Knee and Beyond

[MusicalSpoons]

Here is 17.7°dH; (IIRC lapushka's is somewhat harder.) There seem to be parts of the US and Canada that are double that, plus they often have a higher pH which means the water deposits even more minerals. Ours is consistently just above pH 7 so it thankfully doesn't really 'behave' any harder than it is.

Where we're going on holiday it's 3-4°dH so I find myself tempted to wash my hair more often for the sake of the experience

[lapushka]

Oh Lapushka, I thought you do use cones?
Now I'm confused

Yes she was commenting on doing bad stuff to her hair, neglecting it, by using silicones and sulfates. That's what I reacted to. Does that make it more clear? At least, that is how I read the message.

[eresh]

Ooooh I read that differently
I thought she said she did nothing nice to her hair and you replied I don't either, so I thought that meant no stylers, no masks, no serums, no leave-ins, no oils, etc.
I didn't think it was about silicones or sulfates, that's just the regular routine, "nothing nice".

[lapushka]

Here is 17.7°dH; (IIRC lapushka's is somewhat harder.) There seem to be parts of the US and Canada that are double that, plus they often have a higher pH which means the water deposits even more minerals. Ours is consistently just above pH 7 so it thankfully doesn't really 'behave' any harder than it is.

Where we're going on holiday it's 3-4°dH so I find myself tempted to wash my hair more often for the sake of the experience

Water here (exactly the town where I live) is:

German degrees:
9,7
French degrees:
17,4
mmol/l:
1,74

Frankly, beats me what the numbers mean, but I hope they mean something to you guys!

[Groovy Granny]

Here's the bottom half of my braid, to add a pic for fun
The livingroomlight makes it look much redder.

Impressive and lovely

[eresh]

Thanks Groovy granny!
It was just washed and spoiled with a hairmask.

[MusicalSpoons]

Water here (exactly the town where I live) is:

German degrees:
9,7
French degrees:
17,4
mmol/l:
1,74

Frankly, beats me what the numbers mean, but I hope they mean something to you guys!

Oh! Maybe I misread the Belgian classifications then; I thought their definition of 'very hard water' was something like 25+°dH, somewhat more than the UK classification of 17+°dH, which is why I thought your water was harder than ours. Not that it really matters, it's just interesting (to me, anyway!)

[Iskreth]

I'm going to throw one more potential factor into the great silicone/sulfate debate. What is the quality of your water? Is it hard or soft? Is it naturally soft or do you have a water softener? Having experienced all kinds of water qualities, I have found that it really affects how silicones/sulfates work with your hair.

Interestingly, I don't think the water quality matters too much to my hair -- I have lived in five different states in the US since I started growing my hair, and the water was different in all of them (everything from extremely soft to imported from other states to extraordinarily hard well water), but my hair has always loved 'cones. At least it's consistent!!!

Iskreth I am in awe that your hair looks so shiny and beautiful despite sleeping on a flannel pillowcase! Mine happens to intensely dislike braids (it's not a fan even if they're bunned) and doesn't look that good even with the considered routine I give it

Thank you! I will, admit, however, that my pic is EXTREMELY old (um...2007?). My hair is not its happiest right now, as it spends a portion of every day in a riding helmet and another portion of the day in a bunned braid, neither of which it likes. Straight braid is its favorite -- even better than loose.

One of these days I'll post a pic -- I'm going to wait until after a wash day for maximum straightness. I want to show off my actual length and texture.

[Shorty89]

Water here (exactly the town where I live) is:

German degrees:
9,7
French degrees:
17,4
mmol/l:
1,74

Frankly, beats me what the numbers mean, but I hope they mean something to you guys!

Ours is between 11.7 and 13.5 depending on the time of year. I think the type of minerals in the water would make more of a difference.

[TatsuOni]

My hair's only FTL, but our water's hard and I don't use cones or sulfates. My hair and scalp doesn't like cones or sulfates in hard nor soft water.