A question on clarifying(kind of long)

[allnaturalboy]

I feel I need to clarify since there is a coat over my hair and no matter how much shampoo I use, my hair will still look oily(yet feel dry). Not to mention(in an earlier post), people have said my problem sounds like buildup.
Sooo, when I clarify, should I just use tons of shampoo, lather up and make my hair and scalp really bubbly with it? Then follow with a deep conditioning treatment?
I have some Avalon Organics Lemon Clarifying shampoo(though I don't know if its a good kind or not), and also I found a bottle of this biofushion olive oil shampoo that says it removes buildup(I don't know if this would be good for clarifying either).

If those aren't very good clarifying shampoos, I was also thinking I could just mix some regular shampoo like Garnier Triple Nutrition with some baking soda or something.
I've heard that, for some, just plain SLS shampoo works for clarifying, yet I've been using GTN and it doesn't get rid of it. Maybe its because the GNT conditioner doesn't rinse well?

One problem is, I'm almost scared to try this, as I don't want to dry my scalp out. I'm just barely starting to get over an irritation problem caused by trying way too many different products(when I should have just stuck with what worked, learned my lesson!).

Would it hurt to wet my hair, oil heavily on my scalp, leave it on overnight, and then clarify in the morning followed by a deep conditioning treatment?
I want to protect my scalp in someway.

These are pictures of my hair before the oily, build up problem. In case I have some hair twins out there!

http://yfrog.com/9fpicture270vj
http://yfrog.com/b9picture207sj

As you can tell, my hair is quite fine, but there is a lot of it!
My hair has gotten a tad thinner since then, but I'm hoping that once I get my hair and scalp healthy again, that won't be an issue.

[allnaturalboy]

Seems like my pics didn't show up.
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/5579/picture207s.jpg (http://img405.imageshack.us/i/picture207s.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9086/picture270y.jpg (http://img101.imageshack.us/i/picture270y.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

There we go!

[Sheltie_Momma]

I don't try to go around on these boards bashing Garnier Triple Nutrition - it just seems to keeps coming up - scalp irritation, waxy buildup etc. with this particular product line. I'm just sayin'...

For clarifying I like Suave clarifying shampoo, comes in a big ole clear bottle for like .99 and then follow it up with an SMT.

[walterSCAN]

Sorry I can't help on most of your questions-- never used the particular shampoos you mention; hopefully other members will be able to give you advice there-- but your post made me wonder:

Do the conditioners you are using have cones in them? From what you are describing, it sounds like they might... and even if you clarify, if you follow up with a cone-y conditioner, you are going to get the buildup back.

With regard to your last question then (oil overnight + clarify + DT), I think how well it works will depend on what you are using for the oil and for the DT. If those have a tendency to build up on your hair, then it'll be counterproductive. You might even consider clarifying first with no oil, and then oil afterward.

I don't know if any of that helped... Good Luck!

[Carolyn]

Since you've got the Avalon clarifying shampoo, use it. Use it and see what happens. It's not going to hurt anything to give it a try. I've had a bottle for several years and use it now and then. Works fine. Follow up with a moisturizing conditioner.

[spidermom]

I agree with Carolyn - give it a whirl! If that doesn't work and you decide to try baking soda, dissolve about 1 tablespoon in 1 pint of warm water and pour it very slowly through your hair, massage your scalp with fingertips, then rinse well, following with a diluted vinegar rinse to restore scalp to proper pH. I'd only use that as a last resort because baking soda really strips your hair and dries it out. Plus using alkaline products like baking soda on hair and scalp can make you vulnerable to fungal infections. Then I'd leave your hair and scalp alone for awhile except for gentle cleansing and maybe scalp massages with a little oil prior to washing. Doing too much stuff can be far more harmful than doing too little.

[allnaturalboy]

I don't try to go around on these boards bashing Garnier Triple Nutrition - it just seems to keeps coming up - scalp irritation, waxy buildup etc. with this particular product line. I'm just sayin'...

