hard water - breakthrough

[theodora]

This morning I rinsed off my overnight SMT, did a light ACV rinse, and I was quite disappointed about my hair which was still looking pretty bad - rough, stretchy and limp (though that might be partially due to lack of protein, but that's another issue).

I came home and took the doggies on a walk. Of course there had to be a thunderstorm (stupid English weather:rolleyes:) and the three of us were drenched in rain water. When we all dried off I noticed something:
- my hair looked much better, it was really soft and had lovely waves (which can be vaguely seen in my signature picture)
- my black lhasa girl (whose hair is getting rather long at 6 months) was incredibly soft and shiny too. And dandruff free! She keeps getting dandruff after being shampooed although I use the gentlest sls free shampoo for dogs. DH blamed the shampoo, but I'm starting to think it's the water!


I've been reading up on hard water, and it makes so much sense! (problems with soap leaving scummy residue, problems with laundering clothes, why I find it so hard to get oil out of my hair with WO or even CO)


Do you have very hard water? And if you do, how do you deal? Do you have a water softener? Do you use filtered water/demineralised water or even rain water - which I have decided is pretty amazing?

[bella77]

we have hard water, I bought a shower filter, I think it's helping, but I have not really noticed any difference for my hair, but my skin is better.

[annieangel149]

yep! i have hard water here in chatham UK! I have not really got around to doing anything about it yet! After seeing your post im gutted that i didn't go out in that cool storm we has this afternoon! lol!

Does filter water help? i thought it was only distilled water that would work?

[cowgirllong]

I live in an area of hardwater. I don't have problems with my hair because of it, but a girl a few miles away did. We have a lot of iron in the water, and it made her hair very tangly. She got something from her hairdresser to help. Filters can help, too.

I have also read about people putting out a big pan to catch rainwater for washing their hair.

[shikara]

Yeah, we've got hard water here. I chelated a couple months ago, with a light soak and pour-over of diluted club soda. It made quite a difference, and I haven't needed to do it since. I'm keeping an eye on it though because I'm sure I'll need to do it again - the water isn't changing anytime soon!!

[theodora]

yep! i have hard water here in chatham UK! I have not really got around to doing anything about it yet! After seeing your post im gutted that i didn't go out in that cool storm we has this afternoon! lol!

Does filter water help? i thought it was only distilled water that would work?
I've read somewhere that it supposedly helps but it's never going to be as good as distilled water. Have you found distilled water in the UK? All I found was de-ionised water which is supposedly not as good (but still a step up from hard water).
Apparently ACV rinsing helps counteract the hard water, so maybe that's why you haven't suffered so much from it.

[Ishje]

I have the same problem with hard water.
when I shower my hair feels weird afterwards and I can't handle it for a day.
next day is usually better.
I don't know what to do about it though, I have thought about rinsing it after the shower with bottled water, but that will be expensive.
maybe I find more idea's in this topic.

[Mirsha]

I live in an area with hard water, but so far it hasn't given me any problems whatsoever. :shrug:

[Aredhel77]

I bought a shower filter which has made a difference. Mine removes chlorine but also softens the water. I got mine from Amazon.co.uk

[WaitingSoLong]

I cannot live without my water softener. I can tell immediately when we are out of salt. I dislike t he idea of softening water for all other purposes (drinking, cooking) but it is the only option I have. I have never tried distilled water or rainwater.

[woolyleprechaun]

I may be crazy, but I rinse with water from my clothes dryer condenser. I believe its kinda distilled:)

[Annalouise]

I'm jealous, I LOVE rainstorms.

I switched to distilled water for health reasons and I am happy now.
My skin is clear and soft, it was dry and had rashes before. And my hair is softer.:)

[Lilli]

We have a whole-house softener, but sometimes, we run out of salt or the other blue stuff, and then it is hard and full of iron. I keep a bottle of Joico Chelating shampoo around to fix that. For every day use, I have a bottle of lemon juice in filtered water that I use to rinse my hair.

