Excellent product. If you use it at home, use soft water with the packet. I have well water, so I use a little bottled water. I have also used it while visiting relatives with soft city water. My hair stylist did the treatment for me the last time I got a trim. She has city water & I was able to sit under the dryer. It's her salon...so she can do what she wants. My hair feels & looks soooo much better with the use of this product. Before it... it was extremely dry, brittle and full of tangles. Now, it is softer, doesn't seem as dry and doesn't tangle as much. I have thick, fine hair, so it is still somewhat tangled after a shower or gust of wind. I also use Ion Hard Water shampoo, Ion Moisturizing shampoo & treatment & Ion Anti Frizz leave in conditioner & detangler. continued >>

I've been coloring and highlighting my hair for years, and occasionally because of how porous my ends are, it will pull green or gray. I used to think the only way to fix that was to use a toner or another all over color, but a stylist at my salon recommended using a clarifying treatment and to my surprise, it worked. A clarifying treatment at the salon is around $20, but you can pick up these packets for around $3 at Sally's. My hair is about bra strap length and I have a lot of it, so I use two packets. I mix it with warm water, and apply it just like hair color. It's very easy to apply and doesn't take long at all. Once I'm done, I'll hit my hair with a blowdryer for a few minutes, wrap it up in a towel, and let it sit for around 20 minutes. After that, I rinse it out and apply a good conditioner like GVP conditioning balm. I recently used this after coloring my hair slightly darker, and it removed the grayish tones my ends pulled without affecting or lightening the color itself.

I'm African-American with wavy hair. Currently, I'm wearing it straight via Coppola Smoothing Treatments and picked up this product to clarify before the treatment. It is AWESOME!!! It let my hair very smooth and shiny. My hair was so voluminous and pretty after my quick blow-dry before applying the keratin that I nearly skipped it. This is definitely a new monthly ritual for me. I can't wait to see how this works not only with the keratin, but also with a repairing mask!

I wanted to prep my hair the right way for my latest at-home color, in hopes of getting better results, and part of that quest involved using some Ion prep products instead of my usual Suave clarifying shampoo two days prior to coloring. I was pretty impressed with this product. I followed the advice of other posters here to use warm filtered water (because why add hard water to a product intended to get rid of its effects?) and it dissolved into a soft gel. One packet was barely enough to cover my hair, so if I do this again I'm going to get two. The smell was kind of cleansery, not unpleasantly so. Kind of like clean towels. I didn't experience any itching. After rinsing, it did leave my hair kind of dried out, but I was expecting that. My hair was literally squeaky clean, and I was surprised by how shiny it was considering it did not feel soft to the touch. I got great second day hair after using this product. It's not really expensive until you consider the price per ounce. I'd like to use it again if I can justify it to myself, because Suave also does the job fairly well for cheaper in comparison.

How can you not give this product 5 stars? If you like using apple cider rinses, then you will love this clarifying treatment to remove product buildup in your hair. I have fine, very dry to the point of frizzy hair and so rely on silicone based hair treatments to make my hair look normal. I use this about every 4 weeks and it is so easy to use. Mix the crystals with 1 oz of water and massage into hair and scalp. Leave on up to 20 minutes. Applying heat helps the product work better. Rinse and wow! You have your hair back! All the product and hard water residues removed. Just soft, clean hair. Love this product!

Bright blond hair + Well water = Gross orange hair!!

I was in search of a cheap way to get that icky buildup out of my hair. I went into Sally's and was directed towards this product, which does miracles to my hair! When I start seeing buildup I use this product, which I always have on hand! I mix the packet in a measuring cup with a 1/4 water, it turns into a very liquid-y gel. Then pour it over my hair making sure to get the areas that are very orange first. Next you need apply heat, I put a grocery bag over my hair and tie it in the back and turn the blow dryer on and apply heat for 20 mins which the packet says to do for heavy buildup. Once I am finished I shower and wash my hair like normal and it is back to the clean and natural looking blond hair I love :) This is an inexpensive at home way to remove build up, compared to other pricey salon treatments and shampoos. Good Luck :)

Hey curls. I missed you. All the expensive deep conditioners, argan oils, and products in the world never bring you back to me quite like the ion clarifying treatment...and it's only $2.50. I mean, how could anyone not give this five lippies? Granted, I do have tough hair (re: coarse, thick, wavy,) and I don't follow the curly girl routine like I should (re: I abuse sulfates,) and I live in an area with hard water...these things may require the usage of a heavy-duty clarifier more than most. But gosh, nothing, nothing, is more satisfying than this little packet and 20 mins--it brings my hair back to life.