For clarifying I like Suave clarifying shampoo, comes in a big ole clear bottle for like .99 and then follow it up with an SMT.

Thats kind of frustrating about the GTN, since I just bought a huge bottle of the stuff. Maybe thats it though. I guess I'll need to buy some other brand then.


Since you've got the Avalon clarifying shampoo, use it. Use it and see what happens. It's not going to hurt anything to give it a try. I've had a bottle for several years and use it now and then. Works fine. Follow up with a moisturizing conditioner.

Ok, I'll try that. How much should I use of it? I've never really come out with good clarifying results before. Lather up like crazy on my hair or use it with minimal suds?

Thanks everyone!

[allnaturalboy]

I agree with Carolyn - give it a whirl! If that doesn't work and you decide to try baking soda, dissolve about 1 tablespoon in 1 pint of warm water and pour it very slowly through your hair, massage your scalp with fingertips, then rinse well, following with a diluted vinegar rinse to restore scalp to proper pH. I'd only use that as a last resort because baking soda really strips your hair and dries it out. Plus using alkaline products like baking soda on hair and scalp can make you vulnerable to fungal infections. Then I'd leave your hair and scalp alone for awhile except for gentle cleansing and maybe scalp massages with a little oil prior to washing. Doing too much stuff can be far more harmful than doing too little.

I'm going to try Carolyn's suggestion first. If I do end up trying the baking soda method, should I deep condition afterwards to avoid drying my hair out?

Sorry for all the questions everyone. I just really want to get my hair back in shape. Its my current goal.

[Sheltie_Momma]

Thats kind of frustrating about the GTN, since I just bought a huge bottle of the stuff. Maybe thats it though. I guess I'll need to buy some other brand then.



Ok, I'll try that. How much should I use of it? I've never really come out with good clarifying results before. Lather up like crazy on my hair or use it with minimal suds?

Thanks everyone!

I've got a big old 98% full bottle taking up room in my cabinet myself. I soooo wanted to love it because it has all those good things, and my hair loved it - once, my scalp was a mess and then my hair became all waxy and clumpy in the back like it wasn't really rinsed well. I'm not saying it can't be good for some people, just that you aren't the first to mention build up and scalp irritationin conjunction with it.

[Carolyn]

I'm going to try Carolyn's suggestion first. If I do end up trying the baking soda method, should I deep condition afterwards to avoid drying my hair out?

Sorry for all the questions everyone. I just really want to get my hair back in shape. Its my current goal.I like to do a nice rich moisturizing SMT after clarifying. The whole purpose of clarifying is to strip all the gunk off the hair. When you do that you need to add the moisture back in.

[spidermom]

I wouldn't deep condition until after you have clarified your hair and allowed it to dry. That way you'll know whether you have gotten rid of the problem. After you've evaluated your results, then do a deep moisture treatment if needed. If you do an SMT and the waxies come back, you'll know it's your conditioner.

[allnaturalboy]

I wouldn't deep condition until after you have clarified your hair and allowed it to dry. That way you'll know whether you have gotten rid of the problem. After you've evaluated your results, then do a deep moisture treatment if needed.

That seems kind of scary. I'm afraid my hair would end up a horrible dried out mess if I tried that. But I suppose that wouldn't matter as long as I do a deep treatment if that did happen.

[Yozhik]

I have that Avalon lemon clarifying conditioner and shampoo. If you have the conditioner as well as the shampoo, maybe you could clarify, and then lightly condition with that (I'm 98% sure that it doesn't have any cones), then if you need more moisture once you've evaluated that your hair is finally clean, you can do the SMT.

I hope that helps!

[spidermom]

That seems kind of scary. I'm afraid my hair would end up a horrible dried out mess if I tried that. But I suppose that wouldn't matter as long as I do a deep treatment if that did happen.

I understand, but you do want to know if the clarifying treatment works. If you clarify and then immediately do a moisture treatment, and your hair is waxy, you won't know whether it was the moisture treatment or fail to clarify.