Water quality and hair?

[sunnylove]

How much do you all think that water quality matters in having nice hair? We have hard well water (city water is not an option where I live). My parents have a water softener, and I notice when I visit them that my hair is a little softer but it's also more oily. A few months ago I started buying gallons of purified water from the store and washing my hair with it, but it got to be too much of a hassle since I need to wash every day or every other day, and I didn't feel like my hair was getting rinsed enough. A water softener is not in the cards for us right now due to finances, so should I just deal with the hard water? Or is it really that bad for my hair? I do clarify it once a week.

[Aderyn]

Quite a bit. Hard water tends to leave mineral buildup on the hair which can only be removed via chelating (not clarifying). Mineral buildup is similar to any other buildup in the way it changes how your hair feel and behaves. Chelating will help your hair with rinseability. So, if you can't afford a water purifier, I recommend looking into a chelating shampoo for sure, and perhaps diluted vinegar rinses. After you chelate, you may find the purified water from the store works quite well. Make sure to follow up a chelating shampoo with plenty of conditioner, too, as it does strip the hair.

ETA: You could also look into a water filter for your shower. You may have to replace the filters occasionally, but it is much cheaper than a full house water softener.

[sunnylove]

Thank you. I bought a Malibu hard water treatment pack the other day, so I'll try that.

[Aderyn]

I hope it works well for you! :flower:

[sunnylove]

I hope so too! Washing with the gallons of pure water was such a pain in the butt, but if the hard water is that bad for it maybe I should just suck it up and deal with it :)

[Aderyn]

You may find the occasional chelating to be much more convenient and to work wonderfully!

If it were me, I'd be waay too lazy to use the gallons of pure water even though that may be the 'best' thing to do, so I can't blame you.

[Night_Kitten]

I'd say try to do a final rinse with pure water or an ACV (diluted cider vinegar) rinse as the last step of your hair washing routine, that should help prevent mineral buildup from the hard water :)

[sunnylove]

Thanks night kitten! Didn't realize ACV was useful for hard water. What ratio do you use?

[gthlvrmx]

ACV won't chelate but I think it can help with the minerals during that same wash. Once the water or minerals dry on your hair, the ACV can't remove it (at least I think so from what I can remember reading). When I use ACV, I use 1 tbsp of vinegar mixed in with 1 cup of water. You can always try less vinegar if you think that's too much for you.

[Marette]

I am very blessed to have both a water softener (potassium, not salt) and an under-sink water purifier for cooking. After washing my hair I do a final rinse in the purified water, and I think it does make a big difference. My hair was much drier before, felt rougher, and the color faded faster. Before I had these, I would boil a big pot of water on the stove in the morning and let it cool during the day. Scoop off anything that looks like particles or murky layers. Then I'd use that for the final rinse. I really think that was a great help - cheapest solution of all. Best way is to put the pot in the bottom of the sink and swish your hair around in it so that it surrounds every strand. If you can't afford the expense of a softener, you might try this. And if you're really ambitious, you could boil enough for a complete shampoo. If you try this, let me know how it affects your hair. Good luck!

[Silver Strands]

Sally's has a shampoo for well water. The brand is Ion, I think.
It's pretty good stuff.
There is also Cowboy Magic demineralizing shampoo and conditioner
you can find at tack stores.
Also, you can use the "miracle water" recipe which is to add so much
citric acid and vitamin C to a gallon of your regular water and use it during and
after your washing and conditioning.
I had a hard time finding the citric acid and just use 1/4 teaspoon of
Fruit Fresh.
Last thing I do is use 12 to 16 ounces of distilled water for my final rinse.
Sounds like a lot of steps but it makes a big difference.

[spidermom]

I have soft water at home but am at my dad's house in Ohio and the water is hard. I hate how it makes my hair feel! I bought some Ion hard water shampoo and conditioner, and it helps, but not enough. I usually hate how vinegar makes my hair all fly-away at home, but maybe I should try it here. I think I will!

