Clarifying & Chelating

**alishaxmarie** · July 16th, 2015, 11:37 AM

I've never used a chelating shampoo so I'd like some suggestions of shampoos that both clarify and chelate? I usually follow every wash with an acidic rinse (ACV to be precise) but recently I read that acidic rinses are better at keeping the hard water minerals down to a minimum rather than fully removing them. I do live in an area with hard water and, as it's summer, I regularly swim in pools or the ocean.

Also, how often do you clarify your hair? Should I wait until I think I actually need to clarify or is it alright to just clarify every month even if I could probably do it less often without suffering from the typical signs of build-up? I mostly use water-soluble cones like bis-aminopropyl dimethicone but occasionally I'll use a serum with a mix of cones that are more prone to building up.

**Panth** · July 16th, 2015, 11:57 AM

Clarifying requires a cleansing agent that is both capable of removing product build-up and is at a strong enough concentration that all product build-up will be stripped off. The easiest way to guarantee this is to use a shampoo that is advertised as "clarifying". In these, the cleansing agent is typically sulphates (which will remove 'cones as well as other types of product-based build-up such as oils, waxes, plant extracts, etc.). Regular sulphate-containing shampoos may not have sufficient concentration to remove all build-up (or may contain coating ingredients that will prevent you from attaining a clean slate).

Chelating requires an agent that is both capable of removing mineral build-up and is at a strong enough concentration that it will act to do this. The easiest way to guarantee this is to use a shampoo that is advertised as "chelating" or "swimmer's" (as chelators are the active ingredient in swimmer's shampoos that remove chlorine). In these, the chelating agent is typically EDTA. Many other toiletries also contain EDTA but these are typically in low concentrations where it is used as a pH buffer (to prevent the pH changing if a bit of water or other product gets in the bottle) and so these cannot be used to chelate.

Technique is also important. Unlike with usual washing, the clarifying or chelating shampoo must be massaged thoroughly throughout the entire length of the hair, not just used in the scalp region. As these treatments are stripping and thus can be drying, some people like to use a moisturising treatment after clarifying/chelating.

Personally, I like Pantene's classic clarifying shampoo (the one in a clear bottle with a blue label, NOT the brown bottle / red label one which bizarrely contains 'cones). It is advertised as a clarifyer but IMO it also chelates (well, it certainly removes all the limescale from my sink whenever I use it).

**lapushka** · July 16th, 2015, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by Panth

Personally, I like Pantene's classic clarifying shampoo (the one in a clear bottle with a blue label, NOT the brown bottle / red label one which bizarrely contains 'cones). It is advertised as a clarifyer but IMO it also chelates (well, it certainly removes all the limescale from my sink whenever I use it).

I have a few of those bottles (the clear one with the blue top/label) - *love* it to bits, but it's pretty drying on the lengths while my Aqua Light is not, so I reserve it for every month/few months.

**alishaxmarie** · July 17th, 2015, 07:51 PM

Originally Posted by Panth

Personally, I like Pantene's classic clarifying shampoo (the one in a clear bottle with a blue label, NOT the brown bottle / red label one which bizarrely contains 'cones). It is advertised as a clarifyer but IMO it also chelates (well, it certainly removes all the limescale from my sink whenever I use it).

Thanks you two! I'll have to check it out since that's my only suggestion so far. I have another question though, should I follow the clarifying/chelating up with an acidic rinse (after I condition once or twice)? Or would it be fine to just clarify, condition, and go? I've clarified before, but like I said, I'm new to chelating. I would assume that because I have hard water that I should complete my wash routine with my usual ACV rinse to prevent the hard water minerals from sticking back to my hair after I've already chelated.

**Marika** · July 18th, 2015, 01:40 AM

I don't see anything wrong with an ACV rinse after clarifying/chelating (it's actually probably a good idea). Personally, I don't do it but our water is quite soft here. I'm a pretty hardcore cone-user and I clarify/chelate when I feel like I can't get my hair clean with a regular shampoo anymore. Or if my ends are extra tangly. This happens maybe once every two months. I do use sulfate shampoos but I don't consider them to be clarifying. Pantene is a good choice. Joico, Redken and Paul Mitchell have nice clarifying/chelating shampoos but they are expensive and cheaper products do the same thing.

**Ambystoma** · July 18th, 2015, 03:17 AM

I love my Joico K - pak clarify/chelating shampoo. I use it every 4 washes, we have hard water and I'm a silicone addict so even though I use a sulphate shampoo down to the tips every wash, I still need a little extra cleansing. It keeps my ends so soft and healthy and split free, I used to have dry, tangly damage prone ends before I started doing it regularly.

**Panth** · July 19th, 2015, 04:45 AM

An ACV (or other acidic) rinse is not going to chelate (the exception: citric acid rinses). You just can't get a strong enough dilution without having it become way, way, way too drying. Acidic rinses do, however, seem to slow mineral build-up if used after every wash. They also are shine-promoting and help restore the scalp/hair to its optimal acidic pH (not a problem if you use shampoo but essential if you use alkaline things like soap / shampoo bars).

If you are regularly using an ACV rinse to help prevent mineral build-up then, yeah, use it after every and any wash. After all, if you've got hard water then when you rinse out your conditioner you're going to be applying (a very, very tiny bit) of mineral again from your rinse water.

**alishaxmarie** · July 19th, 2015, 05:05 PM

I couldn't find any Pantene shampoos labeled as clarifying so I bought their "Weekly Deep Cleanse" shampoo instead. The front says it's a purifying shampoo for detoxing and resetting and it's also in a clear bottle so I figured they may have changed the name or something. It has SLES, SLS, and cocamidopropyl betaine without cones. Citric acid is the first ingredient after water, the sulfates, and sodium citrate so I think it may be able to chelate but I don't know for sure. The tetrasodium EDTA isn't too far down the list either. Let me know what you guys think though!

Ingredients:
Water, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium citrate, citric acid, sodium xylenesulfonate, sodium chloride, fragrance, cocamide mea, sodium benzoate, tetrasodium EDTA, panthenol, panthenyl ethyl ether, mentha piperita (peppermint) oil, menthol, mentha arvensis (mosa mint?) leaf oil, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone.

**alishaxmarie** · July 19th, 2015, 05:10 PM

Also, thanks everybody! After I try this shampoo out, I'll just wait to use it again until I think I actually need to clarify.

Panth: Do you know why citric acid rinses chelate but other acidic rinses don't? I'm just curious so it's okay if you don't feel like explaining.

**Panth** · July 20th, 2015, 05:27 AM

That's not the clarifying one but it looks reasonably ok. I'm sure someone who's better at labels could chime in, though. ^_^

I'm not sure why citric acid rinses work. However, purportedly they do.