The first time I used it, I was a bit lax with the directions (like I am with most products,) and was subsequently "meh" with the results. Don't do this. The next two times (weeks apart, mind you,) I was careful to get out of the shower, mix the packet with purified water (it stands to reason that using hard water would negate some of its effectiveness, right?), section my hair off, and leave it in for no less than 20 min. I also used an applicator bottle to mix it, and blasted my hair with a dryer for a couple mins to help it penetrate (heat increases the effectiveness, the packet says.) I experienced ZERO itching or irritation, and no fading of my color, but I did experience a great deal of joy when I rinsed it out and my formerly dead hair sprang back to life. I will continue using this product every 4-6 weeks (give or take,) as long as it's made. If you like the apple cider vinegar rinse, then this will knock your socks off, cos it's about 1000x better.

I was having issues with my blonde hair turning brassy. I tried all sorts of rinses and color glazing treatments to try and correct the overly gold color. I am so impressed with ion crystal clarifying treatment. I added the contents of the packet with the recommended amount of water and then a couple of squirts of shampoo. I lathered up and let this treatment sit in my hair for about 5 minutes. Wow! my hair finally returned to my original pretty shade of blonde hair ( I am naturally light blonde). I will be using this stuff from now on to clean and restore the vibrancy and color of my hair.

I moved away from the city and into the country. At my new location, they use well water. Well water or (hard water) has alot of mineral deposits which damage, and change haircolor. This happened to me as soon as I washed my hair with the water at my new place. I have bleach blond hair and I was very upset tyhat my hair turned into a brassy dirty orange color almost instantly. I bought Ion hard water shampoo..which was okay..but didnt really get the job done. I tried during a natural vinger rinse..which is great as a quick cleanse and natural..however i needed something stronger. I was thinking about buying the "malibu hard water treatment" but it was a bit expensive, so I decided to buy The Ion crystal clarifying treatment. I washed my hair with the ion hard water shampoo. Then applied the treatment, placed a cap over my head, then wrapped a towel around my head for heating purposes and left it on for about 2 hours. I was extremely impressed that all the mineral deposits were completely out of my hair. My hair was clean..bright..soft..and blond. Not only did it remove the mineral deposits it also removed product build up that was sitting on my hair. I had itchy scalp for awhile..and it completely went away. I highly recommend this product as a cleansing treatment, or before and after any chemical services. Its amazing!

I decided to try this product before coloring. My hair takes a lot of abuse - it is coarse and thick with a tendency to be dry, and I wash & heat style daily, and color at home. I use a lot of silicone-based products to tame frizz and add shine, and lately my hair had been looking like straw no matter what I did. I usually use an Aphogee protein treatment before I color, but decided to try this instead on a whim. So glad I did! I washed my hair and left it damp, then added 2 oz of hot tap water to the powder, let it gel up, then applied it all over my head, threw on a plastic processing cap, and applied some dryer heat. I waited the full 20 minutes then rinsed well and shampooed with Biolage hydratherapie. My hair looked and felt amazing. Soft, shiny, and silky, but not stripped. It definitely removed all of the nasty build up. My hair felt really clean. It also barely lifted my color, although I was planning to color immediately after anyway. I colored and then deep conditioned. My color turned out awesome and my hair looks and feels much better than before. The texture feels better and it is much more manageable. Highly recommended and I will repurchase. Edited 6/20/2011: I recently used this again prior to coloring, and I still love it. Removes all the build-up (even after weeks of using Moroccan Oil!) and leaves your hair soft & smooth. continued >>