Question for those who are sulfate free

[Blissful337]

I went sulfate, and cone free, a little over a month ago just as an experiment to see how my hair behaved. My hair seemed to like it. I used to deal with slightly itchy scalp and frizzy-ish hair. I also started air drying only at that time. I use coconut oil in hair 1-2x a week for an overnight treatment. I decided to do a wash with a sulfate shampoo about a week ago. I figured it might be good to do a sulfate shampoo once a month to clarify. Well for me I think it was a huge mistake. My scalp was really itchy for 2 days straight and my hair looked frizzy and I had tons of fly aways. So my question is do you ever clarify with sulfate shampoo? Will coconut oil build up in my hair? The shampoo and conditioner I use have proteins in them. Will the proteins ever build up? Do I need to worry about clarifying? Should I just continue with the routine my hair likes and never clarify?

[Adorkable One]

I clarify with a sulfate shampoo. Surprisingly, it actually makes my hair feel good. Dry, certainly. I always condition after, and work in some oils or serums once my hair is dry. I don't think sulfates are always bad. It really just depends what your hair needs.

After swearing off any use of shampoo, or sulfates, when I started using one again, it turns out they actually do my hair a lot of good. I still only clarify about once a month though, if not longer. However, I have yet to use shampoo since coloring my hair because I dread it fading my color. Lol.

[Decoy24601]

I'm not sulfate free, but have you tried diluting your shampoo? It could be that it's just very strong. I have one shampoo with SLS that I used to clarify (it's solid) and another one that is very watery right out of the bottle that is a lot gentler on my hair, even though it has SLS as well. It's gentle enough that if my hair has too much buildup it doesn't cut through it all.

[Adorkable One]

If you're wanting a recommendation, I use the "Biolage Normalizing Cleanreset Shampoo." I picked it up spontaneously at Walmart, because it was the only cleansing one I found. It's great. It's the only shampoo that feels soft in my hair. Other normal shampoos just tangle my hair and make it feel like a brillo pad. So for a clarifying shampoo to be so gentle, is pretty surprising.

[poli]

I don't usually need to clarify. The sulfate free shampoo I'm using seems to be enough for my hair, but I wash the whole length 2-3 times a week.
This might be different for others since we all live in different climate and have different tap water, so just find something that works for you :)

[lapushka]

Maybe space out the time you need to clarify. Like say, do it every month, or every 6 weeks. That should be enough. I tend to switch up my shampoos. Not right now as I'm trying to use up old shampoos that I had lying around still (backstash), but normally I tend to like to switch it up (and I do use sulfates). What one shampoo can't do, another sometimes can. If you know you have a sulfate-free shampoo that is high in protein. I would switch it up with one that does not have them.

What shampoo are you using? I believe someone on here was looking for a good sulfate-free non silicone shampoo. Always nice to hear recs.

[Blissful337]

If you're wanting a recommendation, I use the "Biolage Normalizing Cleanreset Shampoo." I picked it up spontaneously at Walmart, because it was the only cleansing one I found. It's great. It's the only shampoo that feels soft in my hair. Other normal shampoos just tangle my hair and make it feel like a brillo pad. So for a clarifying shampoo to be so gentle, is pretty surprising.
Thank you for the recommendation. I may check that one out!

[Blissful337]

What shampoo are you using? I believe someone on here was looking for a good sulfate-free non silicone shampoo. Always nice to hear recs.

I am currently using Honest Co. Shampoo and Conditioner. It's the nourishing apricot one. They have a gentle orange vanilla one and a calming lavender one too. I haven't tried their other two but I am really loving the apricot one. I'm so scared of trying different shampoos lol. This is the first shampoo/conditioner combination I found that leaves my hair the least frizzy and the most soft. I don't need to use any leave ins or product with it and I think my hair looks great when it air dries. Whenever I use commercial shampoos and conditioners I feel like I need to use anti frizz cream and/or blow dry the frizz out. I'm trying to stay committed to not using heat tools and being more gentle with my hair so that I can grow as long as I end up wanting it to grow. I've hated my hair for long enough!! I really want to star let embracing it and living it and taking care of it.

[Blissful337]

I know I mentioned it in another post but I'll disclose here too that I am currently 6 months pregnant so maybe this routine is working for me now but after the baby is born I could be on here looking for new routines. I've noticed that with this pregnancy my skin has been super dry so maybe I should avoid sulfate for the rest of the pregnancy and try again after. My skin could just be too sensitive right now with the hormones. Maybe I'll continue as is for the next 3 months, since it seems to be working, and after baby is born I'll see how my hair changes and responds to my current routine and possibly change it up then if need be.

