So my hair really prefers soft water.

[Tangles]

I was out of town for the weekend and noticed a change when I washed my hair in an area with much softer water.

For the past few months my hair had been coated with mineral deposits that made it feel "crunchy" and look orangey in places. After the soft water, my hair feels like itself again and isn't tangled anymore. Also, the orange is no longer there.

Now that I recognized the problem, how do I get this effect at home with the hard water? I've tried doing a final rinse with filtered water but it didn't seem to make a huge difference. I clarify VERY often as is...

[Roseate]

I've heard very good things about the water filters they have that fit right on your shower head. This (http://www.aquasanastore.com/aq-shower-filter.html)kind of thing. Not cheap, but supposedly they work.

[Furiana]

Ditto on the water filters! I've also heard some stuff about using ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to remove chlorine from water, but that wouldn't remove hard water minerals.

I wonder if you'll have an easier time finding the right haircare routine once you take care of the water problem? :)

[greygoth]

Our water is very hard too, and it took me years to realize why my hair felt better when I traveled. Duh! I've started doing a white vinegar/rosemary rinse after every wash, and finishing off with distilled water. It really helps.

[Unnamed]

Well, in my attempt to get non-sulfate shampoos to really work in hard water (with out gunky/coated hair) I've kind of fixed it, and right this moment my hair feels a lot like if it was washed in soft (or, well, softer) water. We have a whole house filter, which helps, but it doesn't quite cut it (one would probably need a water softener to get actual soft water coming out of the faucet/shower head--filters do need changed fairly often).

For about the last week or so I've been filling up a gallon jug with water, adding 1 tsp citric acid, and probably about 1/16 to 1/8 tsp of crushed up vitamin C (haven't gotten just plain ascorbic acid yet). It's the only water that touched my hair to wash with. It's basically apparently just a much stronger ( x4 ) version of "miracle water (http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51184)", which could be something to try (and if so I'd try the weaker version in the link first, and slowly increase if it doesn't work/help).

Previous things I've tried/done are:
- Rinse with distilled water...fail, hard, tangly hair, bad.
- Rinse with distilled water...fail.
- Rinse with citric acid (also stronger than 'normal')...worked okay.
- Use VO5 Grapefruit conditioner (citric and ascorbic acid are in ingredients)...worked better.
- With both of the last I'd periodically mix a larger amount of citric acid in with shampoo/conditioner as a sort of clarify (in addition to clarifying with baking soda).