My hair is so gross

[myotislucifugus]

Ack! Since moving to a soft water place, my hair is disgusting. It is limp and oily and stringy and just gross. I've tried everything I can think of, and I feel awful with it at work.

I've tried:
Just washing with shampoo bar
Washing with shampoo bar and then conditioner
Baking Soda rinse, baking soda wash
Vinegar rinse
Clarifying
Moisture treatment (mayo, honey, conditioner, few drops of oil)
Protein treatment (eggs, protein pack)
Spending ten minutes rinsing shampoo out of my hair
Scritching
Salt in shampoo

I was using (happily) CV cafe moreno with a weekly clarifying conditioner rinse until I moved, and nothing else.

My hair is just so greasy looking and feeling that cornstarch just clumps up in my hair when I try to hide it.

Ew Ew Ew. Any help out there? I feel yucky.

[curlytiff27]

Oh how I can relate. Had this same problem when I moved from NEPA to SC. I got and highly recommend a filterf shower head. I got mine from lowes for 19.99. It works great! HTH!

[spidermom]

I live in a soft water area and use diluted shampoo (any kind on sale that smells nice), conditioner to length only. My hair seems to be in good shape (except the ends lately). Since you describe your hair as limp and stringy, you might try applying conditioner to length first, shampooing scalp, then rinse and do not condition again.

I hated it when I visited a hard water area a month ago; it made my hair all snarly, and it felt rough to my fingers. I guess it's all a matter of what you get used to. Best wishes for finding a new routine that works well with the new water.

[prittykitty]

I live where we have hard water and it drys my hair out. I notice that when we travel to any place with soft water, my hair feels so clean and soft, etc. I wish we had soft water here.

[myotislucifugus]

I guess I should clarify, my roots sort of okay if oily... my ends are crunchy, and my length is stringy and greasy.

[myotislucifugus]

Oh how I can relate. Had this same problem when I moved from NEPA to SC. I got and highly recommend a filterf shower head. I got mine from lowes for 19.99. It works great! HTH!

Really? This works even for soft water? I thought filters were good for mostly hard water...

[florenonite]

I guess I should clarify, my roots sort of okay if oily... my ends are crunchy, and my length is stringy and greasy.

Are you shampooing the length or just the scalp? You might need to shampoo your whole length, including the ends, which sound like they need clarified (though I think you've already done that ...)

[melikai]

Did you try the baking soda wash followed by a vinegar rinse, or did you use them separately? If you used them separately, also try a vinegar rinse after the shampoo bar, without conditioner.
When I lived in NYC, which has fairly soft water, it was very easy for me to over-condition, and my hair would get greasier, faster.

[myotislucifugus]

I was everything, scalp, length, not really the ends.
I've used baking soda first with the shampoo bar suds, and then rinsed it all out, followed by a vinegar rinse.

[Hypnotica]

I live in a soft water area and I would second the idea of using a sulphate shampoo for scalp cleaning and clarifying. You may also need to look around for another conditioner, as it is easy to overcondition with that type of water.

[jivete]

I think filters are good for any type of tap water since most water utilities disinfect with chlorine.

Another thing you might try is reducing the amount of ACV you use, if you're still using it. Too much ACV and my hair gets limp and stringy.

[spidermom]

I think filters are good for any type of tap water since most water utilities disinfect with chlorine.

Another thing you might try is reducing the amount of ACV you use, if you're still using it. Too much ACV and my hair gets limp and stringy.

Good point; mine does too. It also looks a lot more "fly-away".

Anyway, try no conditioner at all, or conditioner before shampoo. I do that in the summer when it's hot, as my hair is a lot more limp when it's hot and dry.

Come to think of it, climate changes might have something to do with the changes in your hair.

[Melisande]

When I visit my mother's home where the water is very soft, my hair goes crazy, too. At home, I have very hard water, and my hair likes it. So at my mother's home, I tried hair soap and vinegar but it didn't work very well ... at least not for more than two washs. Last time, I tried a final rinse with a bit of sea salt - which my hair likes, too. (I know some members here had disastrous results with sea salt so I can't really recommend it... only say that my hair was a bit fluffier and felt stronger afterwards).

But for long term care - I guess you'll have to change your routine, switch to a different shampoo, cut out conditioner every second wash or dilute it... and I'd recommend catnip rinses. They make my hair stronger, not softer. Horsetail is supposed to do the same.

[florenonite]

I think filters are good for any type of tap water since most water utilities disinfect with chlorine.

Another thing you might try is reducing the amount of ACV you use, if you're still using it. Too much ACV and my hair gets limp and stringy.

Good point. I live in a soft-water area and am always boggled by people saying to use ACV to help clean hair, because for me it just makes my hair greasy! I even dilute it excessively (about 1T in a pint of water).

Perhaps the OP could try diluted lemon juice for the acid rinse? You might not even need one in soft water, as soft water is apparently naturally slightly acidic.

[jojo]

I live in a soft water area and use diluted shampoo (any kind on sale that smells nice), conditioner to length only. My hair seems to be in good shape (except the ends lately). Since you describe your hair as limp and stringy, you might try applying conditioner to length first, shampooing scalp, then rinse and do not condition again.

I hated it when I visited a hard water area a month ago; it made my hair all snarly, and it felt rough to my fingers. I guess it's all a matter of what you get used to. Best wishes for finding a new routine that works well with the new water.*HIJACK*
maybe this is why those ends are feeling snarly? just a thought but when i go away I have to clarify as soon as i get back for the same reason.

[myotislucifugus]

Yeah, I think tonight I'm going to try an SLS shampoo (*ack*) to try and at least mitigate the problem.

I was thinking of going back to the chamomile citrus shampoo bar from CV, I really like using the bars. Does anyone think this will be enough to aid in this? I didn't start using conditioner with bars until recently, when before my move, my hair revolted, and did a minor version of this greasiness.

Ah well. Oh, by the way, my water is well water, so there should be no chlorine present.

[Hypnotica]

Yeah, I think tonight I'm going to try an SLS shampoo (*ack*) to try and at least mitigate the problem.

I was thinking of going back to the chamomile citrus shampoo bar from CV, I really like using the bars. Does anyone think this will be enough to aid in this? I didn't start using conditioner with bars until recently, when before my move, my hair revolted, and did a minor version of this greasiness.

Ah well. Oh, by the way, my water is well water, so there should be no chlorine present.

You can certainly try! But I would still clarify before just to get a somewhat objective result.

[Anje]

Are you rinsing well enough? Everything (soap, shampoo, conditioner, etc.) is harder to get rinsed out in soft water -- it has to do with the lack of ions to help bind and drag the soap out of your hair. (You've probably noticed this when you wash your hands.) On the up side, you won't get that nasty soap scum feeling in your hair after shampoo-baring.