How to choose the right MONAT shampoo for your scalp

To choose the right MONAT shampoo, start with your scalp: that is where you lather it, and your lengths only get the foam as you rinse. To find out which MONAT shampoo suits you, look at your parting the morning after your next wash, run your fingertips over it and find the matching line below. You get a first indication after three or four washes: it suits you if your roots stay fresh for at least as long as before and your scalp does not feel tight once it is dry.

Pick the conditioner afterwards for your lengths, and it does not have to come from the same line. Every system with its conditioner, serum and mask, plus its limits, is laid out in all MONAT hair systems compared.

The day-after test: which scalp type do you have?

Wash in the evening as usual, but with no dry shampoo and no styling products at the roots. The next morning, draw a parting with a comb and look at it in daylight.

Build-up is the coating of styling residue, dry shampoo, leftover conditioner and limescale from tap water that settles on your roots and scalp over the weeks. It weighs hair down even though you have just washed it.

If the fifth line fits you, cosmetics will not get you any further. Yellowish, firmly attached flakes on reddened skin, weeping patches or itching that carries on after two weeks of mild washing belong with a dermatologist, because seborrhoeic dermatitis or psoriasis can be behind them. There are medicated shampoos from the pharmacy for this, and she will tell you which one fits. You can tell a dry scalp from dandruff by the colour of the flakes and how firmly they stick.

If your scalp has only itched since you switched products, fragrance, essential oils or preservatives are possible triggers. Go back to the routine your scalp tolerated and add new products later, one at a time; how you handle an itchy scalp after a new shampoo depends on how strong the itch is.

Do two lines fit you, say a shiny parting and tight patches at the back of your head? The free hair analysis asks about your scalp and your lengths separately and suggests a base shampoo.

Fine, medium or coarse: your hair thickness in ten seconds

Your scalp tells you how thoroughly the shampoo should cleanse. Your hair thickness tells you how much conditioning it can carry. This means the diameter of a single hair. How densely your hair grows plays no part here.

Lay a shed hair from your brush on a sheet of paper, white if your hair is dark, dark if it is blonde or grey. If you only see it when you lean in close, it is fine. If you can make it out at arm's length as a clear line, it is medium. If it looks like a pencil stroke and feels almost wiry between your thumb and forefinger, it is coarse.

How to choose the right shampoo for your scalp and hair thickness

Find the row for your scalp and read the column for your hair thickness. With medium hair, weight decides: if it collapses quickly, take the left column, otherwise the right one.

If your roots get oily and your ends are still dry, stick with the lighter shampoo. Your ends are looked after by the conditioner, which you work in from ear level down.

The Purifying Vinegar Shampoo replaces one normal wash every one to two weeks. In between, you wash with your base. With very dry, coloured or stressed hair, clarify less often and use the conditioner more generously in your lengths afterwards. How you set up the clarifying wash with vinegar shampoo and vinegar rinse depends on how much styling product you use.

Scalp Comfort™ goes on top of your shampoo. Apply the Rebalancing Scalp Treatment after washing to towel-dried scalp in four or five partings, massage it in for a minute and leave it on. Start with two to three applications a week. If your scalp feels tight and your roots still get oily quickly, choose one direction first and watch it for four weeks. Whether you need soothing or clarifying scalp care comes down to whichever of the two feelings is stronger.

When your scalp is calm, your lengths decide

With a balanced scalp, pick the shampoo for whatever bothers you about your lengths every day. Go down the list from the top and take the first match.

• If your hair snaps when you comb it or frays after bleach, colour or straighteners, take the Bond IQ™ Fortifying Shampoo. Split ends that are already there only come off with scissors.
• If your hair looks thinner overall than a year ago, with a wider parting or a slimmer ponytail, the IR Clinical™ Thickening Shampoo fits, at any hair thickness. If your hair suddenly falls out in clumps or you see bald patches, see a dermatologist first, because iron deficiency, hormones or a skin condition can be behind it.
• If your hair frizzes in damp weather and you wear it straight, take the Smoothing Anti-Frizz™ Shampoo.
• If your lengths feel rough after washing, take Advanced Hydration for fine to medium hair and Renew™ for medium to coarse hair. Where the line between the two moisture shampoos falls is decided by the diameter.
• If you wear your hair short and want one product instead of two, MONAT Black™ is designed as a two-in-one shampoo and conditioner.
• For children's hair, MONAT has the Junior™ Gentle Shampoo, and the age guidance is on the label.

