If your hair feels weighted down, dull, and lifeless, you most likely have product build-up in your hair and scalp. A clarifying treatment can help, and a DIY clarifying shampoo using baking soda is a simple solution. But, it is important to understand the do’s and don’ts of using baking soda and clarifying shampoo for healthy hair.
Clarifying shampoo is formulated to deep-cleanse your hair by removing substances/residues/impurities that have built up on the hair shaft, including excess sebum. These shampoos have higher alkalinity, allowing them to bind to minerals and metals, which water then washes out of your hair. Think of clarifying shampoo as a “reset button” for your hair.
There are several reasons why people use clarifying shampoos regularly:
Making a DIY clarifying shampoo is as simple as adding baking soda to your regular shampoo.
Baking soda is a natural ingredient that can help you achieve or maintain scalp and hair health. Adding it to your hair care routine can do wonders for how your hair feels and looks. Hair care products can lead to product build-up, which can irritate the scalp and hair follicles, weigh the hair down, and remove shine. Scalp build-up can also lead to an interruption in hair growth.
Read also: Risks of Baking Soda Hair Wash
Baking soda has a pH level of around 8-9, which is alkaline. Soaps have a similar pH. Because of its pH, baking soda is very cleansing and detoxing. Plus, the grittiness of the powder, when mixed with a liquid, can help manually remove build-up.
After clarifying your hair and scalp, the cuticle of your hair is open. This is a fantastic time to deep condition your hair. Follow up your conditioner with a diluted apple cider vinegar rinse to restore pH in the skin. An ACV rinse will close the hair cuticle and add even more shine. You might also use a nourishing hair oil or a leave-in detangler to add moisture back into the hair after you’ve washed and conditioned.
It is recommended not to use any heat on your hair after you use this homemade hair clarifier or any other clarifying shampoo. The act of removing build-up from your scalp and hair is drying, no matter what product or DIY you choose. Your hair will appreciate some TLC after being stripped.
If you have an oily scalp, you can most likely benefit from using baking soda once a week, as long as your skin isn’t overly sensitive. However, if your scalp and hair are dry, it is advised to only use baking soda in your shampoo once a month. Overdoing baking soda on the hair will dry your hair out and irritate your scalp.
As mentioned earlier, baking soda is not pH balanced. It has a very high pH, meaning it is very alkaline. Daily use of baking soda will wreck your hair and scalp. You should not use baking soda if you suffer from a skin condition like eczema or psoriasis on your scalp. Baking soda will purge your hair of its natural oils, so you’ll want to replenish them afterward.
Read also: Make Your Own Soda Candy Wax
Keep in mind that some skin types are sensitive to baking soda. If you are concerned about your skin sensitivity, it is suggested doing a patch test on your inner arm to ensure you don’t irritate your scalp.
Warning: Baking Soda could strip your hair color. Be aware that some people claim that baking soda strips color-treated hair. If you have hair color you would like to keep, it is advised to test strip first. Baking Soda also contains aluminum unless it states otherwise, so use aluminum-free baking soda.
Despite its benefits, you should generally only use clarifying shampoo once a week at the most. Otherwise, you risk premature fading of color from your hair. The intense cleansing agents can open the hair cuticle and allow color molecules to escape. That means this shampoo could strip color from your hair or even cause it to fade when you don’t want it to.
Technically, clarifying shampoo is not made to clear out hair dye. That said, the high levels of surfactants can cause color to fade. This is especially likely to happen with colors like pink, purple, blue, or other fashion or non-traditional colors. If you’re intentionally trying to fade or remove unwanted hair color, you can certainly use clarifying shampoo to help achieve your goal.
Yes, there are several methods besides clarifying shampoo to help fade or remove hair dye.
Read also: Deep Clean for Healthy Hair
Popularized by the “no poo” method, the baking soda hair fad is meant to replace commercial shampoos. People report that baking soda, dissolved in water, can remove excess oil and build-up, soften your hair, and restore shine. But the method is not foolproof - some people have reported severe damage to their hair over time.
There is no evidence that baking soda can soften your hair or restore shine. There’s more research to support baking soda as a risk for hair damage and skin irritation.
The average scalp has a pH level of 5.5, and the hair shaft has a pH level of 3.67. Maintaining this balance helps with hair health, but baking soda has a pH level of 9. Research shows that products with a high pH level can increase:
Your skin also has a pH level around 5.5. One study found that an alkaline soap (pH 9.5) significantly decreased the skin’s fat content and irritated the protective layer of the skin.
Evidence to support the benefits of baking soda is mostly self-reported. It’s possible for baking soda to produce benefits at first. Ingredients with a high pH are effective at removing build-up and drying out the scalp, but long-term use can also strip your hair of its natural oils and irritate the scalp.
The no poo method recommends using a baking soda scrub and a diluted apple cider vinegar rinse afterward to rebalance your scalp’s pH level. The no poo method doesn’t balance your scalp’s pH level. In fact, it may even stress out your scalp when you introduce a high and low pH level so quickly together.
If you do choose to use the no poo method, do so with extreme caution. Patch-test on your skin before using to see if baking soda causes any side effects. In general, baking soda is abrasive and can leave your hair and scalp dry. Using the powder as a shampoo is more likely to be effective for people with extra oily hair. People with dry hair should consider following the rinse with a conditioner to moisturize the scalp.
One woman writes that a couple of years after starting the no poo regimen, she noticed severe breakage in her very long hair. Another woman stated that after three years of using baking soda as a shampoo substitute, she noticed her hair had become brittle and weak. She discovered that the high alkalinity of baking soda, which is not pH-balanced, mixed with the acidity of the apple cider vinegar, caused the damage. A different no poo convert shared a similar experience within weeks of starting the method. Some users have found that combining baking soda with an apple cider vinegar rinse actually stripped their hair.
The good news is that hair and skin care has increasingly improved since the no poo method. How you choose your hair care products, from shampoos to sprays, should depend on:
tags: #baking #soda #and #clarifying #shampoo #uses
