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The 4 best ways to protect your hair from hard water!

25/2/2015

 
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PictureDo you live in an area with hard water?
Watch the video!

Put tersely, hard water damages hair.

Hard water has a large quantity of calcium, magnesium, iron and copper. It’s this high concentration of minerals that damages hair.[i]

Washing hair in hard water causes it to become/feel straw-like, dry and brittle; it’s likely that your hair will break or start thinning because the hair follicles become blocked thereby preventing the flow of nutrients to the scalp. Your scalp may also become dry and flaky.

Click one of the maps to see if you live in an area with hard water.

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Don’t despair, there are some simple solutions to the hard water problem.

  1. Install a showerhead with a water filter. These filters enhance the pH balance of water and remove unwanted chemicals from it. You don't even have to replace the whole showerhead, I just got a filter that fits onto my existing shower head. See highly rated shower heads with water filters from Amazon below. But beware! The shower filter made my scalp itch!
  2. Try apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar clears hair of minerals and gives it some shine. I would add a cup of apple cider vinegar to three litres of water and use that to rinse conditioner out of your hair. Apple cider vinegar has a pH between 4.25 and 5.00. Healthy hair has a pH between 4.50 and 5.00. I recommend you test the pH of your apple cider vinegar and only use it if it’s above 4.50.
  3. Try bottled water. I know at least one person that has resorted to buying water to wash their hair! Although this seems drastic, I would say it’s worth it if you’re visiting an area with hard water for a short period of time.
Finally, after washing your hair lock in the moisture with a shea butter based moisturiser or a good oil, e.g. jojoba.

4.   Add the juice of a lemon to water. Squeezing lemon juice into water can help to reduce the water's hardness. However, note that the pH of lemon juice is 2, i.e., it’s very acidic so you should dilute it in water (pH = 7) to reduce its acidity before applying it to hair. Healthy hair has a pH of 4.0 to 5.5.

PictureMagnetic Water Conditioner
How about magnetic water conditioners? 

These devices allegedly reduce lime scale; they are fitted to a pipe in the house and are reputed to benefit not only your hair but also other appliances whose function can be reduced by limescale, e.g. the central heating system, boiler and dishwasher.

However, although some argue that they work, the US Navy did a series of tests to check the effectiveness of ‘magnetic’ and ‘electric’ water softeners. They concluded that they have no effect at all. It appears that although the limescale is removed from water that come out the tap, that limescales stays in the pipes ultimately leading to problems with the heating system. “Magnetic lime scale reducers are a plumber's dream,” according to one Amazon product reviewer.

How about chelating shampoos?

Chelating shampoos prevent and remove mineral build-up but they strip hair of all the good stuff too so I personally wouldn’t recommend them. Even on Caucasian hair, a chelating shampoo should not be used more than once a week.

[i] How to Prevent Hair Build-up from Water

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Highly rated shower heads with water filters:

xtina
5/11/2012 05:47:15 am

There are great water softeners you can install for all mains water in the home that come from £100 at b&q/homebase or places like that. soft water is not only just great for hair and skin but also for household appliances and washing your clothes so money well spent in my opinion :) http://www.ecowater.co.uk/why-a-water-softener/benefits-of-soft-water/

Heather @ Neno Natural
5/11/2012 04:53:58 pm

Thanks for the comment.

curlyshirly link
24/11/2012 03:51:43 am

My hair absorbs moisture best when it's pretty much squeaky clean so personally, a chelating shampoo once every so often is definitely a good thing as it gets rid of mineral build-up. I only use it once in a blue moon though, once every six weeks or so...

Heather @ Neno Natural
24/11/2012 05:39:22 pm

I don't think my hair gets that dirt to be honest. Mostly because I use very pure and natural ingredients - nothing heavy. I've used gel once in 18 months....

Justin link
31/1/2015 02:30:47 am

Hard water has a large quantity of calcium, magnesium, iron and copper. It’s this high concentration of minerals that damages hair.

Ramona link
25/2/2015 04:21:20 am

Can't you dilute baking soda 1tb into 8oz of water and massage it into scalp, rinse out. 1tb Apple Cider vinegar into 8oz water, massage and rinse.

Pamela
25/2/2015 05:03:23 am

I grew up in the south. I had family who only had access to well water. Our parents didn't concern themselves with water and its effect on the hair. Our hair was washed and conditioned every six days or once a week, while wet only the the hair not the scalp was greased, for the new age naturals sealed with royal crown hair dressing. Guess what, we had long following, moisturized and soft hair. As the bible say there is nothing new under the sun, it just some persons philosophy and beliefs that may or may not alter the way people do things. Simply put, keep it clean, conditioned and properly greased oh, I mean sealed. This comment is in no way meant to offend. Just do you boo.(Shameless Maya)


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    By Heather Katsonga-Woodward

    I was a natural hair blogger and mixtress living between London & Chicago from 2012 to 2017. I always thought I was 4C but some say 4B; images below - you decide! Heather xx

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