cold water vs hot: does it matter for shedding?

[Beloved]

Have you guys seen a difference in the amount of hair you shed in a wash based on whether you wash with hot or cold water?

I love a hot bath but I think it's not the best for my hair.

[GlennaGirl]

I personally haven't. One way or another, about the same amount of hair gets shed from my head at the end of the day, so to speak. :)

[shwankie]

I am not sure if it plays into whether I shed or not, I guess, partly because I always rinse all of me in very cool/cold water; so, I have no comparison with hot water (I've been doing this for years). I do know colder water seems to make my hair shinier for whatever reason, but it gets rinsed mostly as an anti-aging procedure along with the rest of me.

[chrissy-b]

I haven't noticed a difference one way or the other with shedding. The only difference I see is my hair is shinier with cold water, and seems to have more body with warmer.

[CaityBear]

I haven't noticed anything. I do try to do cold rinses and to not have my water too hot because I don't want it "frying" my hair. But I think I shed pretty much the same either way.

[EvaSimone]

I always use warm/hot water and when I've used cool rinses I haven't noticed any differences.


I am not sure if it plays into whether I shed or not, I guess, partly because I always rinse all of me in very cool/cold water; so, I have no comparison with hot water (I've been doing this for years). I do know colder water seems to make my hair shinier for whatever reason, but it gets rinsed mostly as an anti-aging procedure along with the rest of me.

Can you explain how cool water is anti aging?

[Aisha25]

I use lukewarm water i tried cold water and it turned my hair frizzy messy mess ill never do that again,even the last rinse with cool water makes my hair rebel. As for shedding is concerned it makes no difference to my hairs.

[shwankie]

EvaSimone,

Rinsing with cold water (my water rinse is usually *very* cold, but I'll do just cool sometimes if it's really cold in the apartment) encourages circulation, and basically anything that does that helps with anti-aging for skin, and also helps minimize cellulite. I am fortunate to not have cellulite, and I firmly believe this is one of the things that's helped with that. It's a similar concept to supplements like ginko biloba, dandelion, and a gotu kola, which are sued in anti-cellulite and anti-aging products because they increase circulation. Circulation helps wash away dead skin cells, discourages fat and cellulite cells, and bring nutrients.

It's not a miracle cure, just one of my steps (I am 36, and get guessed 25-26 pretty much always). It also immediately tightens skin, which makes it look younger and helps everything be very, er...self-supporting, for me.

[Speckla]

I always use warm/hot water and when I've used cool rinses I haven't noticed any differences.



Can you explain how cool water is anti aging?

Less likely to dry out skin or draw the oil out.
________
Yamaha Sa2200 (http://www.yamaha-tech.com/wiki/Yamaha_SA2200)

[Heidi_234]

Cold water makes hair shinier because it closes the cuticle down. For time to time I come across a recommendation to finish off every shower with cold water rinse. I personally share Aisha's experience, it felt to me like my hair didn't do well with the sudden temperature change, but it could be just in my mind though.
Really hot water is not recommended for hair.

[Shorty89]

I've never noticed, but I know my hair is silkier if I rinse with cool water. As others have said, it closes the cuticle. Very hot water can make my hair feel heat damaged which may lead to more shedding, but I've never noticed it (if it has).

[Gumball]

Shedding likely is just dealing with the life cycle of a hair follicle. Unless the water is doing something else physiological that might put a change (even temporarily) into that cycle then I wouldn't think it does much for shed rates.

My hair I just keep in lukewarm water because I don't like that initial bout of gasping when I crank down the temp! It reminds me of how good a breather I am at least. :D

As per temperature cold water helps close the cuticle a bit and gives more shine. That would also explain why warmer water gives more body since the cuticle is slightly more open. Circulation-wise that's where warm water might come in because heat draws circulation (why else might we use heating pads or heat inducing things on injured or sore areas of our body than to draw blood there to help in the mending?). Cold water might help keep the pores a little less "wide open" though.

[Eryka]

Haven't noticed a difference with shedding but when I use hot water my hair goes POOF with a vengance and it is a misery brushing it out. So in a back handed sort of way yeah it does for me. My hair despises heat in any shape or form.

[Kirin]

Warm water for me is best, though I've had no problems with even warmer than that. Cold water when I tried it, dried out my skin and hair pretty terribly.

Some things of note here:

Cold water does not promote blood flow, it restricts it by quickly reducing and shrinking capillary size. Women of the 50's swore by splashing the face with ice water for "Youthening" and tightening of the skin. It works, but only temporarily by constricting the skin and blood flow, giving a tighter appearance. The effect lasts only as long as the facial skin stays cold. For anti aging, this technique is pretty antiquidated, however it has been revived for helping those with facial swelling, such as under the eyes, and roseacea.

I had been doing the cold water rinse thing in the shower, until I was highly advised against it by my doctor, that it puts an unessesary strain on the heart. Showering from start to finish in cool water is fine, but it is a sudden change in temperature from comfortably warm to cold that causes the stress.

[janeytilllie]

I don't have shredding with either. But i do notice if i use too hot of water it will really tangle my hair and dry it out. With cool water its alot my easier to comb and makes it shiney too :D

[shwankie]

Warm water for me is best, though I've had no problems with even warmer than that. Cold water when I tried it, dried out my skin and hair pretty terribly.

Some things of note here:

Cold water does not promote blood flow, it restricts it by quickly reducing and shrinking capillary size. Women of the 50's swore by splashing the face with ice water for "Youthening" and tightening of the skin. It works, but only temporarily by constricting the skin and blood flow, giving a tighter appearance. The effect lasts only as long as the facial skin stays cold. For anti aging, this technique is pretty antiquidated, however it has been revived for helping those with facial swelling, such as under the eyes, and roseacea.

