Read too much, now I have questions...

[ladycaladium]

Okay, so I've been reading some of the treads and googling a bit here and there. All this reading has raised some questions. Any input would be great.

Apparently, were I live has hard water. Is this harmful to my hair/scalp? Should I be doing an ACV rinse? And if I do an ACV rinse, should I just use my tap water or should I use distilled water?

My original plan was to use up my current shampoo and conditioner and then buy new sls, cone free varieties. But then I got to thinking, it seems like people like the shampoo bars (well, not everyone, but it seems to be a large number). If I decide to transition over to a bar instead of a bottled shampoo, should I use a bottled conditioner or is oiling with my coconut oil good? Since I only shampoo around once a week or so, I've got time to figure this one out before I run out of my bottled stuff.

Thanks in advance.

[HairColoredHair]

Hard water is only harmful when it builds up, as far as I'm aware. Beyond that, it might turn your hair a bit red.

If you aren't seeing buildup, don't worry! And you can do an ACV rinse with tap water if you like (for shine/etc).

Using conditioner/oil with 'poo bars depends on your hair and the bar. Some bars are more moisturizing and don't need conditioner, some are more like shampoo and require something afterward. When I did shampoo bars I used a conditioner with a few kinds of bars and oiled the ends with others. More important for my hair was a periodic ACV rinse to clear the soapy residues some bars left behind.

[Melisande]

Hard water is not damaging - you would have noticed it if it was, wouldn't you? It's enough to add a bit of something sour to your last rinse. I live in an area with extremely hard water, and my hair seems to like it. I add some citric acid crystals to to my last rinse. Vinegar or lemon juice will do just as well.

Using soap is more difficult with hard water, but shampoo bars will work well. Hard water doesn't corrode the pipes as much as soft water and thus may even be good for our health. My hair looks lank and poor with soft water. When I visit a place with warm water, I switch to soap washing otherwise I lose all my volume....

Hard water doesn't make hair reddish. How could calcium do that? Water with a high iron content may make red spots on tiles etc. My grandmother lived in an area with iron-rich water but it never colored her hair. If some bits of iron deposit on the hair, I doubt it will be visible. Usually water is controlled so it doesn't get to such high iron content. Hard water and iron-rich water is not the same.

If you want to implement beneficial changes without buying new products, just dilute your shampoo and don't shampoo your lengths. If you cover your lengths with conditioner before you shampoo (CWC), you do them a favor.

Don't change too many things at once. Otherwise you won't know which change was really good for your hair and which wasn't.

[justgreen]

I have hard well water and I do a final rinse with distilled water, about 12 ounces.

I didn't like shampoo bars. I dilute almost every shampoo I use. Right now I'm using a sulphate free, for blondes, keeps color from going brassy. L'oreal Everpure.

[ladycaladium]

Yep, I read about not changing lots at once. I started the CWC about a month ago and it seems to be working well for me so far. At the rate I'm going through this bottle, it's going to be another month or two before I run out of shampoo! So the shampoo bars are at least that far ahead in the future.

I think I will give the rinse a try, see how it works with my current routine. That will hopefully give me some time to see how my hair likes it before I go and switch-up shampoos on it.

[dropinthebucket]

There are some studies which suggest that long-term hard water usage can, for some women, lead to thinning hair and hair breakage. This is because minerals build up on the scalp and around the base of the hair, blocking sebum from getting to the length, and clogging the follicle, causing premature loss, breakage, and just generally choking it. I will see if i can dig out the link .... I have definitely noticed a huge difference in my own hair since I started using distilled. I didn't even realize I had a hard water problem until it reacted weirdly with cassia (green tinge) - could also be chemicals in the water put in by the city, not the hard water itself, that did that. But in any case, I switched, and the difference in my hair's shine and texture after five months off hard water is amazing.

There's also a thread about hard water and red hair - iron oxide in the water - it's over in the Recipes forum, i think, and is very good (it IS possible for high concentrations of iron oxide to stain the hair). Will see if I can find the link to this as well....

[Merewen]

Hard water might make it more difficult to use a shampoo bar. In any case, I recommend reading at least part of the shampoo bar thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=74). It was helpful when I was using poo bars.

You could try a few different things to moisturize without conditioner. If you use shampoo bars, sometimes more superfatted soap bars can be used for moisture. There's also your oils, and some people use herbs/rinses, like catnip, but I am no expert there. You can find info on those in the henna/herbal hair care section.

[jackiesjottings]

I live in a hard water area and I think my hair is used to that as it doesn't seem to have come to any harm- touch wood.

[justgreen]

My hair has become accustomed to the hard water . When I go to Oklahoma to visit, my hair just goes wacky. All the ends stick out like they are waving hello! Someone told me , I think it was Gladtobemom, to use a white vinegar rinse to help control that. I'll have to try it this Fall when I go down there.

