Every couple of years my parents would have our house painted. The painter we had each time, my brother and I called Uncle Raffee.
He was not related to us and I have no idea what his real name was or even how to spell it but that’s what we called him and it literally took him the entire summer to get our house painted.
We didn’t like it when it was paint season, sorry mommy and daddy! But for a kid, remembering that the banister was wet or that we couldn’t play with the paint was kinda annoying.
Needless to say Uncle Raffe would do his thing and we would learn a thing or two in-between his religious anthems (he always sang when he painted).
I remembered that the first day was always the worst, he spent hours removing layers and then priming for fresh paint because according to him fresh paint would not look right on top of all the layers of paint we already had.
The rest of the time he would spend singing, painting, adding new colors and giving us advice on a variety of topics. At the end of it the results were pretty awesome despite my reservations on the process; the house would seem to sparkle and our home appeared new again.
Uncle Raffee didn’t know it but he teaches us a very important lesson in hair care. Frankly even though we love our products, for our hair to become renewed and sparkle again we have to strip it of all the buildup, gunk and grime that we added to it in the first place just like an old house with old paint. This process is called clarifying, and there are a number of ways you can get it done.
Decide On When to Clarify
This can be confusing for some women who are early in their hair journey, because we are already focused on moisture and protein and all that jazz, how do you know when it is time to strip your hair of it all and start over?
Well frankly, your hair will tell you so you have to become very observant. Here is what I mean, if you are consistently using conditioners, deep conditioning* concoctions, gels, spritzers, smoothers, oils* and whatever else, after a while you hair will start to appear dull and lifeless.
If you have natural hair, your curls wont pop as well as they usually do, and if you have relaxed hair, you hair will no longer be light airy, bouncy with that swing you are used to. However those results are all generalities.
It is very important to know what your hair looks and feels like when it is at its best to know what it looks and feels like when it is at its worst. When you figure that out, then you will hear when she tells you. “Look boo, things are starting to get a little Cray Cray around here, too much stuff, everybody gotta go, and I need my Zen back”.
Once you have figured out when the build up situation is out of hand, then your next step is to decide on how to get the problem solved.
Once a month and thats only if i put build up products in my hair
Not a lot, but I don’t use many products either. Trying to keep up with weekly DCs
Once a month. Try not to dry out my hair and scalp as much as possible.
Once a month
I would say once a month also but in between ill wash with conditioners/co wash.
I wash my hair twice a month.
Two or three times .
Every 2 weeks 😀
I was once a month and condition every 2 weeks
Whenever I’ve applied a lot of product to it I clarify it.
I cowash once a week…I rarely clarify unless I style my hair a lot. Maybe once a month.
Once a week , due to using greentea products and condition each wash.
twice a month. except with certain shampoos, i may be able to shampoo more often.
What? Am i the only one who washes my hair every week with shampoo en allot of conditioner??
No you are not I do too.
its just not necessary to do that for alot of ppl. i only have 2 use shampoo twice a month. shampoo tends to strip alot ppl hair and drying.conditioner works just fine. now that i go thru
I do also i wash every saturday at the salon
I do a Bentonite Clay (blended with ACV & Water) Treatment once every month religiously!!!
I use a Clarifying shampoo once per month, and I shampoo my hair weekly with Joico.
Every 2-3months
Naomi Meijer there is a difference between clarifying and just washing it wiry basic shampoo ^^;;;;;;;;
I clarify maybe twice a month :>
What does clarify means?
A clarifying shampoo. Deep cleans the hair.
I just started incorporating clarifying into my routine. I’ve been averaging about once every 4-6 weeks. This may change, though. I think it may be too much because I barely use any products and I wash often.
Once a month because I wear quick weaves while transitioning because I do not want to deal with my hair at all and the molding process calls for a lot of products that causes build-up but it works for me bc I wear my weave for a month and wash it out and I notice sooo much growth,,, and I don’t have to deal with doing hair… Here is a Pic
Great informative articles
Once every two weeks
I use a clarifying shampoo once a week along with a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner.
Once a week in winter twice a week hot summer days.
Once a month regardless of whether it’s rainy season or dry season.
5 times a week is dt healthy for my hair i did the big chop
Once a month for me (sometimes twice). I do it whenever I think about it or when my hair starts looking funky.
But I cowash every couple of days.
Even though I clarify once per month using Bentonite Clay, I wash & dc my hair every 4 days alternating between an Ayurvedic Poo Bar Bobeam) or a Cleansing Ayurvedic Herbal Hair Pack/Mask (Shikakai, Amla, Neem & Hibiscus)!
What r some of the brands?
Every 3 to 4 days a week at the longest ..wish I could go once a month my scalp would feel Like fleas in it
Once a week or any time I wash my hair in general. So in addition to the products I use for what y’all call the LOC method, my sebaceous glands produce a whole lot of oil, so clarifying is a must for my hair.
Thanks for this information! I needed it!
I clarify once a month. That seems to be the answer to my clarifying needs.
Great article☺
We like this article, very good