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Mairéad
August 21st, 2011, 02:52 PM
Yes, it’s another hard water post. I’ll put it out there and already say that I’m at university so I can’t use a water softener or a shower head filter.

I’ve been using the hard water for barely a week and I can already tell the difference. My hair is darker than usual, flatter than usual, and kind of slime-y yet strangely dry. I CO about twice a week and always got amazing results but now my hair is just *wahhhhh wahhhhh wahhhhhhn*

I use an ACV rinse every time I wash my hair no matter my water supply so I thought it would stave it off, but it hasn’t. Usually when I do an ACV rinse with the water in my hometown it feels so buttery but now it feels like it just “bounced” right off my head and did nothing.

In order to combat my hard water I think I’m going to accustom myself to using shower caps. In other words if my hair doesn’t need washed than I’m not wetting it! Also, I’ve ordered the Kerna clarifying/chelating shampoo to use once every other week or so.

But, here are my questions. If I’m ACV rinsing does it need to be made in distilled water? If I just use the hard water will it all be for not?

Also, should I be washing my hair with distilled water entirely? (That would be incredibly awful and inconvenient for this vehicle-less student.)

Or, would a combination of infrequent wetting, chelating shampoo, and ACV rinses made in distilled water be enough to make my hair fluffed and awesome like it used to be?

Also, I’ve made an ACV toner for my face because my skin is also getting awfully dry and red. Boo, I want my awesome city water back.

littlestarface
August 21st, 2011, 02:57 PM
Just use the distilled water as a rinse after washing your hair in the tap water. That way the minerals get washed out of your hair when you do the distilled water rinse. This is what I do everytime water touches my hair,works great.

Cainwen
August 21st, 2011, 03:05 PM
We have extremely hard water where I am, and I can attest that just vinegar rinses work, although I tend to more "soak" than "rinse".

On the topic of distilled water:

If you have access to a stove and some basic cooking equipment (or some basic chemistry equipment :P) its possible to distill your own water without too much bother. Or if you are in a sufficiently sunny part of the world, build a 'solar still'. It might be more bother than finding someone to give you a ride, but if you end up needing lots of distilled water, it might be a better option money wise.

Also, some university labs have 'deionized water' faucets in bio and chem labs. This is just fancy distilled water. I'd maybe ask a prof first, but you might be able to grab a nalgene or so of distilled water that way.

gthlvrmx
August 21st, 2011, 03:11 PM
You don't need to wash your hair so often with that hard water.
Club soda helps break hard mineral bonds in your hair, it WILL work trust me. That way you don't have to use so much distilled water (i know it can be a hassle) Not only that, but you can try a mix of oils the night before to break calcium and iron bonds( alma, coconut oil, and EVOO together work well overnight after you wet your hair with distilled water) and then rsine with club soda in the morning. It does work, but you don't have to use the oils, they just aid in help breaking more mineral bonds. Ktani has more stuff written on hard water and using club soda.
Try stretching your washes out and use distilled water for those WO rinse days so you can stretch your days out.
It's not exactly chelating, but it's a mild form of it in a way :)

Mairéad
August 21st, 2011, 03:20 PM
We have extremely hard water where I am, and I can attest that just vinegar rinses work, although I tend to more "soak" than "rinse".

On the topic of distilled water:

If you have access to a stove and some basic cooking equipment (or some basic chemistry equipment :P) its possible to distill your own water without too much bother. Or if you are in a sufficiently sunny part of the world, build a 'solar still'. It might be more bother than finding someone to give you a ride, but if you end up needing lots of distilled water, it might be a better option money wise.

Also, some university labs have 'deionized water' faucets in bio and chem labs. This is just fancy distilled water. I'd maybe ask a prof first, but you might be able to grab a nalgene or so of distilled water that way.

Actually, I was thinking of bumming distilled water from the lab. I have classes in the chemistry lab and I also work in a tissue culture lab so I don't have a short supply, I'd just feel awkward lol.

I was just looking up how to distill water. It sounds like something well in my means, actually. Believe it or not, being a science junkie, doing it myself would be more convenient than lugging it from the store.

