back to square one

[Alvrodul]

I had my routine fairly well sorted - CV poo bars, vinegar, non-coney condish, oil (argan oil rocks!!), regular SMT and an occasional clarifying wash with SLSy shampoo. And avoid the Body Shop products.
Then I moved.
There are more minerals in the water here, and washing with poo bars leaves my hair feeling rather sticky, and my hair seems less tolerant of oils, and my hair reacts even worse to Body Shop products than before.
I suspect I need to use more SLSy shampoo, and perhaps also return to cones. Oh well, if that is what it takes to keep my hair happy... :shrug:
And when winter temperatures sink, the moisture level in the air also will sink. And suck moisture right out of my hair! :(

[Zesty]

We have really hard water here, and I find that SLS and cones work best for me too. And lots of SMTs are great for dry weather.

It's frustrating how much water quality affects hair care. :shrug:

[jacqueline101]

I'm sorry to hear that you have to change hair products. I know what that's like finding something that works and then having to start over.

[laceyfairy]

I live in an are with very soft water. When I travel, I'm always afraid to wash my hair because it feels weird with hard water.

[CurlyCap]

Guh! I feel your pain. I just moved into a city with really hard water, and it's been wreaking havoc. I always think that my ends are getting velcro-y or that it's really dry when it's just mineral deposition.

Things that are definitely helping:
1. ACV rinses. These help a lot. I did fairly strong rinses (1:5 ratio) for about a week to get rid of the build up I had, and now I'm down to 1:10 every other day.
2. Do treatments longer. A lot of my hair treatments seems to need longer to take affect.
3. Damp bunning went from a cool trick to a necessity. I try to sleep with my hair in a damp bun every now and then. It seems to help.

I'm toying with the idea of making my deep treatment recipes with bottled water now. I'm wondering if the hard water makes it's more difficult for the goodness to help my hair.

[Kelikea]

Maybe you need a chelating shampoo to remove the mineral deposits and then your regular hair products will work again.

[Amber_Maiden]

Guh! I feel your pain. I just moved into a city with really hard water, and it's been wreaking havoc. I always think that my ends are getting velcro-y or that it's really dry when it's just mineral deposition.

Things that are definitely helping:
1. ACV rinses. These help a lot. I did fairly strong rinses (1:5 ratio) for about a week to get rid of the build up I had, and now I'm down to 1:10 every other day.
2. Do treatments longer. A lot of my hair treatments seems to need longer to take affect.
3. Damp bunning went from a cool trick to a necessity. I try to sleep with my hair in a damp bun every now and then. It seems to help.

I'm toying with the idea of making my deep treatment recipes with bottled water now. I'm wondering if the hard water makes it's more difficult for the goodness to help my hair.

Exactly what she said! I'm doing all of those and it seems to be helping me loads! I don't and won't use bottled water though- I'm way too into the environment. I'd ratehr use a filter.

[spidermom]

Even without moving, I find that my routine needs to be shaken up from time to time. It's the nature of living, I guess.

[luthein]

I recently moved to a home with well water. My water contains so much iron -- it's stained my hair strawberry blonde. The color is great, but the buildup is terrible. I was having trouble with oils and "grabby" hair. I read up on the miracle water thread and it's been yielding consistent, good results. It's the only water that touches my hair. However, you're using vinegar rinses so I'm not sure if it will help.

http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51184

[ludwig20]

I haven't moved, but I have noticed if the same product is used constantly, it seems to plateau. Their effectiveness just seems to wears out... Maybe you could try rotating around shampoos/conditioners? :undecided