Hair Chelation Wash (Cassia & Hard Water)

What is chelation?
It’s the binding to – and removal of metals / minerals.

That’s a thing with the hair?
Yeppers!
Even if you don’t have noticeably hard water in your pipes, mineral buildup on your scalp & in your hair can happen over time.  Plus, chlorinated water & environmental pollutants add to mineral buildup.

Why does this matter?
If you’re using cassia, your hair MUST be free of hard water minerals: cassia will react to the minerals, turning your hair anywhere from greenish – brownish – green-black.
In other words, a gross colour. So, all the blondes, strawberries & light brown colour mixes that use cassia can be affected. 

Don’t use cassia?
Here are other mineral buildup facts:
It dulls hair shine, can brass, darken & discolour the hair; weighs the hair down, dries & causes frizz, can even choke out the hair root causing hair loss.

So, unless you have the best water ever, it’s a good idea to chelate every so often. Suspect hard water?  Weekly chelation is typically recommended.

How to Chelate your hair:

CHELATION SHAMPOO:
How is chelation shampoo different than a clarifying shampoo? Clarifying shampoos are strong & great at stripping away oils & styling products; but they can’t bind to & remove the metals / mineral. When buying a chelation shampoo, make sure it doesn’t’ have added proteins or silicones (any of the ‘cones’)

THE HOMEMADE METHODS:
Test different methods with hair harvested from your brush to make sure they completely remove minerals before using cassia on your whole head.
For all of the methods below:
- completely saturate your hair
- let sit for 5 - 15 minutes while keeping your head warm
- rinse out with cold water. 
Depending on the mineral / metal content of the water in your region, some of these methods might not work. Some might make it worse (reports with ACV). You’ll have to test them out for yourself.
Keep an eye on the pH level! Hair is pH 4.5 – 5.5.  These chelation methods are very acidic & can irritate your scalp & hair. If your hair ends up more dry, frizzy & brittle, then dilute the ratios by half.

1 – Vinegar (apple cider or distilled): 1 Tbsp vinegar in 1 cup water = pH 3.3
                distilled vinegar for blondes – ACV can pull hair to red over time

2 – Club Soda: undiluted

3 – Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid): 1/8 tsp in 1 cup water = pH 3.6

4 – Citric acid: 1/16 tsp in: 1cup water – pH 3.1

Here’s a recipe to try:  
½ tsp citric acid & ½ tsp vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in 1cup of pure aloe gel.

Gentle rinse for every time hard water hits your hair:
1 gallon bottle of distilled water + 1/16 of a teaspoon of vitamin c L-ascorbic acid and 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid.