Poor water quality

[Naphthylamine]

I'll be going to a short vacation next week to a summer village in which we own a house. The village doesn't have city water running; instead artesian wells are used to supply water to houses. The water we have tastes really salty (of course we cannot drink it, it sometimes even causes blisters in my mouth when I just brush my teeth), has a weird smell, sometimes a little cloudy, and the worst: it foams up when you rub your hands to each other! (without touching soap) That leaves my hands, my face, body and of course hair really sticky. In addition to that, I cannot rinse shampoo out with that water no matter how long I rinse.

I've tried using drinking water for rinsing, but carrying all that hot water two floors upstairs is really hard. And my parents are not very understanding about my haircare there.

What can you advice me else? My current routine is CO once every 4 days.

Thanks in advance :)

[terpentyna]

Oh my goodness... Sounds really strange to say the least... blisters??? foaming???

I think your best bet would be to just carry the drinking water up there and mermaid rinse your hair out... place your head upside down in a bowl or bucket.

ETA: I had quite the opposite experience when I stayed in the middle of nowhere, I would bathe in a river for the most part and my hair LOVED it.

[Naphthylamine]

Oh my goodness... Sounds really strange to say the least... blisters??? foaming???

I think your best bet would be to just carry the drinking water up there and mermaid rinse your hair out... place your head upside down in a bowl or bucket.

ETA: I had quite the opposite experience when I stayed in the middle of nowhere, I would bathe in a river for the most part and my hair LOVED it.

I suspect dirty water may be mixing that underwater stream because there isn't any sewer system either.

I haven't tried mermaid rinsing, I will surely try that this time. Thank you :)

I'd rather prefer washing my hair in the sea, seawater might even be cleaner :D Oh, and I'd love to bathe in a river, lucky you :)

[DoubleCrowned]

Can you collect rainwater to use? It is excellent for hair.

[terpentyna]

Can you collect rainwater to use? It is excellent for hair.

Truth.


@ Naphthylamine- Good luck managing your routine there.

[Naphthylamine]

DoubleCrowned and terpentyna - Sadly, I don't have any system for rainwater collection. However I will bring this subject to my parents there. But I don't think we can build it on this visit. Hopefully in summer :rolleyes:

Do you think I can keep on CO'ing or should I use something with stronger surfactants?

[torrilin]

It takes about 500mL for me to rinse my hair. I just use a large glass since my hair isn't super-thick. Stuff length into glass, let it soak for a bit. Pour remaining water over my scalp. If I were using a routine where I needed more thorough rinsing it might go up to 1L.

Since I can wash as little as twice a week, I don't think clean water for my hair is a ridiculous thing. Add in a shower cap and life should be pretty good. I drink far more water than I'd need for my hair!

And while no, a cold rinse isn't much fun... it'll probably drive your parents much less bats if they know you're being responsible with how much water you use, and you make sure the bathroom is stocked with clean water for brushing teeth and taking pills.

[DreamDance]

Have you tried ACV rinses at the end of your shower there? I often go to my Grandparents cabin. They have water that smells, tastes, feels like fish scales... Yuck. ACV rinses help me.

However, that being said, I also tend to extend my washes to ridiculous levels while I am there so I don't have to feel the water, and use drinking water for sponge baths. Also, if it's summer I have access to a semi-clean lake to get rid of oil etc.

Hope you find a solution that works for you.

[spidermom]

We lived far up in the mountains with no running water years ago. We had to haul our water from a community well, and I could wash my hair with about 2 quarts of it, a gallon at the most.

[DoubleCrowned]

If it is a short vacation, maybe you can wash your hair right before you leave, then use corn starch or another dry shampoo to delay the next washing.

I find that my hair stays clean longer if I wear it up--maybe because it is held still instead of swinging, so doesn't stimulate the scalp to produce as much oil?

Good luck.

[Firefox7275]

Would they allow you to wash your hair in the kitchen sink? Leave-in instead of wash-off conditioner means far less water needed. And I second dry shampoo, Batiste is awesome. My family uses all these methods when travelling/ camping.

[Naphthylamine]

Thank you all for your suggestions :)


Have you tried ACV rinses at the end of your shower there? I often go to my Grandparents cabin. They have water that smells, tastes, feels like fish scales... Yuck. ACV rinses help me.

However, that being said, I also tend to extend my washes to ridiculous levels while I am there so I don't have to feel the water, and use drinking water for sponge baths. Also, if it's summer I have access to a semi-clean lake to get rid of oil etc.

Hope you find a solution that works for you.

Our water sounds similar. :p I haven't tried ACV rinses there before. Normally ACV works really well for me, so why not :)


If it is a short vacation, maybe you can wash your hair right before you leave, then use corn starch or another dry shampoo to delay the next washing.

I find that my hair stays clean longer if I wear it up--maybe because it is held still instead of swinging, so doesn't stimulate the scalp to produce as much oil?

Good luck.

I'm thinking of extending too. If I stay there for more than a week, I don't wash my hair for the first week. So it should work for a 5-day visit. Regarding dry shampoo, I don't know where I can get some in Turkey. Purchasing online is unfortunately not an option this time, since it won't arrive before I leave.


Would they allow you to wash your hair in the kitchen sink? Leave-in instead of wash-off conditioner means far less water needed. And I second dry shampoo, Batiste is awesome. My family uses all these methods when travelling/ camping.

I really don't think they would allow me :rolleyes: And I should look more into dry shampoo. Even if it's not possible this time, it can really be useful in summer during my longer visits.

Again, thank you very much everyone for your replies :)

[DoubleCrowned]

[QUOTE=
I'm thinking of extending too. If I stay there for more than a week, I don't wash my hair for the first week. So it should work for a 5-day visit. Regarding dry shampoo, I don't know where I can get some in Turkey. Purchasing online is unfortunately not an option this time, since it won't arrive before I leave.

I really don't think they would allow me :rolleyes: And I should look more into dry shampoo. Even if it's not possible this time, it can really be useful in summer during my longer visits.[/QUOTE]

You needn't purchase dry shampoo. You can use baby powder, corn starch, cocoa powder, or other common substances instead. There is a thread on it in the natural hair care section.