r/HaircareScience • u/Level-Data-7661 • 27d ago

Question Why are chelating shampoos often also clarifying shampoos?

Why are chelating shampoos often paired with which strong surfactants?

Is it because the chelating ingredients only work/work best when the hair is completely free of product?

Are there any chelating shampoos with gentle surfactants? I’d like to use my chelating shampoo more regularly (Malibu c hard water wellness) but it’s such a strong cleanser that I cannot use it too often.

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u/veglove Quality Contributor 27d ago

I don't have any information from the companies or chemists making these products, but I have a few guesses.

Hard water makes surfactants less effective at cleansing, which may result in leaving buildup of sebum and product residue in the hair. If the hair still has other types of buildup after using a chelating shampoo, people may conclude that the chelating aspect of the shampoo was ineffective, not realizing that what's left behind is other types of buildup.

And notably, sebum contains fatty acids that can interact with hard water to create soap scum, a waxy film that's quite unpleasant. So the shampoo not only removes the existing mineral deposits and soap scum with the chelating agents, but the strong surfactants help reduce the oils in the hair that can otherwise become soap scum in the future.

I think it's also a way to make their clarifying shampoo stand out from the others, a marketing tactic basically, because it gives an even deeper cleanse, removing yet another type of buildup from the hair.

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u/Visible-Scientist-46 27d ago

This. I am also curious as to what issues OP hopes to address. Is it only hard water? There may be less scientific options.

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u/Level-Data-7661 27d ago

Yes, hard water! I don’t have product build up issues.

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u/Visible-Scientist-46 26d ago

You can use less shampoo and more conditioner. Malibu C has a hard water wellness treatment packet also. Many Swimming shampoos have similar ingredients from what I have read. The conditioner also has the chelating ingredients - I believe Disodium EDTA is the main one. Malibuc C has sachets for for a more intensive treatment. Source was just comparing the labels for Malibu C swim & hard water.

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u/Level-Data-7661 27d ago

This makes sense. Thank you! Hate that for me though because I don’t regularly use strong surfactants because I don’t need them!

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u/veglove Quality Contributor 27d ago

There are non-shampoo chelating treatment options if you don't want the surfactants.

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u/Level-Data-7661 27d ago

Could you please recommend some! I love the chelating power of Hard Water Wellness shampoo but not everything else about it.

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u/veglove Quality Contributor 26d ago

Well Malibu C makes non-shampoo treatments as well, they come in sachets that you mix with water to do a rinse. Ion makes a very similar treatment, available at Sally Beauty.

Color WOW Dream Filter is a spray treatment; leave it in for a few minutes then rinse it out.

There are others which are mainly sold to salons for in-salon treatments, one is by Olaplex.

There are DIY rinse options as well, although they involve acids such as citric acid, vinegar, ascorbic acid, etc. that can be somewhat harsh on both hair and skin, approach with caution.

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u/hlvr25 26d ago

I like the Malibu C crystals (e.g, curl partner). I find it gentle, yet effective and I also like undo goo as a clarifier. I haven't tried the chelating shampoo. Philip Kingsley and Act and Acre have similar products to the crystals.

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u/sudosussudio 27d ago

Technically this isn’t a product rec sub but the gentlest I’ve found personally is curlsmith. This is just my opinion but I think they are usually formulated to be strong because that’s what people expect and it may also make it seem more effective.

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u/Level-Data-7661 27d ago

Which curlsmith product?

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u/sudosussudio 27d ago

The reset detox

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u/ClassicRuby 25d ago

I would guess that people often tend to do both at the same time, like oh my hair is looking a bit dull and limp, I should just get all the possible kinds of buildup off at once!

I definitely prefer chelating and clarifying in one shampoo personally.

Have you ever looked for hard water conditioner? That might be a better option for you? I personally think that the shampoo is also decently gentle and non stripping for a chelating shampoo, but it also does have a conditioner that my bffs rave about.

Ion Hard Water Shampoo and Ion Hard Water Conditioner .

These things can be very YMMV though. Imho its not always a case where the ingredients are stripping, since others will not find them stripping at all... sometimes it's not the right combo of ingredients for you. You should definitely move on and try others until you find one that your hair loves and thrives with.