A question from a newbie soap-bar user.

[Jcv-Shelley]

Once, I thought of trying soap bars for clarifying/washing. Except I'm not a fan of ordering specially designed soap meant for hair online. I think I remember trying regular soap once but I couldn't remember if it worked or not. I've read somewhere that castile (in soap or liquid form) works well in diluted amounts. I'm trying to pry myself of baking soda as a monthly clarifying treatment since I just found out they give me splits much more easily. Clarifying shampoos would work but I have so much regular shampoos and conditioners stocked up I gotta use them first lol. So my basically, has anyone tried using regular soap on their scalp and length? If so, what kind? I'd like to be able to find it convenient places I could go to if possible. Or am I just doomed to wait until my shampoos run out?; or to keep on using baking soda? :confused:

[chou]

I don't totally understand your problem? What is causing build up in your hair routine that requires clarification and why don't any of your current shampoos get rid of it? Or are you no-poo or cowashing? I found that when I used castille soap (Dr. Bronner's hemp rose) I got horrible build up and worse tangling, even after using an acid rinse. I think it depends on the hardness of your water. Mine is moderately hard city water. You know how some soaps form a ring of scum in your bathtub if your water is not soft? That's what I got in my hair from using castille soap. I still use it on my body but it did not work for my hair as much as my hippie heart wanted it to. It is also worth noting that castille soap is far more alkaline than most shampoos and will make your wet hair texture unpleasant unless you do an acid rinse, and even that might not do the trick. I have not tried shampoo bars but my experience with the Dr. Bronners and my hard water has scared me off of them.
If you are only doing occasional clarifications and baking soda gives you problems, perhaps a shampoo with sls would work better? I have also found that many non-sls are surprisingly strong detergents so maybe one of those could work too.

[Mairéad]

A regular shampoo should be more than enough to clarify hair. I never liked castile soap on hair, shampoo bars were okay on my hair, and regular body soap. Oh, I don't even want to imagine. I imagine that would leave scum in your hair just like it does in the bathtub, especially if you have hard water.

[ratgirldjh]

I have used bar soap for years. Liquid soaps left way more build up in my hair. I do an ACV rinse after the bar soap and still get build up after a few weeks.

What I do is do a bentonite clay hair mask and it removes the build up. I take 3 tablespoons of bentonite clay (Aztec Healing Clay is what I have) and I add some sea salt (anywhere from 1/4 tsp. to 1 teaspoon depending if I think I have protein build up or not). Then I mix it into a paste with water.

I apply it to my damp hair and put on a plastic bag and let it stay for 20 minutes then rinse it out very good. After this I usually do a wash with my soap bar and then an ACV rinse.

This method of 'clarifying' (clayifying lol) works well for me without drying out my hair like baking soda or shampoo.

If you search on here this was first posted by Sibyllas - she called it Sibyllas Secret Softness Treatment - I use a little less sea salt.

So no for me soap is not a good way to clarify and it build up no matter which soap I have used. YMMV of course...

[Jcv-Shelley]

Thanks for the responses guys. I will remember to be careful when using castile soap,and guessing from Mairread's advice, body soap must not be a good idea. Chou I usually do like to use SLS free shampoos so I didn't think that it would be strong enough. Thank you for the clay idea ratgirldjh :).