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The Science of Hair Care: Expert Articles & Insights
Hair Detox 101: Chelating vs. Clarifying Shampoo
Buildup on hair is caused by a variety of factors including product residue, chemical processes, color treatments, chlorine, and even harsh minerals in your water source. While buildup is normal in hair, it’s a must to include a regular detox regimen to prevent unwanted negative effects such as dryness, itchy scalp, hair breakage, and dull, lifeless hair.
Chelating and clarifying products are designed to do just that. However, there has been a lot of confusion about the differences between the two products and which one should be used.
What is a clarifying shampoo?
Clarifying shampoos are designed to remove build up on your hair. Specifically, any product residue, oils, dirt, and surface minerals that are outside the hair shaft. They provide a deeper clean than regular shampoos and are an excellent addition to your hair care routine.
What is a chelating shampoo?
Chelating shampoos are designed to tackle buildup beyond just what’s on the surface of your hair. They remove minerals, metals, and deposits from inside the hair shaft. These minerals can build up over time and cause hair to become dry, brittle, and difficult to manage.
How do I know if I need a chelating or clarifying shampoo?
If you swim in chlorinated pools, color treat your hair, have excess product buildup, or your shower has hard water (most households do), your hair would definitely benefit from regular detoxing with both a clarifying and a chelating shampoo. Your hair will be shinier, have more volume, and the color will be more vibrant.
A quick note about hard water:
Hard water is extremely common and has high levels of minerals including calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, and lead which can leave deposits on your hair and scalp. Check out this handy map to see if you have hard water where you live.
How often should I clarify and chelate my hair?
How often to use these products depends on what your hair goes through on a regular basis. If you use a lot of styling products, have hard water, or swim or exercise frequently, you might want to clarify and chelate once every week or two. However, if you don’t use a lot of hair products, once a month should be plenty.
Clarifying and chelating hair products actually work in tandem with each other. Clarifying shampoos prepare the hair for the chelating process by first removing any surface buildup. This is then followed with a chelating shampoo that gets deep into the hair’s cortex and breaks the bond between your hair strands and mineral build up.
Both products are stronger than a regular shampoo and should be followed with a deep conditioning treatment—like our Kente® BOND hair mask.
SEVEN haircare: Detox your hair gently and easily
Luckily with SEVEN haircare, you don’t have to choose between clarifying and chelating. Our Cubica CLARIFY shampoo uses a gentle amount of EDTA (a common chelating ingredient), and can be used as both a clarifying shampoo and a chelating shampoo—the best of both worlds! Rich with rosemary and eucalyptus oil, CLARIFY revitalizes hair without drying it out and returns luster, shine, and vitality to your locks. By adding CLARIFY shampoo to your haircare routine once every couple of weeks, you can take your haircare to the next level.
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