Water softening?

[tigereye]

Hi everyone, it's been a while since I posted over in these parts of the board because I was mostly happy with my routine.

However, I moved a year and a half ago to Yorkshire, and my hair has steadily got worse - frizzy, not soft, not smooth. I considered it was products, tried clarifying (didn't work, and my skin was hellish afterwards because sulphates don't agree with it), and eventually just accepted that manipulation from French braiding it every day for work was taking its toll on my past-classic hair (I wear a respirator at work that means I need to do a low bun, and if I don't pin said bun to a French braid, it pulls and gives me a headache).

The other day, I came back home to visit my parents and grandparents in Scotland for new year, and washed my hair while I was here. My hair is immediately back to soft, smooth and wavy (not frizzy) - i.e. how my hair used to be.

I wondered if it was the water, so I looked online at the water data for the two postcodes, and turns out, home is very soft - only 8mg/l calcium on average. My postcode in Yorkshire is still not bad (27mg/l calcium) but harder than I'm used to.

Im wondering if a water-softening shower head could help. I live in a rented flat, so I can't put in anything more permanent, and I don't even know if the shower head would be worth it.
Chelating shampoos all seem to have sulphates in them, which my dermatologist has advised to avoid where I can (specifically SLS and SLES). What about regular rinses? I have heard stuff about citric acid, and though it's fairly hard to get hold of here, I still have some left over from making elderflower cordial in summer. Any thoughts/experiences?

[pili]

You can also rinse with ACV. My hair reacts the same way to hard water. That sounds like it is the cause. You should also look up any chlorine. In the US that is another problem I run into with water. Filtering shower heads do help, but make sure you get a good one. I heard Mercola makes one that helps with chlorine and calcium.

[tigereye]

You can also rinse with ACV. My hair reacts the same way to hard water. That sounds like it is the cause. You should also look up any chlorine. In the US that is another problem I run into with water. Filtering shower heads do help, but make sure you get a good one. I heard Mercola makes one that helps with chlorine and calcium.

I can tell the chlorine content in my place in Yorkshire is much higher than at home just by how it tastes, and how it looks when I've run a bath (it looks blue-ish in the white bath. A bath back home doesn't have any colour). Home was on a private water supply with no chlorination for most of my childhood, and even though it's on the public supply now, its really far away from the water plant and there's much less chlorine in it.

[Anje]

Definitely try the shower head, though I'm not sure how it softens, since it probably isn't ion exchange. Chlorine can be seriously drying too.

Vinegar rinses are good, and I think citric acid is better if you really need something to chelate minerals in your water. "Miracle water" around here somewhere uses both citric and ascorbic acids. There are also chelating treatments with sodium gluconate, I believe, which are rather more potent than most citric or disodium EDTA ones (Sally carries one, though I don't think you can get that where you are.)

A thought on clarifying: if you really need sulfates to remove product buildup (which you know is different from mineral issues, but I'll say it anyway for the unfamiliar), you could probably shampoo a ponytail with gloves on to minimize exposing your sensitive skin to sulfates. Your issue with it isn't allergies, right?

[Suze]

I dilute clarifying shampoo in a tall glass and then hang my hair (from my ears down) in it. then I rinse my hair in the sink while I wrap myself in a big towel so that I don't get any of the shampoo on me. My skin is extremely sensitive right now so this works out great. I have hard water too and am also looking into a shower filter.

[tigereye]

Definitely try the shower head, though I'm not sure how it softens, since it probably isn't ion exchange. Chlorine can be seriously drying too.

Vinegar rinses are good, and I think citric acid is better if you really need something to chelate minerals in your water. "Miracle water" around here somewhere uses both citric and ascorbic acids. There are also chelating treatments with sodium gluconate, I believe, which are rather more potent than most citric or disodium EDTA ones (Sally carries one, though I don't think you can get that where you are.)

A thought on clarifying: if you really need sulfates to remove product buildup (which you know is different from mineral issues, but I'll say it anyway for the unfamiliar), you could probably shampoo a ponytail with gloves on to minimize exposing your sensitive skin to sulfates. Your issue with it isn't allergies, right?

I have a few skin issues, and allergies are one of them (nickel, pine nuts, many, many perfumes etc.). I avoid sulphates because they leave my skin dry and itchy and eventually develop scabby sores on my scalp and hands. My dentist suggested it first because my gums were a mess until I moved to sensodyne (SLS-free) toothpaste. However, gloves seem like a good idea if I need to remove build-up. I'll just keep my hair away from my body until it's rinsed out.