Why Oh Why Oh Why???? Clarify

[Irresistible]

Omg i just clarified my hair and AS SOON as i rinsed i knew i was in trouble....

it immediatley started turning into a stripped, squeaky, dry, TERRIBLE tangled mess. i used IC Pure Tea , here is the kicker, i used this in my daughters hair this past weekend , i sat on my bed and rubbed it all through her hair and scalp and she went and rinsed (my newly adopted method of doing her hair)....SHE LOVED IT!! ... i must admit with one wash it got her hair and more importantly her scalp (cause of her scalp issues) totally clean...but it was not stripped and a mess like mine is right now. She said it made her her hair/scalp feel like it could breathe...so here i go and use it on mine and its a disaster!!!....but here is even the bigger kicker , im in MAJOR back pain(compressed disc) right now and i just had to spend more than an hour standing/sitting there and combing through the tangled mess , with conditioner in it...and omg the K cutter almost got stuck in my hair , and im talking about in a way i dont know if i could of got it out (twisted up in it)......but i wasnt about to wait and let it go till tommorow....ughhhhhhhhhh..but why oh why did i decide to clarify now?????? of all times???

i have never seen the benifits of clarifying , thats why i never did it..i hope the benifits show up later, cause as of right now and what i just felt my hair be like and what i just went through untangling it....i just dont get the point of totally stripping it of all moisture..it just seems to spell trouble... i would be scared to use it on my daughter's hair again now too, cause the first time might of just been luck...who knows what would happen next time????? i dont know how you guys do it i swear

well off to sleep i go with conditioner in my hair and a prayer that its fixed by the time i get up..i need double the pain killer dosage now lol

 

[Allandra]

I use an applicator bottle to apply my clarify shampoo to my scalp (got that tip from Kenesha). It works out well for me.

 

[Allandra]

ps. Hope your back and hair are doing ok this morning.

 

[UmSumayyah]

I hope you're feeling better too, Irresisistible. Maybe next time you could try just clarifying with an ACV rinse or adding baking soda to (conditioner I think is what some of our members do).
And we hope your hair feels better soon too.

 

[lonei]

Irresistable, I just bought this exact product and was looking forward to using it soon. How many times did you lather and did you follow with a moisturising shampoo? I plan to wash my hair in six large braids, should the same thing happen to me if I use this product?

 

[deeshortesthair]

Oh no ,looks like you caught my crunchy hair virus, I ended up fixing mine by doing a hot oil treatment with castor oil , then conditioning it with diez en uno a Dominican conditioner a girl at the office gave to me .. from behind you would think she was East Indian, so I figgured what the hay...It worked today my hair is soft and curly again with nice curls, but then again my hair is 1% of yours

so I hope that you get this fixed , you are one of tfhe inspirations on the board and I would hate it if you had a terrible hair disaster.
keep us posted.

 

[Armyqt]

[ QUOTE ]
UmSumayyah said:
I hope you're feeling better too, Irresisistible. Maybe next time you could try just clarifying with an ACV rinse or adding baking soda to (conditioner I think is what some of our members do).
And we hope your hair feels better soon too.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is what I've been doing with my daughter's hair. I just add the baking soda to the hair after the shampoo is applied and lathered up. Her hair is not stripped and actually looks very shiny and clean. Hope you're doing better today

.

 

[dontspeakdefeat]

I hope you get better soon!

 

[pookeylou]

I didnt see the benefit of it either....until...

I started to get a few "pimples" and ingrown hairs in my scalp. Just one or two...painful bumps that did not get relief until I pulled out the hair. I mentioned my problem (I was thinking it was because my hair was growing so fast...

) and some sisters helped me to see that the shea butter, condition washes, moistuizers that I applied on the days I did not condition wash my hair...have caused buildup on my scalp. It was blocking the pores and the coily hair could not get out of the follicle.

Once I clarified on a regular basis....it never happened again.

