Don't Forget to Clarify!

[jennescence]

I was having a terrible time with frizz. I deep conditioned and used serum so much , but nothing was working. So I set off to google determined to find out what was wrong with my hair before I chopped it all off. I came across an article that said if you use products like serum on your hair, it will begin to clog up your hair shaft, therefore not allowing any other products to do their jobs. I felt like a complete idiot. I thought I was too good for clarifying , that It was something I didnt have to do. Boy was I wrong. I hadn't clarified for almost a year. Day after day I would apply shine serum. So I suds My hair up about 3 times leaving each suds on for 5 minutes. After that I slapped on some deep conditioner and sat under my mastex heat cap for 2 hours. I rinsed with cold water and waited about 5 hours for my hair to dry. It was like a completely different head of hair. No velcro hair, no frizz. I realized what a dum dum I had been. Moral of the story? Don't forget to clarify.

[spirals]

I love my flax gel, but man, does it build up. Baking soda mixed with my Dr. Bronner's fixes it right up. I did it today, in fact, and yes, my hair feels like hair again.

[Mommyof4]

I clarified today. I took my hair out from my 12-hour night shift updo with my pretty new hair fork, and my ends literally felt like wool scrubbing pads. They were so awful, I wanted to cry! I instantly thought.. hmm... maybe it's the henna and conditioners and oils again lol...

So... I washed my hair in my dog's special shampoo... YES dog shampoo. It is very natural and has tea tree oil and orange oil and natural cleansers.. the ingredients were few and excellent for clarifying, and so I used it!

I then put a conditioning mask on my hair and left a little in when rinsing.

Hair back to normal :D

[jacqueline101]

I love clarifying I do that before I try anything else.

[spidermom]

I forget about clarifying, too. I'll get really frustrated with my hair and wonder what the hel is wrong with it, and clarifying is never my first thought. But when I get around to clarifying, it often sets my hair back to "normal".

[patienceneeded]

Same here! When my hair goes bonkers and nothing seems to help I'll clarify and everything gets better after that. Makes you wonder how many people cut their hair out of frustration over the condition when all that was needed was a good clarifying.

[Vanille_]

When I think of clarifying usually all I do is use the V05 clarifying shampoo and conditioner.. you know, the green bottles. Is that not enough? Do I need some heat mask and or some conditioning mask? What kind of conditioning mask?

[dwell_in_safety]

I make sure to clarify after every trim (every three months) whether I think my hair needs it or it. I just splurged on some cheating shampoo, too, and am gonna start doing that seasonally as well. I've lived in the Midwest, which has extremely hard water, since 2008 and have never chelated my hair in my life. I'm excited to do it soon!

Cheating shampoo is a splurge to me because I normally use suave products. Haha. The Joico shampoo was about $13, versus less than $1.

[heidi w.]

Vo5 products are full of protein, and not a good clarifying agent. Buy a shampoo that says clarify on or under the label. Or use baking soda plus 3 T of shampoo. Blend well, in a small bucket, and use that. It should not have any lumps in the cocncoction. Apply it like shampoo, all over the wetted head. Then when done applying, rinse it out. Then use your choice of conditioner to the hair length only. It can be done by leaning to one side or the other and never touch the head. Then rinse it out and dry per normal. You seem a little lost about clarifying, so I decided to help you. I've read a number of your posts about feeling depressed and such, and I hope this clarifying works for you. Clarifying treats what's on the hair, chelating treats from the inside of the hair at the cuticle level. I hope this helps you to feel a little bit more in control of yourself.
Don't do anything too wackadoo. ACV will not chelate nor clarify.
heidi w.

[heidi w.]

Start with clarifying. It'll probably take care of everything. Mix 3 T of Baking Soda with 3 T of shampoo; blend well; no lumps and apply to all of the hair. Rinse it out and conditiion the length only.
Chelating is a more advanced form of chelating; it works on the hair by de-binding whatever has been applied to the hair that simply will not come off. It works from inside the cuticle shaft.
Start with clarifying. Know what you're doing and why you're doing it. Don't guess around or you'll have guessing around hair.
heidi w.

[ravenreed]

I get build up from oils and herbal treatments... I try to clarify as soon as my ends feel dry and more tangly than normal. I know it seems counter-intuitive, but it works. To clarify, I take about two ounces of water, add a teaspoon of baking soda, and approximately two ounces of my regular shampoo. I shake it all up, and shampoo twice. I don't even deep condition or moisturize after. My ends always feel so soft and happy.

ETA: I always follow this with a conditioner and a fairly strong ACV rinse.

[kpzra]

When I think of clarifying usually all I do is use the V05 clarifying shampoo and conditioner.. you know, the green bottles. Is that not enough? Do I need some heat mask and or some conditioning mask? What kind of conditioning mask?

That one seems to be what a lot of us here use. It all depends on your preferences, but I use the V05 and it works great for me.

[cathair]

I still don't really understand what makes a shampoo clarifying. I ordered some 'detox' shampoo today which I hope will be clarifying, but I am not really sure. I can only actually find one shampoo in the shops at the moment that is actually marked 'clarifying' on the bottle.