After using that sulfate shampoo last week I had hated my hair so much for a few days that I considered chopping it off or going back to blow drying. I'm glad I didn't though. Now that it's been about a week since I used it my hair is starting to look and feel "normal" again. I also did a coconut oil treatment last night so now I feel like my hair is wonderful today! Lol. I have such a love/hate relationship with my hair.

[samanthaa]

I am sulfate- and cone-free, and my hair does indeed like protein so I regularly use a conditioner with protein. I do clarify with a sulfate shampoo but have been considering cutting it out, since my hair doesn't seem to get build up (I clarify more on principle than anything else). But clarifying just seems to dry out my hair. Maybe you could try skipping your clarifying wash until you actually start noticing build-up/a reason to clarify? That's what I'm going to do.

Not that sulfates make my hair frizzy or my scalp itchy or anything. It just makes my hair really, really dry. Last time I clarified I then applied my conditioner from roots to tip, in an attempt to get some moisture back in there.

I've never heard of protein building up but maybe that's just my own ignorance. I don't think you'll see build-up with coconut oil; what doesn't soak into your hair shaft should wash off well with your sulfate-free shampoo (conditioner is also good at removing oil).

[Mademoiselle]

I use shampoo without sulfate/silicone, but conditioner with silicone, and silicone / protein serum. Once or twice a month use H & S shampoo for deep cleaning.
This is my routine and has worked well for me 2 years.
Maybe your itching is due to rubbing your scalp too strong? if not so, I would try another sulfate shampoo for deep cleansing, maybe you're using something that takes irritate your scalp =/

[Andthetalltrees]

I've switched to using Diluted Dr, Bronners soap and vinegar rinses, Because I to had issues with itchy scalp days after washing with sulfates(Which came out of the blue because I've been using normal shampoo with no problem for years). And so far I don't feel the need to use oils or anything else because the vinegar rinses get rid of the soap residue, Make my hair softer and easy to detangle. But as I'm not even shoulder length yet that'll probably change. My hair doesn't seem to need clarifying often. Back when I did use to use Cone-y conditioners as a long hair, I never bothered clarifying really, And it was fine.

So I don't know if any of this helps you because it is what works for me. But maybe I can offer a perspective?

[Blissful337]

Thank you all for the input and suggestions. Will I know if there is build up in my hair? If so..what are the clues? I don't think I know how to tell if my hair needs to be clarified or not.
As far as scrubbing my scalp too hard.. I don't think it is that. I am very gentle on my scalp because I'm afraid of ripping my fine hair out so I treat it pretty gently lately.

Also the shampoo i used is one I have used many times in the past but it never made me as itchy as it did that last time I used it. I ended up giving it away to a friend because I hated how my hair felt so much afterwards that I never wanted to see that stuff again!! Lol

[lapushka]

I have no clue. I used to never clarify, just switch up my shampoo and call it a day. I do use sulfates, though. So sulfates are clarifying in and of itself. You don't actually need a specially clarifying shampoo (sulfates is enough).

Maybe you'll notice either by the state of the scalp or the ends (velcro-y, crunchy, sticky, build-uppy).

[sumidha]

I use non-sulfate shampoo and coney conditioner and coney leave in, I have no issues with build up. I think it's something that depends on your individual hair type, and the specific cleansers and cones you're using. I would say, wait until you actually experience build up to clarify, it's not set in stone that if you use cones you must clarify with a sulfate shampoo. :)

ETA: Sulfates caused my scalp to itch and feel tight and irritated, so I don't use them. There's plenty of shampoos out there that will cleanse your scalp without irritating it.

[lilin]

I went sulfate, and cone free, a little over a month ago just as an experiment to see how my hair behaved. My hair seemed to like it. I used to deal with slightly itchy scalp and frizzy-ish hair. I also started air drying only at that time. I use coconut oil in hair 1-2x a week for an overnight treatment. I decided to do a wash with a sulfate shampoo about a week ago. I figured it might be good to do a sulfate shampoo once a month to clarify. Well for me I think it was a huge mistake. My scalp was really itchy for 2 days straight and my hair looked frizzy and I had tons of fly aways. So my question is do you ever clarify with sulfate shampoo? Will coconut oil build up in my hair? The shampoo and conditioner I use have proteins in them. Will the proteins ever build up? Do I need to worry about clarifying? Should I just continue with the routine my hair likes and never clarify?

Which sulphate does it have? Do you have this issue with any sulfate, or one in particular? The various sulphates are quite different.

