I know you’re asking the question. The industry has been taken over with these words that we don’t know quite what to do with — or where they apply to us. Well, let’s break that down.
I’m from the Northeast of the United States. I love living here for many reasons — we get tremendous seasonal changes, opportunities for growth within different industries, and a gateway to the world.
Earth is filled with minerals. We learned this as a child. Somehow, we forget that these things matter when we start poking around on this amazing planet and making things happen.
We have a lot of mountain ranges and beautiful scenery. With that comes rock formations, and pipes running through these areas offer different sediments in our waters.
Also, the water reserves that each city and community use have their own version of chemicals running into our pipes at home and in local gyms and hotels. This translates to water on our hair and on our skin.
As a colorist, I have seen tremendous effects of well and hard water on all hair types. I have literally seen the hair fiber deteriorate and be eaten away by the minerals. Often people wonder why their hair looks damaged, but when you add heat to this hair and try to blow dry, I can’t tell you the effects it has. And then you go ahead and color it on top of that and go back in that water — boy, you’re setting yourself up for a disastrous cuticle layer and beyond.
As I’ve aged and my clientele has aged, I’ve now noticed another layer of issues on the hair — often from shampoos, oils, and medication, along with minerals we produce naturally.
Also, environmental free radicals are at the forefront of this, based off all the pollution that we know exists and that we feel on our face as well. Wrinkles, we wanna fix… damaged hair — I think we want to fix that too, right?
I have tried many things over the years, but this has been one of my favorites.
One of the most effective products I’ve noticed, from in-salon to at-home care, is L’Oréal Metal Detox Line.
What I love about this line is the shampoo — it’s sulfate-free, creamy, and feels lovely to the touch when complete. It does not feel stripping or dry. It’s boosted by the mask, which, if the hair is tremendously breaking, can help prevent that buildup from getting worse as the weeks go by between color services or even haircuts.
There are lovely in-salon services that really take away a lot of the buildup so that you can maintain this at home. I also offer a line of cream and oil to help prevent heat damage if that’s a regular thing for you.
Let’s talk Detox vs. Clarifying
Detox: Detoxifying shampoos focus on environmental and internal impurities like pollutants, toxins, and excess oils that weigh the hair down, and some formulas offer ingredients to support scalp health.
If you are exposed to a high level of environmental impurities and oil buildup is tremendous, you can include an entire line to help combat from cleanse, condition, to treat. See my favorite here.
Clarifying: Clarifying shampoos and products primarily target product and mineral buildup by removing things like silicones and hard water minerals.
If you are swimming a lot and/or have hard water or major sediments in your water — sometimes even electrical wires running along water pipes can increase mineral content (FYI).
Malibu Hard Water or Swimmer Packets are wonderful to maintain at home. If you have your favorite clarifying shampoo already, feel free to use that with the Malibu packets. You’ll definitely need some moisture after this. They have an array of products to choose from, or you can use your favorite moisturizing products to replenish afterward.
Our industry offers everything you can think of. See my favorites here for lightweight sprays, leave-in conditioners, to your heaviest of masks, depending on what your hair needs. Lots of options out there.
I’m happy to help if you need any details or advice. Please add your questions below, and I’m happy to start a conversation.
Keep it simple and smart.
The Colorist Laboratory