[Anje]

I've got really hard water here. (24 grains/gallon = 165 mg/l hard....) It's probably scandalous how much I love my water softener, and I'm going to cry when I have to move out of my home and leave it behind. I'll be back to vinegar and occasional distilled water rinses then, I suppose.

[theodora]

I bought a shower filter which has made a difference. Mine removes chlorine but also softens the water. I got mine from Amazon.co.uk
I just had a look and there are loads! Could you tell me the name of yours? Pretty please :D

[ravenreed]

I live with very hard water and since I started using ACV, my hair is so much happier. I suppose I should try a shower filter at some point to see if it would help with my chronically itchy skin.

[Deborah]

Our water is very hard. After washing, I use an acidic rinse, either citric acid or vinegar, and don't rinse it out. This works very well for me.

[jeanniet]

We have hard well water with a high mineral content. I use a weak citric acid solution as a final rinse (1/4 tsp. per gallon of water), and when I make my herbal shampoo/rinse I also use the same mix. Citric acid chelates calcium, iron, and some other minerals. Since I've starting using the citric acid mix I have much less trouble with my hair and don't need to clarify nearly as often. You might want to read the thread on "miracle water" for more information: http://www.longhaircommunity.com/archive/showthread.php?t=51184

[silvermoon_76]

This is such a huge problem for me. I've developed so many skin allergies and my hair loss has increased exponentially over the past few years because of the poor water quality.
And it is impossible to get ACV here, I've checked almost everywhere.
I guess I will try the citric acid mix and see if it helps.

[pelicano]

I have incredibly hard water (Essex, UK). I find a shower filter doesn't help at all, although it does good things with chlorine removal.

I'd love to try a water softener out, but that's not really possible (ie to try it first!). The deionised water I buy for my iron would work out ridiculously expensive to wash with, as it only comes in small bottles.

I use a chelating shampoo regularly - Ultra Swim.

[theodora]

Thank you all for your different suggestions!
It's good to see that there are several options to try:
- ACV rinses
- citric acid or ascorbic acid
- shower filters
- deionised or distilled water
- rain water

I am going to try first an ACV rinse without rinsing it with my hard water - I seem to always rinse my rinses which might be counter-productive - and I will report.

[Honestwitness]

I use Realemon bottled lemon juice diluted with tap water to counteract the effects of our moderately hard water. After shampooing in the shower, I rinse. Then I pour the lemon juice and water mixture over my hair and gently work it through with my fingers. Then I wrap it in a drippy, loose bun and secure with a plastic claw clip, while I finish my shower. Then, I rinse out the lemon juice and apply conditioner as usual and rinse that out with tap water. Then, I towel dry and air dry. My hair had lost its shine from all the hard-water buildup, but now that I use lemon juice every other week or so, the shine has come back.

The mixture is about 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice to a quart of warm tap water.

I cannot stand the smell of vinegar in my hair, so that is why I use lemon juice. Since my hair is already very light, I am not at all worried about any possible lightening effect from the lemon juice.

[Aredhel77]

I just had a look and there are loads! Could you tell me the name of yours? Pretty please :D

Hi, theodora, yes, mine was from the Sensitive Skincare company, It was a clear dechlorinating filter (i.e you can see the layers of the filter material through it) and attached easily either to the shower head or at the base where the hose connects to the unit. I'm happy with it :)HTH :blossom:

[theodora]

Hi, theodora, yes, mine was from the Sensitive Skincare company, It was a clear dechlorinating filter (i.e you can see the layers of the filter material through it) and attached easily either to the shower head or at the base where the hose connects to the unit. I'm happy with it :)HTH :blossom:
I've had a look and it looks really promising, my only worry would be, how long has yours lasted? Someone here said their filter lasted a mere 6 weeks which would be rather steep at 30 quid...