Your skin might be a bit sensitive to one of them, most likely SLS. That's fairly common.

My skin is VERY sensitive to SLS. I get cystic acne, and eventually, a rash on my jaw.

However, my skin can tolerate SLES fairly well. And there are clarifying shampoos that use only SLES, or some other more gentle anionic cleanser (which is the class SLS and SLES belong to). So take a look at the sulfate shampoo you have, and if it's SLS, try an SLES clarifying shampoo instead.

I live in a place with extremely hard water, and when I need to clarify, I use an SLES clarifying shampoo. However, I have noticed over time that I need to clarify less and less. Maybe only a handful of times a year, at this point. And this is despite me being CO, and occasionally using oils.

You might not need to clarify as much as you think. Go by the actual feel of your hair, not a pre-set schedule. For me, I know I need to clarify when my hair feels kind of "rough," and still seems to grab around my fingers a bit even when it's wet with conditioner in it.

As to your dry skin issues, yes, the more powerful end of the sulphate spectrum could be the issue. SLS is pretty much the strongest, and it's in a lot in body cleansing products. Any step down from that might help quite a bit, even if it's still in the sulphate class. But a nonionic cleanser is also worth trying.

[Blissful337]

Thank you. I believe it was SLS. It was KMS and I used to love KMS products. It was KMS moist repair shampoo. It has been recommended to me by a hair stylist and I had used it many times in the past. Just seems that since going sulfate free my scalp and hair responded very differently to it. I've never paid so much attention to my hair and shampoos and conditioners until recently. Lol I used to just use whatever was on sale or recommended to me. This hair health and care is so new to me but I appreciate all of the help and info that I am getting here on LHC!

[poli]

Thank you all for the input and suggestions. Will I know if there is build up in my hair? If so..what are the clues?

Good point. I think you will know, because hair will feel a little too coated. The conditioners, oils, serums we put in our hair they all supposed to protect but over time if your washing method is gentle, they might accumulate. So the sign of buildup might be - weight down, more coated hair, sometimes greasier or more straight, feeling dirty even right after washing etc.

[ExpectoPatronum]

I'm sulfate-free. I use a clarifying wash whenever my hair starts misbehaving and I can't pinpoint why. I do a clarifying wash and yeah, my hair will be a little more frizzy and flyaway-y than usual, but as soon as I go back to my normal routine, my hair is fine again. How often I have to do that varies. Sometimes I have to do it after a week, sometimes I can go a month or more without clarifying. Don't worry so much about how often you need to clarify and doing it regularly. Just do it when you feel like you need to :)

[ephemeri]

I'm sulfate and silicone free! I use Nature's Gate shampoo (currently the tea tree one) about once a week (and co-wash the other days, though that's being cut down from 5-6 days a week to 2-3). I don't know if it counts as 'clarifying' if it's a sulfate-free shampoo but I use it to make sure I'm not getting build up. Even though all of my products are water soluble (no silicones), I 'shouldn't' get build up but it just sort of happens. Probably a combination of natural scalp oil and just some product that didn't rinse out.

I think you'll know build up because your hair will be looking different/acting different. I know I need to use shampoo when my ends feel crunchy and dry as that usually means my styling products (usually the gel) has built up on the ends a bit. I think sometimes my hair will get kind of limp and dull also, indicating that it's time to shampoo.

[Blissful337]

I guess I'll just have to try to pay better attention to my hair to see when and if it gets buildup. I use zero products so I guess I probably wouldn't need to clarify very often if I do.

[Chromis]

I have not used any sulphates for years. If I notice my hair is behaving badly, I use an ACV/citric acid rinse and that fixes it right up. (I have very hard water, since getting a water softener I only need to do ACV)

[TatsuOni]

I haven't used cones or sulfates for over three years. I've never felt the need to clarify. My hair is feeling great without schampoo and I only wash it every other week. I've never gotten any build up from oil either.

[Zebra Fish]

I'm mostly sulfate and cone free. Not that I have any problems with them, but I get too much slip and found I like it better this way. I do use some cones in summer sometimes as I find them to give good protection from sea water and I do clarify every now and then. No schedule. Mostly I do it the last wash before I henna, but not every time (maybe once per 3 months?). And at the end of swimming season. I don't have problems with buildup or itchiness, so I can't help you there. But, if your hair doens't "ask" you to clarify, I wouldn't do it that often as every month. I sometimes go even 6-9 months before clarifying, coz there's no need. Then I want to henna and rememeber it's been a while, might do it for better dye uptake. So, it is really personaly.