Best Clarifying Shampoo For Curly Hair [Review] in 2022

Clarifying shampoo should be a must for everyone, even if you have curly hair or not. Doing a clarifying shampoo once a month will clear your hair from all the gunk and product buildup so your hair stylers, creams, and gels can penetrate deeply.

If there is a layer of buildup on your curls, your products struggle to penetrate through this layer and will sit on top too. You may notice this when your hair products aren’t working as well as they used to, and when this happens then, this is your sign that your hair needs clarifying.

But clarifying is more than just your regular shampoo; it penetrates deeper to cut out dust, buildup from hair styling products, oils, silicones, and whatever else is building up on your hair cuticles. It will leave you with bouncy curls as nothing will be weighing down your hair anymore.

Now, you should never use clarifying shampoo on curly hair more than maybe once a month (twice if you’ve used silicones). This is because clarifying shampoo is far too harsh on curls to use regularly; it often contains sulfates and harsh chemicals to remove buildup.

So while it works wonders to remove buildup when needed every month or two, it is not recommended for weekly use as it will dry the curls out and lead to damaged hair– the last thing we want!

But I’m here to run through everything you need to know about clarifying shampoo and why you should clarify your hair!

So what is clarifying shampoo, and what does clarifying shampoo do? A clarifying does far more than any regular shampoo; it cuts through product buildup and oils, leaving hair looking and feeling super clean. If you’ve ever had a salon relaxer or keratin treatment, it may have been used.

This is because these treatments work wonders on extremely clean hair, so by doing a clarifying shampoo beforehand, you can reap the most benefits of these treatments as they can penetrate deeper into the hair cuticle and work most effectively.

But clarifying shampoos can be used by anyone. If you feel your hair is not cooperating or feels lifeless, then this is a sign of product buildup. Clarifying shampoo leaves a blank canvas for your products to work to their best ability.

So is clarifying shampoo good for curly hair?

Yes and no. No clarifying shampoo is good for any hair type, but it is necessary for curly hair from time to time. Clarifying shampoos tend to contain sulfates which help to remove grease, oil, silicones, and hair products from your strands but will dry your hair out.

Clarifying shampoo is often used as the reset shampoo before completing the curly girl method. This is because sulfate-free shampoos won’t remove product buildups like silicones, waxes, and oils, so it is used as the first step and then once every month or two after.

But since curly hair is already fragile and prone to dryness, it is not recommended to do it regularly; it is very necessary at times but not to be used on a weekly basis. It will stip your curls from natural moisture, but it will leave your hair feeling fresher than ever.

The best clarifying shampoos for curly hair have to be gentle formulas, gentle but effective as you want it to remove all the buildup from your hair, but you don’t want to strip too much of the natural moisture or oils as this will make your curls more prone to damage.

There’s no right or wrong as to how often you should clarify your hair, it depends on how your hair feels and which products you are using, but it is recommended that you use clarifying shampoos once a month on curly or natural hair.

However, if you accidentally use silicones, waxes, or mineral oils on your hair, then you might want to use a clarifying shampoo when you notice this buildup. For example, if you’re using any of the Olaplex range from No. 4 – 8 as they contain water-soluble silicones.

There are crazy benefits of using Olaplex products on your curls; they help promote the healthiest curls possible as they repair the hair follicle on a molecular level on the inside out. However, they do contain a lightweight silicone amodimethicone which has benefits for curls, but it is non-soluble, and non-Curly Girl Method approved.

That being said, it does not build up on hair like regular silicones, so if you’re doing a monthly clarifying wash, then you can reap the benefits of olaplex with zero product buildup. You can still use Olaplex No. 0 – 3 on the CGM as they are silicone-free!

Check out my favorite Olaplex products for curly hair for more details!

That being said, if you’re doing the Curly Girl Method strictly and cutting out silicones, waxes, and mineral oils (all the ingredients that buildup), then you might not need to do a clarifying shampoo once a month. You can stretch it until you judge that your hair needs it.

Ultra-fine hair might need it monthly even while doing the CGM strictly as fine hair is more prone to oil than thick hair. For thick, dry hair, you should try to stretch the gap between clarifying shampoos as much as you can, as this can really dry out your ends.

For example, my coilies with thick, coarse hair should avoid clarifying shampoo and use it only when necessary when there is buildup, and your products are not performing as well as they used to. This is because thick, coarse curls struggle with moisture retention as it is so stripping more natural moisture will make this curl type most prone to damage.

So yes and no, it is good for deep cleaning and removing buildup so your curly hair products can work to the best of their ability, but it is not recommended to be used regularly. So once every month or two is recommended for curly hair.

There tends to be a few signs that your curly hair needs a clarifying wash, so either you can clarify once a month or wait until these signs start appearing to clarify– I tend to wait as I have thick, coarse, dry curls, and I want to wait as long as possible.

