Noumenon needs to know…How exactly do clarifying shampoos work? Some say that the extra-harsh Lauryl surfactants are what strips the hair of all the build-up, and they are safe to use once in a while for clarifying purposes. However, others say that it has nothing to do with the strength of the surfactant and even Sodium Laureth Sulfate can be used in a clarifying shampoo on it’s own. These people tend to claim that it’s something like lemon peel or an acidifier like citric acid that helps to strip the build-up. Could you please help to “clarify” the situation for us all? 
What exactly is the specific ingredient(s) that removes build-up beyond my gentle Sodium Laureth Sulfate based shampoo? Or is the whole clarifying thing a myth and you can really use any shampoo you want to remove build-up equally?
The Right Brain clears up clarifying:
There seems to be a popular misconception that clarifying shampoos work by using acid to remove hard water scale – kind of like “Lime-Away.” WiseGeek and About.com both claim that acetic acid should be a major component in a clarifying shampoo but the Beauty Brains have never seen a shampoo actually formulated that way.
Acid washed
I can see how this idea got started because it goes along with the notion that using vinegar to rinse your hair closes the cuticle and makes hair shinier. Unfortunately hair biology is not that simple. It’s true that very high pH chemical treatments (like relaxers) swell the hair shaft and lift the cuticle.When you relax your hair, you do need to neutralize the high pH so in that case acid treatment makes sense. But the same principle doesn’t really apply to hair that hasn’t been freshly relaxed or permed.
Real cause of build up
Hard water residue is not even the most common cause of build up. It’s more likely to be a result of not properly removing styling products. And if that’s the cause, then you certainly don’t want to use a product that contains more acid. That’s because the styling resins used in hairsprays, mousses, and gels become more water soluble when the pH is raised. So to help get rid of styling resin buildup you want to use a product that with a higher pH not lower which us what acid would do. Another possibility is that build up is caused by high molecular weight silicones and other water insoluble oils that deposit on your hair form conditioners or treatments. Neither acid or base will get rid of those bad boys.
The real clarifier
So what ingredients are really responsible for clarifying? Our old friends surfactants! A lot of people won’t want to hear this, but the lauryl sulfate type of surfactants are among the safest most powerful cleansers you can buy. As we explained in The Danger of Clarifying Shampoos, some people do complain of dry itchy scalp after using sulfate shampoos especially in dry climates. But most people have no problem, especially if they use them infequently.
A typical sulfate shampoo: Tresemme Deep Cleansing Shampoo
If sulfates just aren’t your cup of tea, there are plenty of other surfactants to choose from. Non-sulfate anionic cleansers include Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Sodium Lauryl. These tend to be less stripping so you may find they don’t clarify as well.
Nonsulfate anionic shampoo: Pureology Serious Colour Care Pure Volume Shampoo
Finally you can use an amphoteric shampoo, like a baby shampoo, which primarily contain milder amphoteric surfactants like PEG 80 Sorbitan Laurate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Lauroamphoglycinate. Those generally provide the least cleansing.
Amphoteric shampoo: Johnson’s Baby Shampoo
Clarifier can’t condition
In addition to choosing the correct type of cleansing ingredients it’s very important to choose a clarifying shampoo that doesn’t contain any conditioning agents. You want to make sure that you’re removing gunk from your hair, not depositing more stuff. So avoid any “”cones” like dimethicone, cyclomethicone, or amodimethicone and any conditioning polymers like guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride and Polyquaternium 7 and 10.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
Clarifying shampoos work by washing away the gunk that’s built up on your hair. You don’t need any fancy product to do that – a simple, non-conditioning shampoo will do just fine for most people.
What do YOU think? Do you have a favorite deep cleaning shampoo? Leave a clarifying comment for the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I would nor mally just ask whether people really do use that much stuff in their hair, but then I remember being in high school in 1983, and people do indeed.
Thanks for clearing this up! Marketing propaganda strikes again I guess.
i have seen acetic acid in the suave clarifying shampoo but its not very high on the ingredients list.
I have to disagree that clarifying can’t condition. A while ago I was going to Malibu my hair, and to do that I had to seriously clarify my hair. I used Redken Hair Cleansing Cream, which does contain conditioning ingredients, and left it on for 15 minutes, rinsed, and didn’t use conditioner. I was amazed that my hair felt so clean and so soft at the same time. My hair is level “11″ on top and dark on the sides, so making my blonde hair feel soft with no conditioner is no easy task. Maybe it was just a unique experience for me, but I think it will work for a lot of people.
If your clarifier has conditioning agents in it then, by definition, it’s not very clarifying. Sounds like Redken Hair Cleansing Cream is not a clarifier that can’t conditioner, but a conditioning cleanser that can’t clarify.
ive just used regis clarifying shampoo and it hasnt really worked. my hair at the front stillfeels gunky. after how many washes with clarifyer will my hair beback to normal?
I have been watching kimmaytubes videos on pH balance.
http://www.youtube.com/user/kimmaytube?blend=1&ob=4#p/u/21/yT9axA0A6_Q
I found your post because I was wondering whether or not I could use a good old hair stripping shampoo as a clarifier because it has sls in it and it would clarify my hair. However I was thinking about getting some Apple Cider Vinegar because it is also supposed to clarify hair. But in your post above you do mention ACV but you say it is not useful as a clarifier because the hair has not been exposed to any akaline substance such as hair relaxers.
Well according to the pH charts used by kim luv of luv naturals the human hair has a pH of 4.5 to 5.5 and water has a pH of 7. If water is more akaline than our hair then wouldn’t that be enough to open up our hair folicles? And if ACV was used as a clarifier wouldn’t that do just that and close our cuticles and get rid of any residue?
I just use good ol’ vinegar to clarify. I do that no more than twice a month and my super curly hair feels sily soft and my scalp feels like it’s literally breathing. And it’s very combable. Recently I started adding pure lemon juice to it. I dunno about anyone else, but why go out and buy a special shampoo when you can use what you might already have in your kitchen? And if you don’t already, the 2 items together cost less than any decent calrifying shampoo out there and can be used for other things like cooking and cleaning.
{ 5 trackbacks }