What’s a hair detox?

Detoxifying your hair should be a regular thing - every 6 to 8 weeks, preferably. But if you can’t remember the last time you did a hair detox, there’s no better time than the present, or autumn. Over the summer, your hair collects sweat, chlorine from pools, and ocean salt that won’t budge without a detox. Plus, there’s something sooo satisfying about giving our hair a fresh start when entering a new season. Ready to press reset?

Why should you detox your hair in fall?

Summer build-up

As well as saltwater, chlorine, and sweat, you’ll most likely have lingering styling products that kept your hair in check in the heat. This combo creates a significant build-up of chemicals, salt, oils, and residue on both the hair and scalp. A detox during fall is essential to deeply cleanse the scalp, remove impurities, and reset your hair's natural balance.

Low humidity levels

In colder months, the air holds less moisture, which means there's less moisture available for your hair to absorb. Hair naturally draws moisture from its surrounding environment, but it can’t get the hydration it needs when the air is dry.

As a result, hair becomes dry, brittle, and more prone to breakage. This is when we come in with hydrating haircare products, but without a detox in the fall, excess buildup will prevent them from being properly absorbed.

Sebum production slows down

Sebum is a naturally moisturising oil produced by the scalp, but lower temperatures often cause its production to slow down. A hair detox ensures that any sebum that is created can reach the scalp by unclogging pores and freeing up the follicles, allowing them to evenly distribute sebum and moisturise the hair.

How to do a hair detox

Use a clarifying shampoo

One of the easiest ways to start a detox is with a good clarifying shampoo. This type of shampoo is formulated to give your scalp and hair a deep clean, washing away all the grime, oil, and product build-up that regular shampoos leave behind. However, be careful not to overdo it as clarifying shampoos can be drying if used too often.

Scrub your scalp

We’ve said it once (or twice) and we’ll say it again: a healthy scalp means healthy hair. Sometimes a clarifying shampooing isn’t enough, especially if you have spent most of the summer in mermaid mode and/or used a lot of styling products. That’s where a scalp scrub comes in. Lightly massaging your scalp with an exfoliating scrub helps remove dead skin cells, excess oil, and any leftover residue from styling products.

To make a natural scalp scrub at home, start with a base of 1 cup of granulated sugar (the exfoliant) and add 1/2 cup of coconut oil for hydration. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl until you have a paste. Ta-da! That’s it.

Introduce natural ingredients

It wouldn’t be a detox without cutting out harmful ingredients, would it? Kinder to the hair and scalp, naturally derived ingredients can help to reverse damage from using harsh chemicals over the summer. alott prioritises natural formulas free from SLS, sulfates, and parabens for chemical-free detoxes and beyond.

Add kaolin clay into your haircare routine

Speaking of natural ingredients, kaolin clay is ideal for detoxing the hair as it gently absorbs everything we want to get rid of - excess sebum, dirt, and product residues - without stripping the hair of its natural oils. To keep grime at bay, continue using it after your hair detox. This way you won’t need to put as much elbow grease in later on.

Kaolin clay is one of the main ingredients found in our Matte Hair Clay, alongside organic aloe vera for intense moisture, vitamin E to restore and repair, and texturising Halen Môn Sea Salt. Doubling up as haircare, you can detoxify your hair whilst looking seriously sharp.

Cut back on heat styling

If you can, try to embrace air drying or use heat tools on the lowest setting. Let your detoxed hair breathe and recover from the heat damage caused by hot tools and prolonged sun exposure.

One of our favourite styling products to use when on a hair detox is the Sea Salt Spray for beachy waves on demand - no heat necessary. Simply spritz onto dry or damp hair, scrunch upwards, and before you can say “surf’s up” you’ll have coastal curls.