View Full Version : New place, gross hair
Herb
June 18th, 2013, 02:51 AM
I've moved from the western US to the UK for a term at college. Sadly, ever since I took my first shower, my knee-length hair has become terrible. I can't wear it down, as it feels waxy and full of build-up. Split ends have tripled for no apparent reason. I am shedding a lot more. Because of the nasty feeling, I tried washing it every day for a week, instead of twice a week, but that has seemed to make it worse. Is it because the water is harder? What's the deal?
Have any of you dealt with a similar problem? Any remedies?
sunshine-locks
June 18th, 2013, 02:56 AM
Maybe your shower head needs a filter? I hope you find a solution for your problem in any case :)
Bagginslover
June 18th, 2013, 03:02 AM
Where in the UK are you? Our water here varies wildly in hardnes, and mineral content ;)
melusine963
June 18th, 2013, 03:03 AM
It may well be that the water is harder. Try googling 'hard water map UK' and 'hard water map USA'. That way you can compare what you're used to with what you have now. Also bear in mind that shampoo and conditioner ingredients vary a little between the UK and the USA. Even if they sell the exact same brand, it might not be quite the same.
Lalital
June 18th, 2013, 03:07 AM
Yes, the water is very hard. Also, if you are in London, some of the pipes are still made from lead so there are so many nasties in the water. I moved there from Australia for 6 months and could not believe the feeling of the water. I would strongly suggest getting a filter for your shower. It will be worth the money to save your hair. Also, maybe you could oil your hair with coconut oil before washing it - I have found it amazing for the protection of my hair and reduction of split ends. Good luck :)
Bagginslover
June 18th, 2013, 03:15 AM
Yes, the water is very hard. Also, if you are in London, some of the pipes are still made from lead so there are so many nasties in the water. I moved there from Australia for 6 months and could not believe the feeling of the water. I would strongly suggest getting a filter for your shower. It will be worth the money to save your hair. Also, maybe you could oil your hair with coconut oil before washing it - I have found it amazing for the protection of my hair and reduction of split ends. Good luck :)
If she's in a hard water area though, any lead piping will have little effect, as the calcium in the water prevents the lead from leeching (standard reactivity series chemistry ;) ). There are very soft water areas here too, The UK is ver varied in many ways ;)
PeacenQuietGal
June 18th, 2013, 09:10 AM
Perhaps a chelating shampoo if the water is indeed hard?
spidermom
June 18th, 2013, 09:26 AM
I was just reading an article on AOL about copper pipes and how they are a major cause for bad hair days. I second a filter. If nothing else, get a filter for the kitchen sink (usually cheaper than a shower head filter) and collect your hair-washing water in pitchers.
truepeacenik
June 18th, 2013, 11:32 AM
My hair fried in the UK. Classic length that was so damaged I had to go a bit longer than chin length. But I'd been swimming in the channel and got into an industrial outlet area.
I'm wondering where in the Western US you had soft water! I was in the Denver metro and now the Bay Area and my calcium levels are great...for my bones!:cool:
eta: use local shampoos. They will be made with regional water composition, and troubles, in mind.
Anje
June 18th, 2013, 11:37 AM
Definitely get out the hardness maps and compare your new place and your old place, because both the US and UK vary wildly in the available water type.
That said, it probably wouldn't hurt to find/order a chelating shampoo and start doing some dilute vinegar rinses. You may have some mineral buildup that's making things worse.
You're conditioning, right? Check the ingredients list on your products to see if there's anything obviously different from what you were using before. Many of the UK versions of products have silicones where the US ones don't -- if you're like me and have trouble with silicones drying your hair and making it splitty, it might be worth finding new products.
jacqueline101
June 18th, 2013, 12:14 PM
I agree research the water hardness, look at the shampoo ingredients make sure that's not the problem, and get a water filter.
red-again
June 18th, 2013, 02:13 PM
Defo get a region specific shampoo. You will be surprised at the difference I think.
W have water of medium hardness here, but when in bristol a few years ago, the water was very hard. An easy "see" as to how hard your water may or may not be is your kettle. Here, I descale every 5 months or so. In bristol, it was necessary much, much more often. Where I grew up, in South Wales, my mum had a kettle for 10 years which never needed descaling.
If I took shampoo from South Wales to London to see my BF, my hair would just hang limply. If I used his shampoo, all was ok! And vice versa, his shampoo in South Wales, hair went totally boofy!.
