Rain water

[Tigrestar]

Hi, I'd like to hear your thoughts on washing hair in rain water. I moved to a area that has very hard (mineral based) tap water. My hair started to dry out really badly. For the passed month I have been washing my hair in rain water and it feels so much better.

[Finoriel]

I experimented with rain water a few times when visiting my mom and quite liked it. She has extremely hard water and we are always joking that you could wash your hair with a rock instead and it would not make a difference :lol:. I mostly used the rain water for rinsing after washing with her tap water, which already made a big difference.
My own house has ridiculously soft and acidic water, so the rain water does not make that much of a difference and I rarely use it, but for hard water areas or if there's a lot of chlorine in the water it's a good option :agree:

[Ishje]

in my area there is hard water as well, I noticed when I had a trip to England last weekend that my hair was way softer when I washed it over there with softer water.

I would like to try to wash my hair with rainwater, but I wonder if it will make me feel clean enough.
also, it has not rained for weeks XD

how do you collect the water? and is it very clean water?

[krissykins]

I would be wary of using rain water if you live in an area with heavy air pollution. Acid rain is very real. At least, this is my reasoning for not using rain water personally. :twocents:

[Sundial]

I would be wary of using rain water if you live in an area with heavy air pollution. Acid rain is very real. At least, this is my reasoning for not using rain water personally. :twocents:

I second this.

[DoubleCrowned]

I used rain water for hair and bathing for several years when I had nothing else. It is absolutely wonderful for the hair and skin. Collect the water by letting the rain wash pollution out of the air a little while before collecting it.

[christine1989]

I have never expiremented with rain water- I should though since it is so plentiful in Seattle :laugh:. I have tried snow water though which is probobly quite similar. It really made my hair shine nicely and when it dried the waves were more even and controlled.

[SpeakingEZ]

I would be wary of using rain water if you live in an area with heavy air pollution. Acid rain is very real. At least, this is my reasoning for not using rain water personally. :twocents:

I second-second. I've lived in various places of Massachusetts and there were places where rainwater was as pure as it would come--even for drinking--and places where you didn't want the rain to touch your skin.

I'm not sure how I feel about it here in San Diego, but it seems better than the tap water, at least. I always leave my hair down if I'm walking in the rain so it gets a nice rinse.

[triumphator!]

Acid rain was my first thought, but I am sure there is some kind of purification process you could do. I bet it does WONDERS for hair. Sounds tempting!

[Tornerose]

how do you collect the water? and is it very clean water?
I don't know how to purify if it's very acid, but for the collecting you could install Rainwater Collecting Systems. Here's a video that tells you how to make your own, but I've also seen places you can buy them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHwWpx8KCfk

[Finoriel]

Yeah :( not all areas have good rain water unfortunately. It got much better since the 80s (at least here) and you don't hear as much about acidic rain anymore, but it's still an issue.
However I'm not sure if the acid is a problem for hair, a regular acidic rinse (ACV or other) should be more acidic than rain would be in most cases. I'd worry more about it containing unpleasant particulate matter like heavy metals etc. which isn't ideal to have in ones hair I can imagine. Regardless which dust it is, but when it is in your hair you'll sooner or later inhale it when it moves :/. If one already lives in a high pollution area, it could be better to avoid that additional source. On the other hand smoking or woodworking will have a bigger impact than "regular" air born particulate matter washed out by rain, so in the end it's just about choosing which risks of life one is willed to take I guess.
Hmm. When thinking about stuff in the air washed out by rain, it may not be a good idea to use rain water during pollen time when you are allergic either...
Oh drat, there's really nothing without catch :justy: :lol:

[Tigrestar]

Yes, it can be bad in polluted areas, but I live in a country town in Australia, so the water air is clean.

[Renbirde]

(cross-posted from here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=72280))

Natural rainwater IS good for hair. The slight acidity (pH~5.6) affects your hair the same way a vinegar rinse does-- it's just acidic enough to close the cuticle, not enough to damage it. That low pH is NOT because of industrial pollutants. The water reacts with CO2 in the air to form carbonic acid, the same stuff used to carbonate soda. It's also the stuff that gives soda water the ability to dissolve mineral deposits on the hair. For comparison, the pH of soda water is usually about 3.7, and 5% white vinegar has a pH of 2.4.

What you think of as "Acid rain" is rain with a pH of less than 5.6 that contains some amount of sulfuric or nitric acids from falling through industrial smog containing SO2, and/or various nitrogen oxides (NO, NO2, N20, NO3, N2O5, etc.). It is NOT good for hair. Neither of those two acids will do your body any good. Areas downwind of industrial areas (this includes areas with lots of motor traffic, not just factory stuff) will have more acidic rain. You should be able to collect rainwater in those areas, if it rains for a while. If you wait for the a bit of rain to go though, most of the pollution with get washed out of the atmosphere, so the tail end of the storm should be reasonably clean.

Now, back to those pH numbers for standard rain water, vinegar, and club soda. Here they are-- pH and the molarity of H+ in the liquid.

Vinegar: pH 2.4= [H+] 0.0039811
Soda water: pH 3.7= [H+] 0.0001995
Rain water: pH 5.6= [H+] 0.0000025

On hair, rain water and clup soda are usually used straight, and vinegar is diluted 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water, or thereabouts.