My sister who is a die-hard permie...noticed that since she has been doing the condition washes...her straight hair seems heavy and has no movement, (I forgot to tell her to clarify every once in a while.) When she added lime juice to her conditioner, she got that squeaky clean, flowing hair feeling again.

I dont really like the apple cider rinse...so I just add lemon juice or lime juice to my condition washes. It still leaves my hair moisturized...but I have no problem with buildup.

 

[Allandra]

Is your daughter's hair natural?

 

[moneychaser]

[ QUOTE ]
Allandra said:
I use an applicator bottle to apply my clarify shampoo to my scalp (got that tip from Kenesha). It works out well for me.

[/ QUOTE ]
This is what I do.. After the clarifying poo, I shampoo again with CON.

 

[nurseN98]

[ QUOTE ]
pookeylou said:
I didnt see the benefit of it either....until...

I started to get a few "pimples" and ingrown hairs in my scalp. Just one or two...painful bumps that did not get relief until I pulled out the hair. I mentioned my problem (I was thinking it was because my hair was growing so fast...

) and some sisters helped me to see that the shea butter, condition washes, moistuizers that I applied on the days I did not condition wash my hair...have caused buildup on my scalp. It was blocking the pores and the coily hair could not get out of the follicle.

Once I clarified on a regular basis....it never happened again.

My sister who is a die-hard permie...noticed that since she has been doing the condition washes...her straight hair seems heavy and has no movement, (I forgot to tell her to clarify every once in a while.) When she added lime juice to her conditioner, she got that squeaky clean, flowing hair feeling again.



I dont really like the apple cider rinse...so I just add lemon juice or lime juice to my condition washes. It still leaves my hair moisturized...but I have no problem with buildup.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, I never heard of that! How much lemon juice to conditioner do you add?

 

[Neroli]

I always thought clarifying was terrifying to my 4b relaxed hair because the ingredients in those shampoos are scary -- they contain the harshest detergents out there, like ALS, sometimes 2 or 3 different really harsh detergents. I think clarifying is necessary only if you use tons of heavy pomades, glossers, stuff with 'cones and other hard gels, etc. But I hate all that stuff on my hair and only use small amounts of aloe gel in between washings so I don't feel need to clarify. Another thing is that the reason condition washes are good is to limit the exposure to the detergents in even the mildest shampoos because they further weaken relaxed hair -- so using clarifyer just doesn't compute for me if trying limit exposure to harsh detergents. I find that the mildest shampoos really do adequately clean my scalp and hair leaving it with body and movement. But then again, I don't put stuff on my scalp and very little on my hair. I would love to know what others think about the NEED to clarify or whether it's just a good idea IF using tons of heavy "dressing" in between washes.

Is your daughter's hair natural or relaxed? Is yours? I think natural hair might withstand the harsh clarifiers and respond better than relaxed hair and that might explain the difference in result.

 

[nurseN98]

Irresistable, I hope your back is better

That's happened to me trying a new routine. I usually use my Elasta qp creme poo after clarifying.....last week I wanted to be all different and experimental so I used a new clarifying shampoo and just conditioned afterwards. It was a mess.

 

[sassygirl125]

Same here.

I always follow up a clarify shampoo with a moisturizing shampoo like Ampro Banana Cream Fluff (my favorite!), Jason Sea Kelp, Breakthru or Mode de Vie Shea Butter Cream shampoo. My clarifying days are the only days I lather twice.

I have a sample of the Fantasia Pure Tea but I haven't tried it yet. Yesterday I clarified with a sample packet of the Elasta QP Scalp Stimulating Shampoo. I really like this stuff!

 

[Poohbear]

Hey Irresistible,
I clarified my hair for the first time last week and Im transitioning from relaxed to natural and Im still suffering from the effects of clarifying. I will probably not clarify ever again.

My hair was squeaky clean but it was dry, somewhat brittle, and crispy-like. Everytime I comb it while dry, its hard to comb through my hair and it feels tangled at my natural roots.