[Wildcat Diva]

Search on here about "miracle water." Couple of threads will pop up to help.

[Kaya]

I can attest it makes a huge difference! I moved from the States to the UK, going from normal water to hard water. I lost a couple of inches on my hemline due to the hard water wreaking utter havoc on my hair. I didn't realize it was being so damaging. :(

Fortunately, the LHC came to the rescue. :o I got a water filter for my shower, which really works, as it takes a lot longer for limescale to build up in there. And I also chelate regularly with Redken's Hair Cleansing Cream. With these tools armed and ready, I've been able to get back to my regular routine and slowly start gaining back that length I lost. My hair pretty much feels like it did back in the States.

So it's just a matter of finding what works for you. There are a lot of good suggestions here.

[meteor]

I think using a chelating / swimmers' shampoo or a chelating pack from time to time is probably the easiest solution. And follow each wash with an acidic rinse (heavily diluted citric acid, ACV, etc).

If you install a filter, that's going to help tremendously.

Some folks get great results with "miracle water" (with Vitamin C and citric acid): http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51184
but it might not be very convenient, because you might need to haul buckets of water around (some say they need surprisingly little water, though).

[Silver Strands]

I can use just 1 gallon of water when I mix up my version of "miracle water" which is 1/4 teaspoon of Fruit Fresh in a gallon.
I wet my hair in the shower with what comes out of the shower, then pour some of the miracle water on, add shampoo and wash.
Rinse the shampoo out with the regular shower water, pour on some miracle water and add conditioner.
Rinse that out with the regular water and use up the rest of the miracle water after all of the conditioner has been rinsed out.
Lastly, use a large glass of distilled.

The hardest part is lifting that gallon jug so many times in the shower. Now I keep a plastic glass in the shower and use it to save
my shoulder.

[Wildcat Diva]

That sounds like a brilliant combination.

[Silver Strands]

I know I gave a good bit of detail but it took me a long time to study on here, search for products,
and then figure out what worked for me.
I am so grateful to whoever it was that posted the miracle water recipe. That truly made the biggest difference in not having
to cut my hair every year due to damage.
Having well water can be very hard on your hair and I always try to contribute on these threads to help someone find a solution
as quick as possible.

[Night_Kitten]

Thanks night kitten! Didn't realize ACV was useful for hard water. What ratio do you use?

I eye it, just pouring from the bottle without measuring, but I think it would be around 2-3 tea spoons per liter of water? I usually use about half of a 2 liter water bottle per hairwash (I don't measure the water either, I just take a bottle that's about half-way full :oops:)

[Eraisuithiel]

When I'm at university, I have hard water. I found that using a cheating shampoo was the only thing that did any good and I had to wash it more often too. ACV didn't help with the buildup, but did make my hair a little less crunchy. I could only go four days without washing (absolute max, my hair was super greasy by day three) even in winter at school, but in summer, at my mom's house, I can go a week easily. I will definitely try the miracle water next year myself. I'd never heard of it before!

[sunnylove]

I used the Malibu treatment last night and don't notice a difference in my hair today. I'm so discouraged with my hair. I've been trying to grow it out for two years now, and keep having to cut it. It's still at my shoulders after TWO years (it started at APL length). I tend to blame everything on the bleach, but I had very long hair and maintained the length with no problems five years ago, so I'm starting to think it's not just the bleach. My hair is dull and lank. It is fine to begin with so I know I'm not going to have gorgeous hair, but I feel like it shouldn't be this bad.

What is Fruit Fresh?

[Silver Strands]

Fruit Fresh is something you use when you are preserving or canning fruits.
It is made by Ball the same people that make the canning jars. And you should be able to find it in the canning supplies
in your grocery.
It contains citric acid and vitamin c plus a non caking agent.
I was unable to find citric acid to make the miracle water recipe and just use this.
1/4 teaspoon in a gallon of water and it works great.

If you bought the Malibu, I'm pretty sure it's similar to the miracle water. I think it has vitamin c and citric acid in it.

[sunnylove]

Thank you!