For those that do a final rinse with distilled water

[xoAshley]

What’s your method? I have hard water and want to try it out as the hard water does not agree with my hair.

I’ve seen a few people who dunk their hair in a container of distilled water multiple times before dumping it all over their head, and others who just go straight to dumping it all over without dunking it at all.

I like the idea of dunking it because i feel like it would be more effective, but I also feel like I would just be soaking my hair in the distilled water along with the rinsed off minerals.. and then it would all get dumped back on my hair, defeating the purpose...but maybe it doesn’t work that way.

[Kalamazoo]

I buy bottled spring water. I heat it on the stovetop to lukewarm & carry it to the shower. I use a cup or something to dip the water out of the cooking pot & pour it over my hair. I don't dunk nor reuse the water. I like being able to add stuff to my rinse water, like a drop of peppermint, clove, tea tree EOs, ACV, etc.

[Ligeia Noire]

I buy distilled water to do the final rinse. I dunk my length on the container and then pour it over my head. Of course, if I was using the water I have at home, it would defeat the purpose. Which is very good water, btw, but too hard.

[S&S]

I use the shower water to wet my hair - (2) then I use distill water & citric acid in a 1L squirt bottle and pour it all over my head and hair, (3) I then shampoo (it seems to really lather after the citric acid rinse), (4) wash the shampoo out with normal shower water, (4) use the citric acid rinse again (mostly on lower half of hair), (5) then conditioner - leave it on while I do everything else & (6) then final rinse is with pure distilled water in another 1L quirt bottle.

[xoAshley]

I buy distilled water to do the final rinse. I dunk my length on the container and then pour it over my head. Of course, if I was using the water I have at home, it would defeat the purpose. Which is very good water, btw, but too hard.

Ligeia, this is the method I am most intrigued to try. So you find that dipping works for you and still gets rid of the hard water residue, but it doesn’t stick back onto your hair when you then dump it over it at the end?

[Ligeia Noire]

It keeps it at bay for a couple of months but i still have to chelate. Acv only does so much.

[xoAshley]

Ligeia - thank you!

S&S - thank you, it's interesting to hear other peoples routines... have to find what works best!

Kalamazoo - I like this idea too, but I feel like I would need many rinses for it to actually get all the hard water out. How much do you actually use?

[harpgal]

I lived in a very hard water place in Montana for a few years. The way I would do it is pour 2 to 3 cups of distilled water in a large bowl and place it on the floor outside of the shower. After I was done washing and conditioning, I would take the bowl into the shower, dip my hair into the bowl, swish it around and then pour the rest over my head. This worked for me and my hair happily grew from tailbone to almost knee during that time. It seemed to rinse the worst of the minerals off my hair.

[xoAshley]

Harpgal, too funny. I actually got the idea of dipping from you on another post from a few years back in my search about this topic!! I was hoping you were still around and would chime in. :) glad to hear it rinsed the worst of it off your hair... ever since I moved here I’ve been suffering from breakage and I know our hard water has made my fine hair delicate. It’s driving me nuts. I’m hoping this helps!

[Kalamazoo]

Kalamazoo - I like this idea too, but I feel like I would need many rinses for it to actually get all the hard water out. How much do you actually use?

Most of the time, I actually don't use the tapwater. I just wash with the spring water to begin with. A gallon or two is plenty for me to not only wash my hair, but "shower" (dip & pour method), too.

If I've just done a deep treatment (egg + oil + herbs + etc., covered with plastic, & left overnight), however, I need to shampoo as many as 7 times to get it all out. In that case, I don't want to carry that much water from the stove to the tub; so I start by rinsing the gunk out with tapwater, & shampoo with tapwater 'til it feels squeaky clean. Then I need to shampoo once more with spring water, to wash out the tapwater.

Sometimes, I do a quickie, pour spring water (with a drop of EO) over my hair & the rest of me, without any soap or shampoo. So that's just one rinse.

[manticore]

you can boil up some distilled water at home on the stovetop pretty easily. It takes time though