I'm glad I havent suffered any major breakage from this, probably because I would comb very carefully. Moisturizers do not even work and my hair stays dry and hard. I cant wait to wash it today with my Creme of Nature shampoo and moisturize it really good. Im sure your experience is worse since you have all natural hair. I hope u overcome your bad experience.
I do not see the benefits of clarifying either. I have never clarified in my whole life. Learning about my own hair is a great experience using trial and error to see what works for your hair. So I learned clarifying is not for me.

 

[pookeylou]

[ QUOTE ]
nurseN98 said:
[ QUOTE ]
pookeylou said:
I didnt see the benefit of it either....until...

I started to get a few "pimples" and ingrown hairs in my scalp. Just one or two...painful bumps that did not get relief until I pulled out the hair. I mentioned my problem (I was thinking it was because my hair was growing so fast...

) and some sisters helped me to see that the shea butter, condition washes, moistuizers that I applied on the days I did not condition wash my hair...have caused buildup on my scalp. It was blocking the pores and the coily hair could not get out of the follicle.

Once I clarified on a regular basis....it never happened again.

My sister who is a die-hard permie...noticed that since she has been doing the condition washes...her straight hair seems heavy and has no movement, (I forgot to tell her to clarify every once in a while.) When she added lime juice to her conditioner, she got that squeaky clean, flowing hair feeling again.



I dont really like the apple cider rinse...so I just add lemon juice or lime juice to my condition washes. It still leaves my hair moisturized...but I have no problem with buildup.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, I never heard of that! How much lemon juice to conditioner do you add?

[/ QUOTE ]

Just the juice of one lemon or lime. The citric acid in one lemon is enough to remove any product build up.

 

[Lindy]

I don't ever clarify either... I usually do an ACV rinse after I shampoo, so I figure that's about all the clarifying my hair needs... It's working out well for me, and lately I haven't had the problems with tangling that I used to in the past!!

 

[Allandra]

[ QUOTE ]
Denali03 said:
[ QUOTE ]
Allandra said:
I use an applicator bottle to apply my clarify shampoo to my scalp (got that tip from Kenesha). It works out well for me.

[/ QUOTE ]
This is what I do.. After the clarifying poo, I shampoo again with CON.

[/ QUOTE ]
I move on to a good conditioner after I clarify. My conditioners seem to 'take' better this way.

 

[Nonie]

The only way I ever clarified was by adding baking soda to my shampoo, but I will tell you this (and I shared it here before) the smell of the shampoo and baking soda was reminiscent of relaxer in my hair and it scared the heck out of me such that I rinsed it out in a frantic hurry and even then, it still took a while for my heart to slow down. Not that I'm terrified of relaxing, but I just wasn't prepared for that and because I wasn't following any recipe, I didn't know if perhaps I'd used too much baking soda and was thus processing my hair somehow.

Anyway, this is the conclusion I came to (MHO):
Clarifiers are alkaline, as are relaxers. And the more alkaline sth is, the better it can strip off build-up from your hair, but that's not all, alkaline products also raise/open up your hair cuticles (which is a good thing for relaxers to work properly). It is perhaps the reaction between our hair and an alkaline that brings on that smell, plus I may have used a lot of baking soda when I did it. With this logic, then it makes a lot of sense to me why clarifying hair that probably didn't have build-up could lead to tangles. You see, if the more alkaline a shampoo is, the more likely it is to open up your cuticles if there isn't build-up for it to remove, then your hair strands are bound to become rough and prone to tangles. (This further explains why acidic shampoos are favored over alkaline ones by hair gurus, and why ACV is a great finisher for a wash --their acidity leaves cuticles closed, keeping strands smooth/slippery and tangle-free. I betcha conditioners are acidic.)

