washing hair in rain water

[jojo]

I vaguely remember this being mentioned in the old LHC but cannot remember the responses, old age!;)

Anyway anybody do this? we have oddles of rain here and just wondering if there are any benefits. TIA X

ETA-I do not mean standing outside in the pouring rain, having a good old shampoo, meant collecting it!

[BlndeInDisguise]

I've used melted snow before. I don't think I notice any difference. Well, I gave my hair a final rinse with melted snow. Never actually did the whole washing process. I think I had better results with distilled water.

[mira-chan]

Several of us try to use rain water when we can. There ere benefits if you live in a chlorinated/ hard water area.

There is a previous thread on collecting rain water. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=12855&highlight=rain+water)

[Redheaded Raven]

i love it it makes my hair so soft and curly my avatar is after rain water rinse:cloud9:

[Aditi]

But i have heard in the news lately that rain is not considered as the purest form of water now-a-days thanks to the pollution. So i think you should better think twice about washing your hair in rain water.

[Nanni]

:cheese: I checked with the waterwork where I live and they said that the water here is mainly rainwater with very little clorine and almost mineral free. No problems with clogged steem-irons od washing-machines here. It means that the tap-water is almost the same as rainwater. I'm very happy

[DecafJane]

I grew up using rainwater from our tanks as our water supply, and it left my hair quite soft and wavy. I don't know that it made enough of a difference that I would actively collect it to wash my hair, and have found that using good shampoo/conditioner/products makes more of a difference than rain water vs tap water, however if you haven't used it before, it might be worth trying just out of curiousity. :)

[Zindell]

ETA-I do not mean standing outside in the pouring rain...

Well my co-workers probably think I'm crazy but I love to take a walk in the rain without an umbrella.
(I do it because it makes my hair so soft and shiny afterwards! They don't know thats the reason though :D)

I am too lazy to collect...

[ChloeDharma]

I was reading last night somewhere that rain water had higher levels of sulphur in it, i'm wondering if that's what gives the benefits.
I would be concerned about the pollution though.....in a thread over on the recipes board....i *think* it's the one on natural alternatives to conditioner Ktani posted some information that warns against using rain water because....um.....i can't remember the specifics, i think impurities.
Maybe adding some MSM to a final rinse of distilled water would be a better idea?

[ktani]

I was reading last night somewhere that rain water had higher levels of sulphur in it, i'm wondering if that's what gives the benefits.
I would be concerned about the pollution though.....in a thread over on the recipes board....i *think* it's the one on natural alternatives to conditioner Ktani posted some information that warns against using rain water because....um.....i can't remember the specifics, i think impurities.
Maybe adding some MSM to a final rinse of distilled water would be a better idea?

Everything I posted is on this page of the thread mentioned earlier, including a link to another thread.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=12855&highlight=rain+water&page=3

[BlndeInDisguise]

Maybe adding some MSM to a final rinse of distilled water would be a better idea?

Why MSM? What is that supposed to do?

[jojo]

I was reading last night somewhere that rain water had higher levels of sulphur in it, i'm wondering if that's what gives the benefits.
I would be concerned about the pollution though.....in a thread over on the recipes board....i *think* it's the one on natural alternatives to conditioner Ktani posted some information that warns against using rain water because....um.....i can't remember the specifics, i think impurities.
Maybe adding some MSM to a final rinse of distilled water would be a better idea?
Now thats interesting

[ChloeDharma]

Why MSM? What is that supposed to do?

MSM is sulphur but water soluble.....i was just having the idea based on reading that rainwater contains sulphur and wondered if that's why it used to be said to be good for washing the hair. I thought given the information Ktani found out that it might be a cleaner/safer alternative.

[Tapioca]

I love the idea, but I live in the desert (hey, look! A tumbleweed!) and we have maybe 10 rainy days a year. And one day of snow that usually melts in hours. Maybe I'll get a Brita pitcher to keep in the shower.

[burns_erin]

I opt to not use rain water as I live in an area where there are a lot of companies constantly being fined for polluting the air, and I figure what goes up must comes down.

[vkb247]

I grew up using rainwater from our tanks as our water supply, and it left my hair quite soft and wavy. I don't know that it made enough of a difference that I would actively collect it to wash my hair, and have found that using good shampoo/conditioner/products makes more of a difference than rain water vs tap water, however if you haven't used it before, it might be worth trying just out of curiousity. :)

I find this to be very interesting. The majority of homes here have tanks underneath them and we collect rain water for all household uses.

The roofs are painted wih limestone to purify the water as it collects. This is how we have been doing it for hundreds of years.

There are lots of beautiful heads of hair here - but natural hair and protective styling is also the norm :D. I know that my hair thrives here much easier than it does in the US but that also has to do with regular 75%+ humidity!!!

[vkb247]

BTW: I live in Bermuda

[Nicoliee]

I love it! Makes my hair so soft!

[Johanna]

Dragged up from the depths of 2008. :D
I wouldn't wash my hair with the rainwater where I live, it's be no different to the tap water. If I can't see the stars at night, you have no telling what kind of poloution is up there, so it's not going to be the clean, pure rainwater you'd expect.

[Funwithsharps]

I haven't washed using rain water, but during a recent snow storm I had my hair in a bun on the top of my head while clearing my car off. It was snowing gently and of course, it stuck to the my head. Later that day, when I took my hair down after it dried--I had the most beautiful waves! It doesn't look this good when I mist it with tap water and do the same thing.

[gman4354]

I bet washing your hair with water from a natural spring would be really good for your hair!

[sibiryachka]

This is timely! I just dumped a bunch of old yucky rainwater out of a wheelbarrow yesterday, and it got me thinking it might be worth trying to collect some for hair-washing next time it rains. After reading through this, I don't think I'll bother ;)

[Kaeita]

We have rainwater tanks where we're living now, so shower with rainwater. I love it. We're in a rural area, so no big industrial sites polluting the area. My hair has gotten curlier since we moved here.

Where we lived before, in town, there were a lot of chemicals in the water. When the mines got flushed, it all ended up in the water supplies, and every time it rained, the amount of chlorine they put in the water was ridiculous. It smelled like a public pool in my bathroom any time we showered.

[enfys]

Since I already live in a soft water area, even softer than before, I don't think I'd see the benefits.

I can't imagine living in an area where filters are needed; I feel quite lucky!