The best rinse...ever!!!

[In2wishin]

I finally got my timing right this evening. We were expecting rain so when it clouded up I went and washed my hair. As soon as it started raining I went out and rinsed my hair in the rainwater. WOW, what a difference. My hair is really soft and wavier than usual. I was able to fill a gallon jug for later and hope to get another gallon tonight since it is supposed to rain some more.

Does anyone else use rainwater?

[manderly]

There has been talk of it. People collected rainwater in big buckets outside and would dip smaller jugs into it for their final rinse. :)

[In2wishin]

There has been talk of it. People collected rainwater in big buckets outside and would dip smaller jugs into it for their final rinse. :)

I have a giant steel bowl sitting on my balcony to collect rain if I am asleep when it starts. Not quite a bucket but it should hold 2 gallons if filled to the top. I am slightly limited being in an apartment with a 3 foot overhang. It is great that I don't have to close my windows when it rains but the space on the balcony that gets rain is a bit limited :(

[Juneii]

Tee hee! I got this silly image of you making a mad dash out of your home to wash your hair in the rain!

This is interesting, but I don't know how my friends will think of me if I were go out and rinse my hair in the rain or crouch over my rainwater bucket waiting for it to fill outside my dorm.

[In2wishin]

Tee hee! I got this silly image of you making a mad dash out of your home to wash your hair in the rain!.

That's pretty much what I did except I could only go as far as my balcony :D

[Wanderer09]

You've inspired me to start collecting rainwater now. I've always loved the way my hair dried after being out in the rain...

[Meagan]

I thought rain water wasnt good for the hair.
Doesnt rain pick up pollution and impurities from the air?

[manderly]

I thought rain water wasnt good for the hair.
Doesnt rain pick up pollution and impurities from the air?

I believe it doesn't contain chlorine or minerals, so it's nature's soft water :) I'm sure it's less than pristine though, but no more so than tap water to my understanding.

[RachelRain]

I thought rain water wasnt good for the hair.
Doesnt rain pick up pollution and impurities from the air?

Probably, but I know a lot of people who collect the rainwater in barrels to drink, and they've never gotten seriously ill from what I know of. :shrug: If you can ingest it and remain healthy I wouldn't think it would be bad for your hair.

[Rivanariko]

hmm, it rains an awful lot here lately... maybe this is a temporary solution to my hard-water battle. Would melted snow work the same when winter comes? The winters here are supposed to be brutal...

[RachelRain]

hmm, it rains an awful lot here lately... maybe this is a temporary solution to my hard-water battle. Would melted snow work the same when winter comes? The winters here are supposed to be brutal...

Um... I'm not sure. It's just frozen water though, so I don't see why not? I would think as long as it wasn't too close to the roads it'd be okay, that way you avoid the dirt and salt and stuff. But if you left out a bucket or whatever on your porch and brought it in when it was full, then I highly doubt salt's gonna get in it :) unless the salt trucks are sneaky.

[Rivanariko]

Um... I'm not sure. It's just frozen water though, so I don't see why not? I would think as long as it wasn't too close to the roads it'd be okay, that way you avoid the dirt and salt and stuff. But if you left out a bucket or whatever on your porch and brought it in when it was full, then I highly doubt salt's gonna get in it :) unless the salt trucks are sneaky.heh, we live on a dirt road. Don't think they'll be salting out here. Thanks though!

[Henrietta]

My grandma used to wash clothes and all the laundry in rainwater to make it softer. And also she washed hair hair in it. A barrel was always standing under the roof gutter to gather up lots of water:) There must be a grain of truth.

[In2wishin]

hmm, it rains an awful lot here lately... maybe this is a temporary solution to my hard-water battle. Would melted snow work the same when winter comes? The winters here are supposed to be brutal...

Just avoid the yellow snow :eyebrows:

[Misery]

I think the water in the river near me does good things for my hair.
=P

[christine1989]

If you love rainwater then you would love October-May in Seattle! It rains so much here! I am definatly going to give rainwater rinsing a try. Afterall, rain is what my hometown is known for. ;)

[kettle]

I did this ages ago, and it was awesome... my Nana told me she used to do the same when she was younger! I'm not sure why I stopped doing it, other than it's a bit of hassle. I remember straining it through tights to get any leaves/randomness out...

