Banish Buildup (and Bad Hair Days)

There’s no easy way to put this—there’s stuff sitting on your hair and your scalp. And chances are your average shampoo isn’t removing it very effectively. If your hair feels brittle, looks dull, or just feels all around unmanageable, buildup may be to blame. When it comes to haircare, we’ve heard the buzzwords (sulfates, phthalates, and parabens). But, do we know what they actually mean? In an effort to make conscious, cleaner swaps, it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction. That’s where we come in. We schooled our head of Research and Development on sulfates.

Plenty of clarifying shampoos claim to remove buildup—but they’re mainly talking about product buildup. And, often times, these products leave your hair feeling overly clean.

Our scientists formulated our Clarifying Detox Shampoo to really, truly clean your hair from what we see as the big three causes of buildup: product, pollution, and hard water. So here’s what’s sitting on your scalp—and how to get rid of it.

PRODUCT BUILDUP

What it is: Ingredients from any products, leave-in products or stylers.

How it gets there: Certain products (like hairsprays) are designed to stay on your hair—not slide right off. Since about half of us don’t wash our hair everyday (which is a great for hair health), all of those ingredients can build up over time. Heavy silicones and glue-like resins are common in many products and are particularly hard to wash out.

How you know if you have it: If your hair looks dull, feels dry, greasy or weighed down and seems more difficult to manage. If your scalp feels irritated, that may also be a sign you have a product buildup issue.

How we fix it: Our Clarifying Detox Shampoo has a highly-charged anionic polymer in it that binds to product buildup and removes it from your hair.

POLLUTION

What it is: Particle matter from things like dust, grime, smoke and automobile exhaust that’s in the air and can get in your lungs—and, less commonly known, on your hair and scalp.

How it gets there: Pollution particles are everywhere—not just urban areas. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 90% of people worldwide breathe polluted air. And the less windy it is, the more pollution that builds up in the air.

How you know if you have it: Your hair feels brittle or lackluster and looks dull or dirty. If your scalp is irritated, that might also be a sign of pollution buildup.

How we fix it: There is a super-efficient, sulfate-free surfactant blend in our Clarifying Detox Shampoo that thoroughly cleanses pollution buildup from hair without leaving it feeling stripped.

HARD WATER

What it is: Water that has a high concentration of dissolved minerals, specifically calcium, copper and magnesium. It’s not a health risk, but it can negatively affect your hair.

How it gets there: 85% of US households have some degree of hard water, according to a U.S. Geological Survey. Your pipes aren’t just to blame—it’s actually the water source.

How you know if you have it: It can leave your hair feeling rough, dry, and difficult to style. It can also dull your color.

How to get rid of it: There is a chelating agent in our Clarifying Detox Shampoo  that binds to the metal ions found in hard water and removes them from your hair.

Want to know more about Clarifying Detox Shampoo and how it works? Head here.