You will, though in any case find your hair and body do adjust in time whatever you do, just hope it doesn't take too long.
Hope you enjoy your time here in the uk despite this though!
jeanniet
June 18th, 2013, 03:34 PM
If you find that the water is hard, a shower filter is probably the best answer. In the meantime, you can do citric acid rinses, which will help with the hardness and also chelate other minerals in the water. I use 1/4 teaspoon citric acid in a gallon of water as a final rinse. It really helps and I rarely have to use a chelating shampoo (I have hard well water; we have an iron filter but it doesn't remove everything). You may need to do a chelating wash as a first step, but I wouldn't recommend using a chelating shampoo as your regular shampoo because they are very stripping.
OleanderTime
June 18th, 2013, 05:47 PM
So happy for this thread! I am from the midwest, USA and am staying in London for 6 weeks and my hair is just awful! Since it's not permanent, I'm not going to make major changes to my routine (or the piping at my guesthouse) but it has been driving me crazy. Good luck finding a solution, and know that you are not crazy...
Herb
June 19th, 2013, 01:49 AM
Thank you guys all so much! <3 I checked the maps, and yes, the water here is indeed harder than hard! I come from foothills in the (bottom of the) north west in the US, and the water there is great. A big difference indeed. I will be doing acid rinses, will get a filter if my roommates would chip in (they're having icky hair, too), and I will try not to wash my hair more than I have to. Can't wait until August so I can get to my nice water again. ; )
faellen
June 19th, 2013, 02:05 AM
It must be a case of what your hair is used to. Obviously you won't find everyone living in hard water areas in the UK with icky hair. I live in a hard water area and don't have any problems, my hair is usually shiny and soft. But when I went to Cornwall last year for a holiday, a soft water area, my hair went limp and looked and felt awful! I was so happy to return to hard water! Weird phenomenon.
Natalia
June 19th, 2013, 02:42 AM
I agree with it likely being hard water. Id look into chealating shampoo if you use shampo if not then the miricle water recipe you can find on here. I find an SMT is usually sufficient to get me back on track but i dont live with hard water full time.
Ayjay
June 19th, 2013, 02:55 AM
Ugh I know how you feel. My hair loves the water from home and when I moved to the UK it slowly got worse and worse. I've found that ACV rinses help though.
Firefox7275
June 19th, 2013, 09:42 AM
Do your final rinse in bottled water (17p for 2 litres) with a little cheap white/ distilled vinegar (49p for 500ml) added - Tesco Value brand or Asda Smartprice brand for these prices. AFAIK there is nothing magic about pricier apple cider vinegar, it's the acetic acid that is the workhorse.
patienceneeded
June 19th, 2013, 02:33 PM
*snip
I'm wondering where in the Western US you had soft water! I was in the Denver metro and now the Bay Area and my calcium levels are great...for my bones!:cool:
*end snip
The Portland Metro area of Oregon has some of the softest water available. Actually, most of western Oregon has soft water. Eastern Oregon (like most of Idaho) has hard water. Depends on where in the western states you are!
meteor
June 19th, 2013, 03:00 PM
From what I remember, South-Eastern UK has hard water and the North generally has softer water.
Yes, it varies tremendously across the country. I remember that my hair was horribly fried in the UK. I couldn't recognize it after a couple months. It took a very long time to recover completely. I agree: vinegar rinses and water filter is the way to go, because this problem (heavy residue) will accumulate.
Check these out:
http://www.bristan.com/watermap
http://www.heatwell.co.uk/hard-water-areas-in-the-uk-ireland/
makeminea99
June 19th, 2013, 03:12 PM
It's definitely a case of what your hair is used to, isn't it? I live in the South West of the UK in a very hard water area, and have done all my life. My hair's fine - although, of course, much nicer in the past year or so since I started following some of the great tips to be found here on the LHC! ;)
jeanniet
June 19th, 2013, 03:35 PM
Water hardness can be pretty variable, even locally. Our well water is hard, but I know someone who lives about four miles away with water in the normal range. It must come from more or less the same aquifer, but maybe theirs goes through a different kind of bedrock or something.
Bagginslover
June 20th, 2013, 04:26 AM
It's definitely a case of what your hair is used to, isn't it? I live in the South West of the UK in a very hard water area, and have done all my life. My hair's fine - although, of course, much nicer in the past year or so since I started following some of the great tips to be found here on the LHC! ;)
Me too (we're pretty close actually!), my hair has never suffered from being washed in hard water :)
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