Mairéad
August 21st, 2011, 03:23 PM
You don't need to wash your hair so often with that hard water.
Club soda helps break hard mineral bonds in your hair, it WILL work trust me. That way you don't have to use so much distilled water (i know it can be a hassle) Not only that, but you can try a mix of oils the night before to break calcium and iron bonds( alma, coconut oil, and EVOO together work well overnight after you wet your hair with distilled water) and then rsine with club soda in the morning. It does work, but you don't have to use the oils, they just aid in help breaking more mineral bonds. Ktani has more stuff written on hard water and using club soda.
Try stretching your washes out and use distilled water for those WO rinse days so you can stretch your days out.
It's not exactly chelating, but it's a mild form of it in a way :)

Thanks for these tips. I've heard of them and also thought the oilings before my hair washings would help. I was considering club soda, but since I AVC rinse and am about to receive a chelating shampoo I thought club soda would be overkill. But I think I'll pick some up to have on standby.

gthlvrmx
August 21st, 2011, 03:25 PM
Thanks for these tips. I've heard of them and also thought the oilings before my hair washings would help. I was considering club soda, but since I AVC rinse and am about to receive a chelating shampoo I thought club soda would be overkill. But I think I'll pick some up to have on standby.
The chelating shampoo can be quite drying if it's that Joico kind (heard it can leave it like a DESERT) so watch out and do moisturize that hair well, i suggest the club soda because it is way less harmful and gets the job done, ACV takes more time to get the job done. But a good mix of ACV and club soda works perfect.

Hope it all goes well!!

Mairéad
August 21st, 2011, 03:29 PM
Thank you. I knew the chelating shampoo would probably be drying but I planned on doing it infrequently. My hair is also pretty tough and quick to bounce back. It would take the place of my clarifying shampoo which I do every few weeks or so when my CO builds up. I could do club soda and ACV rinses in the time between.

Cainwen
August 21st, 2011, 04:14 PM
I was just looking up how to distill water. It sounds like something well in my means, actually. Believe it or not, being a science junkie, doing it myself would be more convenient than lugging it from the store.

Being a science junkie myself, I completely believe it :D

Mairéad
August 25th, 2011, 06:40 PM
I just received and used my new chelating shampoo (Kerna). Problem solved. My hair once again moves when I move. It is no longer pasted to my head.

Now that my hair is in a state of "normalcy" I can move on to see how long it takes to get hard water buildup so I calculate how often said chelating shampoo will be used. It smells exactly like grapefruit, by the way. :D

Anje
August 25th, 2011, 06:52 PM
Grab a milkjug or two of DI water from the lab. A guy in mine regularly filled up his humidifier with water from our lab. Just make sure it's DI water and not MilliQ, or someone will come after you! :D

The downside with making a still is that all the minerals in the water will be left behind on whatever you boiled the water in. It builds up quite a crust and needs to be cleaned out occasionally with concentrated HCl or similar.

Mairéad
August 25th, 2011, 06:59 PM
Huh, I didn't think about build up in the pot but that makes sense. I'm going to start getting DI water soon. I didn't want to do it right away because I'm in a new lab so there's new people and they should become accustomed to how weird I am before I do something weird like fill jugs with DI water for my personal use. :D

I still want to do distilled water + ACV and club soda rinses because I'm used to only needing to shampoo every 6 weeks. I barely got out of the second week of Purdue water before I needed to bust out my new chelating/clarifying shampoo.

swearnsue
August 25th, 2011, 08:09 PM
Just a thought, would a Britta water filter and jug work to filter the minerals out of the tap water? Then you would have water to drink also and they aren't that expensive.

jeanniet
August 25th, 2011, 08:26 PM
You could also try using miracle water, which is basically chelated. Here's the thread on it: http://www.longhaircommunity.com/archive/showthread.php?t=51184. I have hard well water, and was using distilled water, but I didn't like all the waste of the plastic jugs (same problem with club soda), so I started using miracle water instead. I use it to make my shampoo and herbal rinse, and I also use it as a final rinse. As far as I can tell, it works as well as distilled water, at least for me.

justgreen
August 25th, 2011, 08:43 PM
I second the 'not using the chelating shampoo' frequently. Even though your hair is short and tough, it can be a killer.

I am another with horribly hard well water. In the last ten years my hair has adjusted to a great routine, which does include a final rinse with about 12 ounces of distilled water, to sluice off the minerals from the well water, before they have time to grab hold. I am a regular root bleacher and this is a tried and true for me. It also keeps the brassies away.

I'm a firm believer in diluted shampoo and even doing this with a gentle sulfate shampoo is enough to get the cones and all off my long length. I generally use Nature's Gate Original Herbal Shampoo, diluted, about 2 tablespoons with 4-5 ounces of warm water. Even if I haven't washed my hair in a week, this is plenty to get it good and clean every time.

Good luck!