Perhaps if you had followed the clarifying with an acidic shampoo or an acidic rinse, you could have returned the cuticles back to their closed (more natural) state and therefore not had the problem. The fact that this worked for your daughter and not you might just mean your daughter's hair had build-up and needed clarifying and yours didn't. Maybe instead of clarifying by the calendar, people should clarify as necessary eg like when your hair stops responding to products that it usually responds to -- meaning build-up is probably in the way.

 

[sengschick]

Oh no!

I hope you are feeling better.

I decided to clarify for my first time after reading your post regarding the topic, Irres. I almost bought the shampoo you used, but read that it could be done w/ACV & I like to take the natural route whenever I can. I really liked the results, plus you can control how much AVC is actually best for your hair. I used 1/4 c. AVC and 3/4 c. distilled water after shampooing and before conditioning w/heat. I have used it twice thus far, once a month is sufficient for me.

As far as it's purpose/benefit (Pookey just scared the bajesus out of me w/her post), I didn't notice that my products "took" any better or were improved by clarifying. But my scalp is prone to flaking and since I rinse/CW more than shampoo these days, I thought my scalp needed the breather. I followed w/a protein treatment, but I probably should have opted for a moisturizing treatment which maybe have stopped some shedding. But all is well that ends well, I did heavier moisture on the next wash w/very, very little shedding.

 

[Ayeshia]

i clarify with vo5 kiwi n lime conditioner (its purposes are for clarifying)

also how much shampoo did you use? a dime to quater size amount was all i needed (when i used pantene clarifying), anything more than that stripped and tangled my hair.

 

[Wolftrap]

I had the same reaction to clarifying. I tried the ACV rinse and that left my hair a tangled, dry matted mess. I will NEVER clarify again. I serioulsly believe clarifying is for people that use a lot of things in their hair on a regular basis. I am not one of those people so I felt like I had stripped my hair.

 

[UmSumayyah]

I clarify every six weeks. I use a petroleum based grease on my ends, hot oils twice a week, my conditioners have cones, and sometimes I use an oil as a leave-in. I don't use serums, gels, or oil-sheens though. Every six weeks seems to be working well for me.

 

[Honi]

When I clarify I always follow up with a moisturizing detangling shampoo like Keracare and detangle under the shower stream. I may repeat if necc. Takes the tangles right on out. It also seems to work better too.

 

[greenidlady1]

I use the Kiwi and Lime conditioner as well. Usually my mixture is the conditioner along with a clarifying shampoo. I've also tried adding brown sugar to the shampoo that goes directly on the scalp- this acts a mild exfoliant. This combination gives pretty good results, but I try to add some coconut milk or BSM to my conditioner after and either use heat or leave it on for a longer period of time.
Hope your hair is doing better today.
Take care,
G

 

[LABETT]

I love to clarify with Lanza Deep Cleansing Shampoo it really cleans your hair and does not strip the hair.
I have used other clarifying shampoo's in the past that stripped my hair and left it feeling dry but not with Lanza.
I always follow up with a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner.

 

[Irresistible]

[ QUOTE ]
lonei said:
Irresistable, I just bought this exact product and was looking forward to using it soon. How many times did you lather and did you follow with a moisturising shampoo? I plan to wash my hair in six large braids, should the same thing happen to me if I use this product?

[/ QUOTE ] Gurrrl i dunno, i only washed once and i didnt follow up with any other shampoo, i was too scared that might make it worse...i just grabbed conditioner right away.....

so far today, i didnt end up having to go anywhere so i left the conditioner in....i will know more later as far as how its doing

 

[Irresistible]

[ QUOTE ]
Allandra said:
I use an applicator bottle to apply my clarify shampoo to my scalp (got that tip from Kenesha). It works out well for me.

[/ QUOTE ] so you dont wash it through your hair?

 

[Irresistible]

[ QUOTE ]
Allandra said:
ps. Hope your back and hair are doing ok this morning.

[/ QUOTE ] back is better than yesterday Thank God (still hurts though), will update on the hair later