Monday, January 4, 2010

Clarifying Shampoo 101


In society today, a large amount of people are concerned about their appearance and go to great lengths to look their best in almost all circumstances. As a result of this, there are countless products available that allow us to improve our looks, such as make-up, fake tan and waxing kits. A vast amount of money and research goes into the personal grooming industry, and this seems unlikely to change any time soon.


Hair in particular is a specific area for intense care. It would be impossible to count the total of shampoos, conditioners, gels, waxes and sprays that are available to the general public. It’s easy to get hold of products specific to your hair and its characteristics, and a lot of people have loyalties to certain products and brands. In this piece, I’m going to focus on clarifying shampoo, an often overlooked or unheard of product within the spectrum of hair products.


Clarifying shampoo is primarily used for removing the build up of hair products that can get stuck in your hair. Gels, waxes, shampoo and other hair treatments don’t always fully wash out of your hair, even after the most rigorous of normal washes, which is where clarifying shampoo becomes useful.


Clarifying shampoos are stronger than normal shampoos and are often used by swimmers, as they are especially useful for removing chlorine, which is well known for leaving hair looking dull and lifeless. For your average consumer, clarifying shampoo combats similar problems, as hair can lose its healthy appearance after a few weeks, even without the impact of chlorine.


Clarifying shampoo may therefore seem to be a great product that more of us should use. However, usage of this type of shampoo on a day-to-day basis will damage your hair and make it look far less attractive. As a consequence of this, it’s recommended that you only use clarifying shampoo once every two or three weeks.


A small number of people have attempted to make their own vinegar based homemade clarifying shampoo. This is due to the fact that acetic acid, a key ingredient in vinegar, is commonly found within clarifying shampoos and is known for its hair cleansing qualities. It’s been argued that making these homemade shampoos is far cheaper than spending money on branded clarifying shampoos, and you may find that this works for you.


However, clarifying shampoo’s are generally very affordable, so you shouldn’t feel that you have to go to the effort of creating your own shampoos in order to make your hair look its best. If you pay attention to advice, you wont use clarifying shampoo too often, and therefore wont end up wasting large amounts of money on this type of shampoo anyway.


A final piece of advice with regards to clarifying shampoo is to make sure that you read the labels on the brands of clarifying shampoos that you use (each can be very different). A number of clarifying shampoos are not explicitly labeled as clarifying shampoo; so make sure that you search the ingredient list for the inclusion of acetic acid. Any inclusion of acetic acid will usually mean that the shampoo shares similar properties to clarifying shampoo, and should therefore only be used sparingly.


This information should help you if you choose to purchase clarifying shampoo, and could be the answer to any hair related problems you may have. Make sure that you heed the advice given here, or you may find that your hair looks far from its best. With any luck, this short article may also have explained what clarifying shampoo does and when you should use it.