What works with heavily softened water?

[wurlycurly]

Hello!

The water where I am is very hard - calcium carbonate is 320 ppm. We have a water softener, so it comes out heavily softened.

The problem is that I can't seem to find a shampoo or conditioner that works with this water - my hair turns to dry straw with everything, either during use or after rinsing.

Does anyone here have very softened water and products (available in the UK) that work okay with it?

Any recommendations gratefully accepted!

[MusicalSpoons]

Welcome fellow UKer! ;) (Our water is very hard like yours btw, unfortunately no softener for us.)

I have no idea why products might not work with very softened water. Have you any idea just how soft it comes out? What's the method of softening?

[Shorty89]

I have no suggestions but I have experienced this when I was in Yellowstone. The water was heavily softened and my hair was lank, limp, and gross the whole time. I don't know if a vinegar rinse would help, but it might be worth a shot.

[Mariekeeee14]

Have you tried using less product? I don’t have a lot of experience, but the camping my parents always go to has a water softener on the showers and I found that changing up how much I used and especially when I didn’t use a lot, that it helped.

[wurlycurly]

Welcome fellow UKer! ;) (Our water is very hard like yours btw, unfortunately no softener for us.)

I have no idea why products might not work with very softened water. Have you any idea just how soft it comes out? What's the method of softening?

Thank you! :)

I'm not sure of the exact softness of the water, but it does feel soft and there's no limescale build-up.

The water softener uses salt, I believe to exchange calcium for sodium in the water. So the water doesn't end up exactly like actual soft water because of the increased sodium. I suspect this might be what's causing a problem.

To be honest, I'm not sure if the softener is a blessing or a curse!

[wurlycurly]

I have no suggestions but I have experienced this when I was in Yellowstone. The water was heavily softened and my hair was lank, limp, and gross the whole time. I don't know if a vinegar rinse would help, but it might be worth a shot.

Glad to know it's not just me that has experienced this!

I will look into doing a vinegar rinse, thanks for the suggestion.

[wurlycurly]

Have you tried using less product? I don’t have a lot of experience, but the camping my parents always go to has a water softener on the showers and I found that changing up how much I used and especially when I didn’t use a lot, that it helped.

Thank you, that's something I can try experimenting with too!