[manderly]

I did this ages ago, and it was awesome... my Nana told me she used to do the same when she was younger! I'm not sure why I stopped doing it, other than it's a bit of hassle. I remember straining it through tights to get any leaves/randomness out...

Put a giant bucket under a gutter dowspout and put a piece of shadecloth/netting (garden stores have this) over it to filter out any crud. Anything small enough to pass through the filter will settle to the bottom, so just scoop water from the top when you need it :)

Many houses on the Big Island have huge water catchment units (they look like giant above ground pools) they use for their water needs. They don't use water off the roof, but they're big enough to be able to collect lots of rain water due to the surface area.

[Deborah]

Would rain water be about the same thing as distilled water? If so, bottled distilled water should do the same thing. It would cost more but be a lot easier to obtain.

As to using water from a downspout, I would not use this as it will have run over roof tiling, which might transmit dangerous chemicals into the water. A container away from the room would collect less water, but I think the water would be more pure.

(I'm not a chemist, so anyone who is can feel free to correct me on this.) :)

[Tressie]

In the old days (o: it was common to use rainwater for washing hair and lots more! They had a "rain barrell".

[JesusFreak88]

About the snow... Um snow take up a lot more space than water. so when melted you won't have as much as thought you would.

[In2wishin]

About the snow... Um snow take up a lot more space than water. so when melted you won't have as much as thought you would.


True, but since it doesn't melt into the ground right away it is easier to collect.:p

[Medievalmaniac]

Put a giant bucket under a gutter dowspout and put a piece of shadecloth/netting (garden stores have this) over it to filter out any crud. Anything small enough to pass through the filter will settle to the bottom, so just scoop water from the top when you need it :)

Many houses on the Big Island have huge water catchment units (they look like giant above ground pools) they use for their water needs. They don't use water off the roof, but they're big enough to be able to collect lots of rain water due to the surface area.

I was going to say, we lived on Oahu when I was younger, and I distinctly remember a neighbor who did this. She had two rainbarrels in the backyard, and since it rained a little bit pretty much every day at some point, she always had plenty of water for her weekly hair washing. She has beautiful hair, I do remember that.

[JesusFreak88]

I just have to figure out where to put a barrel at college. :P

[Svart]

I believe it doesn't contain chlorine or minerals, so it's nature's soft water :) I'm sure it's less than pristine though, but no more so than tap water to my understanding.

I don't think that either tap water contains sulphuric and nitric acids and similar fancy stuff nor they are good for hair.

[Sarahmoon]

I remember when I just started with vinegar, I didn't rinse it out. Later that day I walked in heavy rain and :thud:

Maybe I should save some rain water. Back then I thought it was just the rinsing out vinegar that made the difference.

[Mel]

I never thought to do this but now I think I will. It rains a lot where I live and we have 'hard' tap water. Thank you for posting this!

[julya]

I remember from chemistry class that rainwater is a little acidic, from converting CO2 into carbonic acid. But acidic rinses are good for hair, right?

[RadiantNeedle]

I should have gone out today to try this. It was raining so hard I thought the windows were going to smash!
But the last time I went out in the rain (in the summer, dressed only in a sheet.. Good grief summer in Australia is awful!) to purposefully get wet, I got SO ITCHY. Blegh! There's a lot of power stations (coal) in my area, but I'm not sure if that was it. Possibly just improperly rinsed laundry powder on the sheet?

[HuggyBear]

Thank you for posting this, In2wishin! I collected some rainwater yesterday and used it as my final rinse last night. My hair looks great. I live in an area with very hard water so I can tell a big difference in the way my hair feels. The rain water made it so smooth & shiny. Thanks again!

[In2wishin]

Thank you for posting this, In2wishin! I collected some rainwater yesterday and used it as my final rinse last night. My hair looks great. I live in an area with very hard water so I can tell a big difference in the way my hair feels. The rain water made it so smooth & shiny. Thanks again!

You're welcome! We have extrememly hard water here too so I am sure that is the difference.