Some hair types get greasy very quickly, making hair strands feel weighed down. A clarifying shampoo refreshes the scalp and leaves you with clean and beautiful hair. Learn here the benefits of washing your hair with a clarifying shampoo and how you can add it to your daily hair care regimen. Regular shampoos cannot remove all traces of dirt and residue. Using clarifying shampoos once in a while leaves your scalp and hair feeling refreshed. You need to clarify your scalp, especially if you swim or stay in an area where you get hard water. Using clarifying shampoos can help your hair in many ways. Lets take a look at them.
Benefits Of Using Clarifying Shampoos
1. Remove Product Buildup
Regular shampoos cannot provide thorough cleansing. Everyday exposure to dirt, dust, and hair care products causes further buildup on the scalp, making it itchy. Using a clarifying shampoo is like hair detox that gives you a clean canvas to start again. It can remove mineral and chlorine buildup caused by hard water and swimming pool water.
2. Rejuvenate Your Hair
Excess product buildup weighs the hair down, making it appear lifeless, dull, and flat. Clarifying shampoos restore the shine, make your hair bouncy, and improve manageability. They can also give a volume boost to fine hair.
3. Prep The Hair For Coloring
Using a clarifying shampoo before dyeing your hair ensures better color deposits on the strands. The hair is free of any oil and scalp buildup that may form a shield between the strands and the color. However, ensure to clarify your scalp a day or two before coloring. Excess use of clarifying shampoos can be detrimental to hair and scalp health. In the next section, we have discussed a few reasons to be wary of clarifying shampoos.
Drawbacks Of Using Clarifying Shampoos
1. May Strip Your Hair Dye
The surfactants in clarifying shampoos can strip the color of your hair strands. If you have recently dyed your hair, avoid clarifying shampoos.
2. Strip The Natural Oils
Excessive use of clarifying shampoos strips the natural oils from your scalp. As a result, the sebaceous glands on the scalp produce excessive oil to cover up the loss, leading to greasiness.
3. May Cause Hair Breakage And Scalp Issues
Without the natural oils, the hair becomes dry, frizzy, rough, unmanageable, and brittle. This may lead to hair breakage and hair loss. Clarifying shampoos may also aggravate scalp conditions like eczema and scalp psoriasis. If you have any scalp issues or color-treated hair, avoid using clarifying shampoos. However, if you have an oily scalp or use many hair care products, you may need to clarify your scalp. Read on to find out how to use a clarifying shampoo.
How To Use Clarifying Shampoos
Avoid shampooing twice as it may dry out the scalp and hair. Read on to find out how often you should use a clarifying shampoo.
How Often Should You Use Clarifying Shampoos?
Never use a clarifying shampoo more than once or twice a week. Use it once a week if:
You have an oily scalp and do not use hairstyling products. You have to stay outside for long hours and sweat profusely.
Use it twice a week if:
You regularly use hairstyling products and have an oily scalp.
If you have natural hair, it is best to use a clarifying shampoo once in two weeks. Before buying clarifying shampoos, check for the following ingredients.
Ingredients To Look For In A Clarifying Shampoo
Clarifying shampoos may contain anionic detergents like (1):
Sodium lauryl sulfate Ammonium lauryl sulfate Triethanolamine lauryl sulfate
Sodium laureth sulfate Ammonium laureth sulfate Triethanolamine laureth sulfate
You may also look for ingredients like alpha-olefin sulfonate and sodium stearate. These ingredients can cleanse dirt and buildup from the scalp. In addition to clarifying shampoos, you can also use other scalp clarifying products. Take a look.
Different Types Of Clarifying Shampoos And Products
1. Purifying Scalp Scrub
Scalp scrubs work the same way as facial scrubs. They exfoliate the scalp and remove dirt and product residue. When buying scalp scrubs, check for clarifying and hydrating ingredients like aloe vera, apple cider vinegar, essential oils, and sea salt.
2. Detox Shampoos
Detox shampoos are clarifying shampoos meant for people who use lots of hair products. They may contain ingredients like tea tree oil, apple cider vinegar, menthol and help purify the scalp and manage issues like dandruff. Does clarifying shampoo lighten hair? No, clarifying shampoo cannot lighten your natural hair color. However, it may fade hair dyes as it has a potent formulation for deep cleansing. What does clarifying shampoo do to bleached hair? Clarifying shampoos can neutralize the chemicals left behind after a bleaching treatment that may have disrupted the hair’s and scalp’s pH balance. Do I use regular shampoo after clarifying shampoo? Yes, you can use a medicated or a nourishing shampoo after clarifying shampoo to keep your scalp healthy and nourished.
Sources
Shampoo and Conditioners: What a Dermatologist Should Know?,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4458934/
