How do I chelate?

[Bagginslover]

I have clarified, I have added moisture, I have added protien, I've hennaed (that might have been a bad thing....but it needed it). Before I trim off my horrid feeling ends, I want to chelate, but I don't know how! I live in a very hard water area, and we don't have a shower filter (I've asked for one, but boyf doen't think we need it....)

Help me please!

[ErinLeigh]

Itely makes a nice sulfate free clarify/chelate shampoo. You wash and leave in on about 3 minutes then rinse. Joico also makes a good chelator. Do a google search for chelating shampoo and one that is sold in your area should come up.

If you have hard water you can try adding lemon, lime, citric acid or vinegar rinses to keep the mineral buildup to a minimum. I do them about once a week and do notice effect.
These things have helped me personally although I am sure someone will have a better answer.
I hope you find answers that can help because I know how frustrating hard water can be. It wreaks havoc on my color :(

Another thing..if you have a water filer on outside of fridge you can fill a jug with that and rinse. I also sometimes use bottled water for final rinse. Little things add up.

[Johannah]

Some threads I found that might help you a bit:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=55001

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=111192

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=65502

[Kherome]

I prefer L'anza's chelating shampoo, as it's very gentle yet effective.

[Bagginslover]

Wow those shampoos are expensive! I had no idea!!
I see club soda mentioned a lot in those thread though.....what IS club soda? Do we have it in the UK?
I might see if I can find a cheap swimmers shampoo, as that seems to be the same thing too.

Thanks all, very helpful :)

[cathair]

Club soda is just carbonated water I believe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonated_water

I thought swimming shampoo is chelating too? It's probably a cheaper and much more widely available option in the UK. I have some Loreal kids swimming shampoo for this purpose from Poundland, which is super sulphatey. ETA: I saw some other kids swimming shampoo in Savers for £2, I thought it was sulphate free, but it isn't. Much lower down the ingredients list though.

The only non-kids swimming shampoo I have found was in Boots and seems to get rubbish reviews since they reformulated it and is much more expensive. I don't imagine that there is much difference between kids and adults though!

[renia22]

Here are some articles on chelating that may be helpful:

http://m.wisegeek.com/what-is-chelating-shampoo.htm
http://thebeautybrains.com/2008/03/10/clarifying-chelating-and-neutralizing-shampoos/

Ultra swim, Paul Mitchell shampoo 3, nioxin clarifying cleaner are all also marketed to chelate & remove minerals, but if you can find Finesse volumizing shampoo, that one contains tetrasodium EDTA and is much cheaper (I get it from drugstore.com)

[Bagginslover]

I don't mind sulphates in a shampoo I'll be using infreqently, so I'll see if I can find the l'oreal kids one, we do have a Savers in town too, so I'll peek in there too. Thanks! :)

[sourgrl]

You're looking for a shampoo with Disodium EDTA, Tetrasodium EDTA, or Sodium Citrate (also called Trisodium Citrate), the most common is the EDTA. Any swimmers shampoo should do the trick. I use Joico as it clarifies and chelates. Per the instructions, I wash my hair and let it sit while I do my other shower things, rinse, and condition.

[cathair]

There is a small discussion about swimming shampoo over here, might be worth keeping an eye on too:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=1474&page=55#post2635518

One of these days I will be able to get all the facts to stick in my head at the same time! :)

[Anje]

If you've got a Sally near you, they sell these cute little packets (http://www.sallybeauty.com/clarifying-treatment/SBS-302208,default,pd.html) that have chelating ingredients in them. I picked up a few of them; hopefully I remember where I put them when I decide I need another treatment.

ETA: Realistically, vitamin C will chelate pretty well, as will citric acid. Occasional use of that should take care of most of what ails you.

[Firefox7275]

EDTA has more than one tunction in formulation, its mere presence does not make for a chelating product. Most will have two chelating agents and they must be at the right concentration.

[Panth]

If you want a chelating shampoo that's easy to get hold of in the UK, try Pantene Clarifying. Yes, it says clarifying on it not chelating ... but it takes the limescale completely off my sink whenever I use it to handwash laundry and I presume it does the same with my hair.

Otherwise, just get anything that says 'chelating' on it, or anything that says 'swimmers' shampoo' on it.

Club soda is carbonated water, but I'm not sure it's that effective on limescale-based mineral build-up. It was originally touted on the LHC for chelating chlorine build-up from swimming in pools, not for hard water.

[renia22]

If you want a chelating shampoo that's easy to get hold of in the UK, try Pantene Clarifying. Yes, it says clarifying on it not chelating ... but it takes the limescale completely off my sink whenever I use it to handwash laundry and I presume it does the same with my hair.

Otherwise, just get anything that says 'chelating' on it, or anything that says 'swimmers' shampoo' on it.