I had been doing the cold water rinse thing in the shower, until I was highly advised against it by my doctor, that it puts an unessesary strain on the heart. Showering from start to finish in cool water is fine, but it is a sudden change in temperature from comfortably warm to cold that causes the stress.

I think the misunderstanding is in terminology. Hydrotherapy and hydrothermal therapy uses the body's reactions to different temperatures, and is used in sports medicine world wide for circulation and healing. Cold does temporarily restrict the capillaries, which is why you ice to stop swelling, and washing in cold alone doesn't have the same effect as going from hot to cold.

The focus in hydrotherapy, or hydrothermal therapy (going from hot to cold), is not the circulation on the surface of the skin immediately, but the circulation of blood in the entire body. It's also something that is promoted over time, and not necessarily immediately. This therapy is actually used for a variety of things in many fields, including by orthopedic surgeons (including mine, after all of my knee surgeries), specifically for it's excellent results in increasing circulation (and thereby often speeding healing). The alternating of hot and cold water, within reason and tolerance, causes the blood to flow into the internal organs (cold water), then out again (warm water, or warm air). It's a fairly well-known, still widely used therapy for circulation issues. As I said, it's just one step in my anti-aging, and I can notice a difference when I don't do it in a variety of ways. For me, however, anti-aging is more than just fighting wrnikles--it's the whole package including full mind and body, from overall health to sustainable activity to appearance.

It's interesting about the warning from your doctor, and of course that should be followed. For many people, though, it's a wonderful, time-tested, and effective therapy. I've never noticed any undo stress, sputtering, etc. from it, and am often invigorated. However, I am extremely active and my heart rate doesn't skyrocket easily. Many of the physical therapy labs I've been to have specific hydrotherapy and hydrothermal baths, both for the entire body and/or for specific body parts.

Hopefully, that clears up some of the confusion. I can definitely say that it works for me and many of the women I know. It does help keep things "lifted" and firm for me by helping me stay healthy and keeping my muscles well-supplied with what they need, though it's certainly no substitute for resistance training and good foundation garments ;-) But, my circulation is excellent, and I can tell when I don't do it for several days in a row (camping, etc.), so I believe there's something to it, though possibly not for everyone (everyone is different, so will have different things that work).

[EvaSimone]

EvaSimone,

Rinsing with cold water (my water rinse is usually *very* cold, but I'll do just cool sometimes if it's really cold in the apartment) encourages circulation, and basically anything that does that helps with anti-aging for skin, and also helps minimize cellulite. I am fortunate to not have cellulite, and I firmly believe this is one of the things that's helped with that. It's a similar concept to supplements like ginko biloba, dandelion, and a gotu kola, which are sued in anti-cellulite and anti-aging products because they increase circulation. Circulation helps wash away dead skin cells, discourages fat and cellulite cells, and bring nutrients.

It's not a miracle cure, just one of my steps (I am 36, and get guessed 25-26 pretty much always). It also immediately tightens skin, which makes it look younger and helps everything be very, er...self-supporting, for me.

Thanks Shwankie that's interesting. I am not a big fan of cold water (okay I hate it) but you do look really young so I think you obviously are doing something right. :)

Perhaps I'll give it a try when the Michigan winter is winding down; do you think saunas with a cool shower are just as good? I like saunas.

My apologies to the OP for my hijack.. :flower:

[shwankie]

Thanks Shwankie that's interesting. I am not a big fan of cold water (okay I hate it) but you do look really young so I think you obviously are doing something right. :)

Perhaps I'll give it a try when the Michigan winter is winding down; do you think saunas with a cool shower are just as good? I like saunas.

My apologies to the OP for my hijack.. :flower:

OP, sorry for the thread-jack. I'll take this over to the anti-aging thread in "health and beauty" after this post.

Hm..I am not sure, actually. I know hydrotherapy works because it's running water, which delivers temperature quickly (kind of like thawing something: doing it under a trickle of running water works really fast, much faster than still water). That said, I'd think that the general concept would probably work with a sauna and cool shower.:hmm: It may be a slightly less dramatic temperature shift, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, and I'd think it would still have positive benefits (I am totally guessing here, but it seems logical).

I lived in MI, as well, for most of my life (just moved a bit over a year ago)! Brrrr. Even here in VA it's COLD, and I can't lie, some days those cold rinses are rough. I've never been bold enough to do one of the Polar Bear Swims, but I've had friends who've done them, and they swear they feel younger for days after. I think I'll just stick with my cold rinses....

[Sissy]

I do not notice a difference in shedding by how hot or cold my shower is. I do tend to rinse my hair with cool water at the end of my shower (for the shine and cuticle closing reasons people have stated). I think when I shed it maybe more due to which products I'm using and not the temp. of the water I'm using.

I found the information on here about cold water being anti-aging very interesting. I wish I could take cooler showers but ... ehhh, I just don't know. It's so cold in NY this time of the year :o

[Almandine]

I absolutely can't wash my hair in cold water. If I feel the water running down to cold I get frantic, and turn it up as far as I can to make what's left last so I can hurry and do my hair. Cold, even cool, water makes my hair stringy, coarse and downright awful. It tangles instantly and sticks to itself almost like spiderwebs, and no amount of shampoo or conditioner can save it then.

[JamieLeigh]

I don't think temperature has anything to do with shedding...otherwise our long-haired friends up North would have very thin hair! :p

My shedding experience has been based on stress, hormones and the products I've used on my hair. I wash in warm water, and this year I've been rinsing in cold before stepping out of the shower. I WILL say that my head sheds less since I've been visiting LHC and picking up tips...but I DON'T think I would say it's because of the water temperature. I would chalk that up to taking better care of my hair and myself, and lowering my stress levels dramatically.