How much shampoo you need, and how to apply it

MONAT shampoos are concentrated, so start with less than you are used to from a supermarket shampoo. The amounts below are starting points for hair of normal density; if the label says something different, follow the label.

Step 1 — Soak. Hold your head under lukewarm water for a minute until your hair is wet right down to the scalp. Shampoo lathers poorly on dry patches, and then you reach for more than you need.

Step 2 — Lather and work in. For chin-length hair a hazelnut-sized amount is enough, for shoulder-length hair a walnut-sized one. Chest-length hair barely needs more, because the shampoo goes on your scalp: split the walnut-sized amount into two portions, one for the crown and one for the back of your head and the nape. With very thick hair, go up one size. Rub the shampoo between your hands and massage it into your scalp with your fingertips for a minute, letting your lengths hang.

Step 3 — Rinse. Keep rinsing until no more foam comes through your fingers. The foam runs through your lengths and cleans them as it goes. You only need a second round with very oily roots or after a lot of styling, and it lathers far better than the first.

If your roots feel stringy once dry, you used too little shampoo or rinsed too briefly. If your scalp feels tight afterwards, use a smaller amount next time. After four weeks, which at two to three washes a week means eight to twelve uses, you will know whether the shampoo suits your scalp.

Shampoo mistakes and how to correct them

• Shampoo chosen for the problem in your ends although your roots get oily → choose for your scalp first, the conditioner looks after your lengths.
• The rich Renew™ Shampoo on fine hair → Advanced Hydration or Revive™.
• The vinegar shampoo at every wash → every one to two weeks, with your base in between.
• Clarifying a red or burning scalp → calm it first, and clarify only on settled skin.
• Shampoo straight from the bottle onto your parting → lather it in your hands first, then spread it.
• Switching after two washes → test for four weeks, and switch sooner only if your scalp itches or burns.

Dryness

Core routine

• ADVANCED HYDRATING SYSTEM
• RENEW™ HYDRATING SYSTEM

Volume for fine hair

Core routine

• REVIVE™ VOLUMIZING SYSTEM

Damage & breakage

Core routine

• Monat Bond IQ Fortifying Shampoo

Thinning-looking hair

Core routine

• IR CLINICAL™ SYSTEM

Oily scalp / build-up

Core routine

• SCALP CARE SYSTEM

Frizz & smoothing

Core routine

• SMOOTHING ANTI-FRIZZ™ SHAMPOO

Right away

Right after the first well-suited wash, hair feels cleaner and combs more easily.

With continued use

With regular use of the shampoo matched to your goal, its particular focus shows over a few weeks; more moisture, body or suppleness.

What it can't do

A shampoo alone doesn't solve a medical scalp or hair problem and doesn't replace targeted care or medical assessment where needed.

Quick questions

Can I use a MONAT shampoo every day?

Yes, if your roots get oily every day. Use the smallest amount for your hair length and leave out the conditioner on days when your lengths still feel soft. Even then, the vinegar shampoo stays at one wash every one to two weeks.

Is there a MONAT shampoo for dandruff?

No, none of the shampoos in this finder contains an anti-dandruff active ingredient. For dry, white flakes, choose a moisturising shampoo with Scalp Comfort™. For greasy, yellowish flakes you need an anti-dandruff shampoo from the pharmacy or a dermatologist's advice.

Which MONAT shampoo should men use?

Whichever suits their scalp and hair thickness, using the same table as above. MONAT Black™ is designed for short hair where one product should be enough, and it works just as well for women with short hair.

Can I combine a shampoo and conditioner from different lines?

Yes. The shampoo follows your scalp and the conditioner follows your lengths, for example Revive™ for oily roots and the Advanced Hydration Conditioner for dry ends. Still, start with one pair and swap only one product after four weeks, so you can see what makes the difference.

What do I do if my scalp changes with the seasons?

Keep your base and adjust the add-on. If your scalp feels tight while the heating is on, add Scalp Comfort™; if your roots get oily faster in summer, clarify every seven days instead of every fourteen.

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Not sure whether your hair is fine or medium? The free hair analysis asks about your hair thickness and scalp and suggests a shampoo to match.