[triumphator!]

I've grown up with hard water and my hair seems to cope well. My hair is shiny and soft, and doesn't seem to have much buildup. It hasn't been much of a problem for me, even when I go to places where the water is less hard. Perhaps my hair just knows the deal. After reading this thread I am now interested to see what a vinegar rinse could do for me! Intriguing.

[loralie]

I moved to a hard water area last summer from a soft water area where I grew up. The climate is also drier here, and I noticed a huge change in my hair. The damage was more pronounced, noticeable, and I think, worse.

I went to Canadian Tire (or any home hardware/improvement/appliance store) and got a showerhead filter. It was like $30 Canadian and the filter lasts 3 - 6 months. From the get go my skin and hair were WAY softer and more moisturized- usually I slather on the lotion after a shower because my skin starts to itch and crack, but I barely needed any after at all. My hair was softer, shinier, the ends smoother.

Most of the mineral deposits in hard water don't cause most of the damage- the chlorine does. It's so bad here that you can smell it in the steam coming out of the shower. It was a small investment, and I get a new 15$ filter every few months, but honestly it's changed my skin and hair so much I'll never go without again.

I tried shampoo bars.. they just weigh my hair down too much, even with a rinse.

Make sure you clarify after switching off cones to get them out of your hair!!

This place was so freaking overwhelming when I first got here but I love it now, hope you enjoy your growing journey! :flowers:

[jeanniet]

I have hard well water with a high mineral content, although at least it doesn't have chlorine. I do a citric acid final rinse, but I still have to clarify pretty often or my hair just feels really gunky (and I don't use any products except oils and natural balms). You do have to experiment a bit, because the level of hardness and any minerals will affect what works best for you. I would start with a simple ACV (white vinegar will work, too) rinse and go from there.

[littlenvy]

I moved to a hard water area last summer from a soft water area where I grew up. The climate is also drier here, and I noticed a huge change in my hair. The damage was more pronounced, noticeable, and I think, worse.

I went to Canadian Tire (or any home hardware/improvement/appliance store) and got a showerhead filter. It was like $30 Canadian and the filter lasts 3 - 6 months. From the get go my skin and hair were WAY softer and more moisturized- usually I slather on the lotion after a shower because my skin starts to itch and crack, but I barely needed any after at all. My hair was softer, shinier, the ends smoother.

Most of the mineral deposits in hard water don't cause most of the damage- the chlorine does. It's so bad here that you can smell it in the steam coming out of the shower. It was a small investment, and I get a new 15$ filter every few months, but honestly it's changed my skin and hair so much I'll never go without again.

I tried shampoo bars.. they just weigh my hair down too much, even with a rinse.

Make sure you clarify after switching off cones to get them out of your hair!!

This place was so freaking overwhelming when I first got here but I love it now, hope you enjoy your growing journey! :flowers:
OMG! Thank you for this. I didn't even know there was such thing as a shower head filter.
I too live in Canada and know about chlorine. :rolleyes:
I will try this shower head pronto! :)

[ladycaladium]

Finally back online after apartment sitting for my sister (no internet). Tomorrow I have off and it's so hot I'm going to sit for a while in the cool basement and read up on the shampoo bar thread.

I've used the acv rinse two or three times and so far, my hair doesn't seem to be having any sort of reaction (good or bad). I do have one small area on my scalp that when I'm hot and sweaty with itch a little bit, but the rinse actually seemed to calm that down (was never really bad to begin with, just a bit irritating, not a big deal though).

I know what you mean about the chlorine loralie. Sometimes I can smell it in the tap water. I picked up a filtered pitcher just so that I don't smell it. Despite all my swimming, I am keeping my hair's chlorine exposure to a minimum.

[HikerTrash]

I have really hard water. I tried ACV for the first time last time I washed my hair. I was pleasantly surprised. It left my hair tangle-free, clean and fluffy and when it was wet, it felt smooth rather than rough like it does if I don't use conditioner.

[aksown]

I have well water as well, with EXTREMELY high iron content. I was getting frustrated with my dry, frizzy hair until I discovered Sheer Blonde shampoo. It took me two years and gallons of rain, distilled and RO water mixed with vinegar to get all the iron out of my hair. When it was all said and done, my hair was almost shoulder length, due to breakage from the water plus it had returned to it's natural blonde instead of a dull rust color. Hard water is water with high mineral content, irregardless of the mineral.
I never really paid any attention to my hair as it gradually got dry and turned the color of an old bumper. It kind of sneaked up on me. What minerals are in your water? I'd do a vinegar or lemon juice rinse every time, as a preventative if nothing else but that's just my bitterness talking. :o