Club soda is carbonated water, but I'm not sure it's that effective on limescale-based mineral build-up. It was originally touted on the LHC for chelating chlorine build-up from swimming in pools, not for hard water.

Panth- when you bought the Pantene shampoo, was it clear? I saw it's been popping up at discount stores. So I checked online, and sure enough, it now contains dimethicone, which I don't think it did before, and it's now called "Truly Natural Clarifying shampoo". WTH??

[ErinLeigh]

I felt the same way "WTF" when I saw my Pureology clarify/chelate shampoo had cones.
It made me upset. That is a very expensive shampoo. My bf bought it for me and I was excited until I used it and then read the label. It was super drying and the others I have were not.
I have used the brand ultra swim shampoo for years with success and it does not dry my hair out at all. I really like it actually.

[renia22]

I felt the same way "WTF" when I saw my Pureology clarify/chelate shampoo had cones.
It made me upset. That is a very expensive shampoo. My bf bought it for me and I was excited until I used it and then read the label. It was super drying and the others I have were not.
I have used the brand ultra swim shampoo for years with success and it does not dry my hair out at all. I really like it actually.

Ugh, don't you hate that? Not sure if I hate it more when they mess with formulas, or discontinue products altogether. The Nioxin (chelating) clarifying cleanser that I now have & love has been discontinued, as has the Bath & Body Works shampoo & conditioner that I really like. Luckily I stockpiled 10 of each shampoo/ conditioner of the Bath & Body Works. Ultra Swim sounds good, I hear so many positive things about it. Haven't used it in years, but plan on getting some eventually when I use up Nioxin. What does it smell like? Do you use the matching conditioner?

[Panth]

Panth- when you bought the Pantene shampoo, was it clear? I saw it's been popping up at discount stores. So I checked online, and sure enough, it now contains dimethicone, which I don't think it did before, and it's now called "Truly Natural Clarifying shampoo". WTH??

Yes, clear shampoo in a clear bottle with a two-tone blue label. It says "Classic clarifying shampoo" and there is no dimethicone.

(Who the hell puts dimethicone in a clarifying shampoo!?)

[Bagginslover]

No Sally's here, according to their website (I'm UK) :( We miss out on lots of great stuff.

I'm going into town today, so I will definitely look for swimmers shampoo, thats going to be the easiest to find I think :)

[renia22]

Yes, clear shampoo in a clear bottle with a two-tone blue label. It says "Classic clarifying shampoo" and there is no dimethicone.

(Who the hell puts dimethicone in a clarifying shampoo!?)

I know!! Well I just checked the website, and it is in fact now called "truly natural clarifying shampoo" and these are the ingredients:

Water
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Sodium Laureth Sulfate
Sodium Chloride
Glycol Distearate
Laureth 4
Sodium Citrate
Sodium Xylenesulfonate
Fragrance
Dimethicone
Citric Acid
Sodium Benzoate
Tetrasodium EDTA
Polyquaternium 6
Panthenol
Panthenyl Ethyl Ether
Methylchloroisothiazolinone
Methylisothiazolinone

*why* do companies do that? You are right, if it contains dimethicone, it's not clarifying. Grrrrr...

[MeganE]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but I used Paul Mitchell Shampoo Three which has EDTA in it. I used it about three times the first week I ever chelated, and then once a month, and I haven't had to use it for.... over a year now. At least, I ran out and haven't needed to buy any more. But I always rinse with vinegar and distilled water to prevent new-build-up.

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/paul-mitchell-shampoo-three

ETA: Chelating was seriously THE THING for my hair. If I'd known about this twenty years ago, my hair would be as long as Rapunzel's right now. I always wanted it ridiculously long, it was always covered with mineral build up, which always made it tangly and horrible past BSL no matter how much I cared for it.

And for the knowledge of my secret weapon I thank TLHC. :) (Even if I do smell like vinegar all the time and have to buy gallons of distilled water at every grocery trip now, lmao).

[schnibbles]

I recently bought a bottle of Paul Mitchell 3 (I found it at the grocery store) and used it one time. Unfortunately, it made my scalp freak out. Maybe it's too harsh for me or something... could I try using it on my length and keep it away from my scalp, or is that a dumb idea? I hate to be stuck with a whole bottle that I can't use. I wish I would have gotten those little packets that Anje posted about from Sally's instead.. :shake:

[MeganE]

I recently bought a bottle of Paul Mitchell 3 (I found it at the grocery store) and used it one time. Unfortunately, it made my scalp freak out. Maybe it's too harsh for me or something... could I try using it on my length and keep it away from my scalp, or is that a dumb idea? I hate to be stuck with a whole bottle that I can't use. I wish I would have gotten those little packets that Anje posted about from Sally's instead.. :shake:

Freak out how, what happened?