Clarifying and Chelating, do I need them?

[Number 3]

I need to post some history and my hair routine first. I've been using baking soda and acv rinse for about 2-3 weeks then moved to shampoo bars with avc rinse. (since Feb or March 2014 can't remember) I henna about once or twice a month. I do a hot oil treatment twice a week (one is coconut oil and the other is either olive oil or sesame oil) I do at least once a month a moisturizing treatment (honey+olive oil with or with out yogurt) I know I oil a lot but I have frizzy hair. I also shampoo daily because I exercise.

[Madora]

I'd stay away from the baking soda. It can do a number on your hair if you're not very careful.

Instead, use a clarifying shampoo to clarify. Neutrogena Anti-Residue Clarifying shampoo has received good reviews here. Only clarify once a month and follow with a deep conditioning treatment afterwards.

Chelating is meant to remove mineral deposits if you have hard water.

[meteor]

I totally agree with Madora!

May I ask why you use baking soda and soap? They are alkaline and that's not ideal for hair (somewhat acidic). Generally, everything that throws off your ph balance too much is not going to be that great for hair.

If you really need to wash your hair daily due to exercise, have you tried dry shampoo or water-only rinses or scalp-only washes? It might give you that clean feeling without stripping your hair too much. Exercise doesn't necessarily need to be followed up with a full hair wash, and sweat is harmless.

[Number 3]

Thanks ladies.

I have dry hair and shampoo bar gave me my dream hair. I've never had bouncy hair until I switched to it. My hair feels well moisturized. Never going back to regular shampoo.
Low sls shampoos never helped, my hair wasn't happy with it.
I only used baking soda when I was switching and experimenting other options, I don't use it anymore.
I wash because of sweat not oil after exercise.
I don't like to sleep on my sheets with dirty sweaty hair.

I don't know if I do need to clarify or not, since I don't use any hair products such as gels and serums except organic oils from my kitchen.

[Anje]

In my opinion, clarifying and chelating are things you do when your hair starts to show signs that it has buildup. If your hair is being fantastic right now, keep doing what you're doing. You may find that you eventually need to do one of those, but if you don't have buildup, there's nothing for them to clean off. It's not a preventative-maintenance sort of thing.

[meteor]

I don't know if I do need to clarify or not, since I don't use any hair products such as gels and serums except organic oils from my kitchen.

Yes, usually we'd clarify when the hair "needs" it - i.e. when you see signs of build-up.
If you don't have any signs of build-up (for example, sticky, coated, dull, crispy, dry, etc hair), then why clarify?
Ideally, I recommend avoiding the whole "build-up/clarify cycle", so I think it's great that you don't need to use any styling hair products. :D



ETA: Yikes, I just saw that I basically repeated what Anje said above. :lol: Sorry guys, my Internet is pretty slow right now.

[Akville]

how do you know when to clarify? I use sls shampoo once a week and do little bit of co washing and leave in in between. Do my hair needs more clarifying? I've been reading about this stuff a lot lately .. and don't really get the problem? where all this buildup is coming from?

[animetor7]

how do you know when to clarify? I use sls shampoo once a week and do little bit of co washing and leave in in between. Do my hair needs more clarifying? I've been reading about this stuff a lot lately .. and don't really get the problem? where all this buildup is coming from?

You definitely don't need to be clarifying that often unless you're using lots of coney serums or something. I use shampoo bars and coconut oil and I clarify whenever my hair gets greasy more quickly than usual for a long period of time,the ends feel bad for a long time and are uncooperative, or my hair just generally doesn't feel like it normally does and feels more "heavy" than usual. This ends up being about every 2-3 months, but I also live in a region with hard water and so need to clarify more often. I also only ever clarify with a diluted SlS shampoo, the only time I'll use full strength SLS is if I've been swimming in a heavily chlorinated pool. I hope that helps!

[Number 3]

Thank everyone.
I just shampooed with a clarifying shampoo and my hair is a lot better. Maybe I need to do it every month or too because of the heavy oiling.