Alternatives to clarifying shampoo

[MissAlida]

Hello everyone:). I'm new here, but I'm definitely addicted to LHC right now. I've learned so much since I registered, the amount of information here is overwhelming. I never heard about cones, and buildup before. But now that I know about them, I started looking for alternative ways of clarifying without using a special shampoo(since I couldn't find one at home). I found a video on youtube posted by a lady, who mixed in a bowl 2 tbs of her regular shampoo with 1 tbs of honey and 1 tbs baking soda and washed her hair with the mixture. I tought I could give it a try, and it had amazing results:D. My hair became soft, and shiny and beautiful, so I guess it worked. What I wanted to ask you all experienced hair growers, who I admire so much (sorry for my english if this doesen't make any sense, I'm not a native speaker) is :
How does buildup look (if it has any particular appearance)?
What do you use as an alternative builup remover?

[Hile]

Well, I think build up can have different forms. For me silicone build up resulted in limp hair that looked constantly greasy (I shampooed my hair four times a day at that point:rolleyes:) where as build up from oils made my hair crunchy and tangly.
I use a clarifying shampoo, so can't really answer your other question. In case you didn't know it might be good to do a vinegar rinse after using baking soda on your hair to restore the pH of the hair and make the cuticles lay flat again.

[pepperminttea]

Welcome to the LHC! :D

When my hair has build-up, it often looks lank and flat, feels coated or 'crunchy' - especially the ends. Often I've thought I needed a trim because my ends were rough and tangly, then I clarified, and my ends were fine - they'd just had build-up. :)

I use a normal sulphate shampoo for a clarifying wash - in the ingredients list, after water/aqua, it has 'Sodium Laureth/Lauryl Sulphate'. It's quite a harsh detergent, you'll also find it in things like toothpaste, shower gel, hand wash, and even dish-washing liquid. Most of the time I dilute it to use it as a shampoo, when I clarify, I use it full-strength and that does the job for me. :D It's not labelled as clarifying at all, it's a cheap supermarket's own brand shampoo, but I don't find much difference between sulphate shampoos.

[mrs_coffee]

My ends feel sticky and kind of clump together when I have buildup. I use diluted baking soda and honey to clarify. I agree with the vinegar rinse afterwards. I always finish up with a vinegar rinse.

[MissAlida]

Thank you for your advice:DThe vinegar rinse makes sense, I will try it next time I clarify.:blossom:

[Lilli]

My hair feels tangly and looks darker when I need to clarify.