but there are better products to clarify the hair than the common household item. EWG has listed the ingredients and a few are allergens, as is many beauty products, but my point is use hair care for hair, and household products for the home.

I recommend IT&LY HAIRFASHION’s Chelating Shampoo formulated for color treated hair because it removes excess styling product buildup. For home hair care I would suggest using the beauty aid once a week, bi-weekly or monthly. Malibu C has a wide array of hair care treatments for various needs, which include clarifying the hair of hard water, chlorine and styling products, and is of course, healthier on the hair and scalp than Dawn Dish Soap.

If you have a hair care question similar to Maggie’s Dawn Dish Detergent dilemma, please email me at DeirdreAHaggerty@gmail.com. And don’t forget to like my Facebook page to enter the Hair Care Giveaway.

Happy Styling!