[allnaturalboy]

We have pretty hard water where I live. Maybe I'm weird, but I've never really had that much of a problem with the hard water. The only difference I've noticed is that I have to use more shampoo than when I wash in soft water. In soft water I can use the tiniest amount, like a dime, and get a good lather. With really hard water I have to use a lot more shampoo. Then I condition and my hair comes out soft and shiny. My shampoo has amodimethicone in it too and I still don't notice any build up. I never clarify either. I just lather up my scalp really well with my regular shampoo, letting the suds run through the length while rinsing. I condition really well afterwards and my hair comes out just fine. With soft water, I use a lot less conditioner though.

[SheaLynne]

Ahhh..another 'aha' moment on LHC! I have water that is somewhat hard (our city water provided from a well). I knew it was harder than where we moved from, but since that had very soft water, I figured this was more normal than hard. But I've been swimming twice in the past week in a salt-water pool (oiled with coconut oil beforehand) and scalp washed with CO on the length afterward. My hair is super soft and shiny this week! I thought maybe it was from the extended time with a deeper oiling, but maybe it is the water!

Gonna experiment this week with double-boiling my water for my final rinse and add a lemon or ACV rinse back in.....

[pelicano]

How would double boiling water help? Surely that would just concentrate the minerals down in the water even further? :confused: Not that I really understand these things! :)

[Nymph]

I have very hard water and my last rinse is with water from a Britta water filter. That seems to do the trick.

[wendyg]

Theodora: yes, in London. Trashed my hair for years. Solved it by buying a shower filter.

wg

[CrystalStar]

I have very hard water in my area as I live in a region surrounded by chalk hills. I don't do anything to combat it, as I have never had too bad a problem with it!

That and my parents will think I've completely lost my marbles if I try fit a shower filter for my hair. :laugh:

[allnaturalboy]

I have very hard water in my area as I live in a region surrounded by chalk hills. I don't do anything to combat it, as I have never had too bad a problem with it!

That and my parents will think I've completely lost my marbles if I try fit a shower filter for my hair. :laugh:

I guess I'm not the only one. XD I switch between CWC and CO. My hair comes out perfectly fine no matter which method I use. Even back when I was just doing a normal S&C every single day pre-LHC (due to oily hair), my hair was just fine. My grandparent's had a water softer and I would visit them every summer when I was a teen, but the only difference I ever noticed was that it took a lot less shampoo to get a lather. :shrug:

[Yamainu]

I've got hard water here too. I did a vinegar rinse, and that helped, but hubby hated the smell of it, so I"m gonna try lemon juice.

I can't find club soda for the life of me though.

[pelicano]

I've got hard water here too. I did a vinegar rinse, and that helped, but hubby hated the smell of it, so I"m gonna try lemon juice.

I can't find club soda for the life of me though.

Where are you based? It's called soda water in the UK, and is sold with the mixers for spirits. I actually prefer regular sparkling/fizzy water as a final rinse though.

[theodora]

It's so good to hear people's different opinions and experiences with hard water. I think there is more to it than just having 'hard water' in general, but I think it is also the different minerals and chlorine etc found in the water.
Before now, I had lived in other places with hard water without having much problem, so perhaps there is more to it than just hardness.

At least, the rinses are working fairly well, I'm alternating ACV and redbush (no I am not obsessed ahah).

[shikara]

My city has hard water but I never noticed as many problems until I moved into the building I am in now!!!! Tomorrow I will try a club soda rinse before using my new shampoo bar to hopefully rid the hair of hard water buildup, then follow with a lemon rinse which is supposed to rinse out everything that hard water would leave behind. If this method doesn't work, it's a good oiling for tangle protection, up in a bun, and back to the drawing board.....

[Yamainu]

Where are you based? It's called soda water in the UK, and is sold with the mixers for spirits. I actually prefer regular sparkling/fizzy water as a final rinse though.

The U.S. My mother didn't believe me when I said I can't find it, but then she couldn't find it either. :D