But here are some of the signs that you need to clarify your hair:

• – Hair starts to look dull
• – Curls are weighed down and limp
• – Your products aren’t working as well as they used to
• – Your hair feels greasy / “producty” even after washing
• – Hair looks dirty even when clean
• – Oily roots appear far sooner than before
• – Hair feels itchy and flaky
• – Curls look frizzier
• – Curls are looking flat and no longer hold their shape
• – Your curls just look and feel different, and you can no longer achieve voluminous hair

The key sign is that your curls are suddenly not cooperating as well as they used to; they feel heavier and overall almost greasy, despite just washing it recently. This may be your sign to do a clarifying wash on your curls.

Clarifying curly hair is super easy to do; you just need to use clarifying shampoo instead of your regular shampoo. Your hair will feel a little dry afterward, but to combat this, I set a day once every month or two to use a deep conditioner and restore moisture to my hair.

I am a personal fan of Olaplex No. 3 for protecting and repairing my curls (it is even CGM approved!) I wet down my hair and apply Olaplex No. 3 to my damp hair and leave it for an hour or so; it is effective up until the hair is dry. I created a full guide on how to use Olaplex 3, be sure to check it out!

I then hop in the shower and rinse the treatment out of my hair and then do two clarifying shampoos with a 5-minute scalp massage for each using my hands and my shampoo brush to really stimulate the scalp and remove all the product buildup from the month.

Top tip of how to clarify hair: Make sure to avoid the ends of your hair and never scrub the shampoo into the ends, it will just dry them out and cause them to become very brittle. Don’t worry it will naturally reach the ends when washing it out.

I then load up my ends with my favorite deep conditioning hair mask and leave it on for a further hour or so– see why I said I set a day once a month to clarify my hair? Then I will rinse that out and apply my hydrating hair products directly to my wet hair.

When looking for clarifying shampoos, the key ingredient that will be sure to get your hair all the way clean is either olefin sulfonate or sulfate. It is not CGM approved, but many Curly Girls use it to remove buildup every month or two.

How do you make clarifying shampoo for curly hair?

You can make your own clarifying shampoo, but it may not be as effective as buying one online from a professional brand. But you can make your own DIY clarifying shampoo with a mixture of baking soda and apple cider vinegar.

This is recommended for naturally curly hair as you know exactly what ingredients you are using within your shampoo so no sneaky ingredients ate used, which can secretly damage your hair. Mixing a tablespoon of baking soda with warm water and apple cider vinegar is one of my favorite homemade clarifying shampoo recipes.

Aloe vera is also brilliant at removing natural oils and soothing the scalp, making it a great ingredient in clarifying shampoos.

Spread evenly across your scalp and leave it on for a few minutes and then give your scalp a massage with the treatment on to help break down the buildup and then remove by rinsing. Follow this with a deep conditioning treatment to restore moisture.

Why use a clarifying shampoo on curly hair?

A clarifying shampoo is designed to remove buildup from your hair, such as waxes and moisturizers, and silicones used on the day-to-day. Curly hair is likely to have buildup as we curly girls use a lot of products to define our curls.

After a while, our hair becomes limp, and our styling products don’t work as well as they used to; curls don’t look as bouncy as they once were. All these signs are reasons to use clarifying shampoos to help remove buildup so curls can be restored.

Using clarifying shampoos once every month or two is recommended.

What makes a shampoo clarifying?

Clarifying shampoos often differ from your regular shampoo as it is far stronger; it is designed to deep clean your hair and specifically formulated to remove stubborn residue on your hair that your weekly shampoo or co-wash would often miss.

It is often formulated with sulfates which can be quite stripping to curly hair but is necessary on a monthly or two monthly basis to remove buildup, so your styling and conditioning products can penetrate more deeply and so you can reap the benefits.

What is the best clarifying shampoo for curly hair?

I personally love Redken’s clarifying shampoo range for curly hair as it is gentle enough to be used on curls while being strong enough to remove all stubborn buildups and refreshing hair. It is a professional brand loved by stylists all over the globe.

However, as a cheaper alternative, Shea Moisture is another brilliant brand; it uses natural formulas to remove buildup, it may not be as effective as some of the other brands as it doesn’t contain sulfates, but it is much more gentle on curls and affordable.

 There you have it, everything you need to know, and the best product recommendations of the best clarifying shampoos for curly hair. It is highly recommended to do a monthly deep cleanse with a clarifying shampoo to remove buildup.

So set a day every month or two, preferably a Sunday, to deeply cleanse and nourish your curls. Use a pre-treatment before clarifying and a deep conditioning treatment afterward. This will help restore moisture and protect those precious curls.

Choose from any of the clarifying shampoos I have selected for you today; they are gentle enough to use on curls while being effective at removing buildup. You will notice the difference in your curls after doing this shampoo monthly.

Every day should be a good curl day, after all!