So, at the usual dilutions:

Vinegar: [H+] 0.0003619= pH 3.4
Soda water: [H+] 0.0001995= pH 3.7
Rain water: [H+] 0.0000025= pH 5.6

The vinegar is still the most acidic thing there. The 'Dumbest hair comments' thread is full of people laughing at the thought of vinegar being damaging-- rain water is even gentler.

/science geek

[JellyBene]

I would love to do this, unfortunately I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico where I do not have much access to rain water, but the monsoon season is coming in a few weeks so I just might try it!

[Slinks]

hmmmmm ... I live in a country town in Ozland too and I have 3 water tanks !! maybe I should try a rain rince :-)

[gthlvrmx]

If i go to hawai'i, i will definitely take advantage of the rain there!:D

[Tea Lady]

I have used rainwater before, and love it. In fact, today would have been a perfect day to collect some; it rained really hard. I was out and about, so missed the opportunity. I use it to first soak my hair before washing, then use it as a final rinse.

Tea Lady

[whitestiletto]

I have always instinctively run outside when it rains to try and get my hair wet because it curls so nicely afterwards... maybe we have stumbled upon the answer to the age-old question "How did women wash their hair before shampoo"

[Nymph]

My mother uses rain water, and everytime I wash my hair there it comes out incredibly silky and shiny, so I'm a fan. We have a big water tank and a filter installed, so that it gets purified.

[MissAlida]

I don't think I would feel comfortable washing my hair with rain water if it has been collected in or near a city. If I lived somewhere in the mountains, where air pollution is less, I would definitely give it a try.:)

[Helix]

Hi, I'd like to hear your thoughts on washing hair in rain water. I moved to a area that has very hard (mineral based) tap water. My hair started to dry out really badly. For the passed month I have been washing my hair in rain water and it feels so much better.


My only beef with rainwater is that if you live in a really polluted area that pollution will more than likely end up in your rain and if you use it...your hair.

Wouldn't it just be easier to install a shower filter? I've seen some for about $30 at Lowes which isn't too steep.

[Djinmonet]

I've used rain water. It was amazing. Super easy rinsing, fast hair washing, shine, etc. I live in the country though, which is pretty much a sure thing for a nasty polluted-lake to be the "city" water, and relatively clean rain water at each homesite.
They make diverters that let the rain run for so much amount, to wash off the roof, before sending the water into a collection system. It also helps to have a metal roof, but I did this even when we had the old roofing shingle version. If we had the rainwater piped into the house, I would use nothing else. As it is, I have to haul it in. Or ask someone to do that for me.
As Helix pointed out, a shower and/or whole house filter is pretty simple, by-passes the air pollution issue, and usually helps dramatically.

[ktani]

Some interesting info on rain water here, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1644931&postcount=58.

[ktani]

I think rain water can be great to use once it has been tested for bacteria content among other things, and treated if necessary.

The second link I provided is not there anymore on that page.

I was surprised to find out that it can contain ecoli. That does not mean all rain water does however. I had no idea of the possible risks until I checked it out.

[Renbirde]

Not without getting it tested I would think. I would be more concerened about possible bacteria contamination from rain water, http://www.harvesth2o.com/rainwater_safe.shtml.

ETA I posted this last year?

"Rainwater can contain:
• campylobacter, giardia, .... salmonella and E.coli
• bird, possum .... other animal droppings
• heavy metals .... as lead from your roof
• ash and chemical residues - .... from agricultural spraying .... vehicle emissions ...."
http://www.smarterhomes.org.nz/water...ing-rainwater/

What's the context for this, Ktani? This looks reasonable if the rainwater is runoff from the land or a roof and then not filtered. But if the rainwater was caught and stored with sterile equipment, or filtered...

All the water in my house comes rainwater we trap off the roof. It most certainly contains animal and bird fecal mater with the attendant microorganisms, as well as those from decomposing leaves. That is why we run the water through several different types of filters and a light chemical treatment before it gets anywhere near the shower-- or my cup! But if the water is going straight from the air to a funnel to a lidded bottle to the fridge, it shouldn't have any fecal contamination, just traces of the pollutants in the air, and a good percentage of those get washed away quickly in the rain. I think that whatever trace amounts are left in the water after it's rained for a while aren't worth worrying about-- they're all over you-- and in your lungs-- anyway, every time you step outside.

[Pirate Cat]

I just did this two days ago for the first time. We have very, very hard (and we suspect chlorinated) water. I'm trying to do WO, which hard water makes very difficult. I put a plastic storage tub in the backyard during a heavy rain and collected about four inches of rain water, which I used as a final rinse after my shower. My hair is definitely softer. Lugging it in the house is a pain though.

As for pollution, bird droppings, acid, bacteria, etc, I figure: the rain falls on my vegetable garden and is absorbed by the plants which I then eat, and I don't die, so I'm probably ok putting a little bit on my hair.

[GALISH]

I don't know why but rain water leaves my hair greasy... pollution?

[Renbirde]

I don't know why but rain water leaves my hair greasy... pollution?
I dunno. How are you using it?

[AshleyTheRed]

I live in the middle of the country and have really nice well water. I do hoover go walking/riding my bike in the rain a lot. My hair doesn't seem any worse or better because of it, but it is fun :D