Figure out which type of formula your hair needs

You’ve got two shampoo options to help you remove hard-water build-up: chelating and clarifying shampoos. Chelating shampoos (sometimes called demineralizing shampoos) tend to be harsher and more drying than clarifying shampoos, and they work by binding to the minerals stuck to your hair and then breaking them down while you suds up.

Clarifying shampoos, on the other hand, will help strip away some of the mineral build-up—along with basic product build-up—but they aren’t as effective at harder-to-remove minerals, and they may not even remove tough product build-up, like waxes and silicones.

If you're dealing with major mineral build-up—like you just spent two weeks swimming in a chlorinated pool and showering in hard water—go for a tried-and-true chelating shampoo, like the Malibu C Hard Water Shampoo. But if you're not quite sure what your hair needs, try the Color Wow Dream Filter Mineral Remover (which will gently break down minerals) or the Ouidad Water Works Clarifying Shampoo (which uses sulfates to strip away all product build-up).

Take a look at the ingredients

Typically, most shampoos—even the bottle you've got sitting in your shower right now—will contain one or two ingredients (known as chelators) to help break down minerals. But the difference between your regular shampoo and a hard-water or clarifying shampoo is the amount and strength of each chelator in the formula.

The best hard-water shampoo will be filled with a mix of chelating agents, like EDTA (the most popular and effective, which is why you'll see it in almost every product on this list), along with vitamin C (aka ascorbic acid), apple cider vinegar, sodium citrate, sodium gluconate, and/or citric acid. As long as your shampoo has a few of these chelators and also promises to break down build-up, you'll be golden.

Manage your dryness expectations

Regardless of which type of hard-water shampoo you grab, know that it's going to leave your hair feeling at least a little dry and stripped (sorry—that's the name of the hard-water game). So if you're super worried about dryness, look for a shampoo formulated with moisturizers, like the rich, oil-filled Mielle Mongongo Oil Shampoo or the hydrating Pattern Clarifying Shampoo.

Or, just grab the first hard-water shampoo you find, strip away the minerals, accept the dryness, and then saturate your hair with a thick and buttery hair mask (like my favorite SheaMoisture Intensive Hydration Masque) or a protein-based deep conditioner (like the It's a 10 Miracle Deep Conditioner).

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