Hard H2O Hair Hell
June 15, 2011 3:53 PM   Subscribe

I've just moved to the country from New York City, and although many things about living here are easier, the water is really really hard. My skin is fine but my hair looks just awful--where it used to be big and bouncy, it's now flat, dull and frizzy. I tried adding baking soda to my shampoo (per thriftyfun.com) and that helped for about a day but now things are back to terrible. I just came from getting a haircut--which I'd hoped would help--but it's still awful. Help me. Please. Products, techniques, anything?
posted by supercoollady to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (10 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Are you living in a house? Can you check out installing a water softener tank?
posted by ergo at 4:03 PM on June 15, 2011 [1 favorite]


I believe vinegar rinse is the old wives' cure for hard water. Don't worry, you won't smell like a salad, it goes away in a couple of minutes. There are also shampoos for hard water, which you should be able to find at the local beauty supply (or online).

Also, how long ago is "just"? I moved to the west coast 3ish months ago and experienced an extraordinary hair freakout until pretty recently. It's still not the same, but I'm at least getting consistent results again.

In general, in hard water I have to make sure to leave my conditioner on for 3 minutes or more or it doesn't really work. I just wash and condition first, then go about the rest of my shower, then rinse. If you were going to do vinegar, do it after the shampoo and before the conditioner.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:26 PM on June 15, 2011


My hairdresser recommends club soda for this.
posted by jgirl at 4:35 PM on June 15, 2011


So I don't know what to do about hard water.

But I do know that my hair reacts, um, interestingly to humidity. You're not saying where you've moved to but it's possible that it's significantly more or less humid than NYC.
posted by madcaptenor at 4:38 PM on June 15, 2011


Rainwater rinse after shampooing?
posted by malibustacey9999 at 5:04 PM on June 15, 2011


Seconding that humidity may be a factor—if I'm not mistaken (OP is Googleable), for instance, right now there's 67 percent humidity where you are, vs. 39 percent in NYC. Don't know that that extrapolates to a measurable difference in weather between the two areas on a regular basis, but at least today, there's a difference. I live in a place that's often very humid, and I know that my skin completely dries out when I visit New York/north New Jersey for even less than a week. So that may be a real factor when moving somewhere that's the opposite.

Don't know specifically what to do for hard water, though.
posted by limeonaire at 5:08 PM on June 15, 2011


I too was going to point out that NYC's water is deliciously soft. I also didn't read correctly...

Hard water doesn't dissolve the soaps as well as soft, so what is happening is that your hair (and everything else) just isn't as well rinsed as it should be.

One thing to try might be to wash the hair twice, with half as much shampoo. And rinse really well inbetween? Also, rubbing alcohol dissolves soap residue.
posted by gjc at 6:25 PM on June 15, 2011


You should get a hard water shower filter. (and also filters for your taps, if you choose).

Sorry I don't have suggestions on a particular brand - those are just the first two that came up in an Amazon search.
posted by lesli212 at 6:56 PM on June 15, 2011


I have the answer! It is Malibu 2000 Crystal Gel treatment. The company makes all kinds of other hair products for hard water, none of which is especially great, but this stuff is amazing. I live in an area with absolutely horrid water and have tried all these other useless things (vinegar, etc.) and none of them can touch the Crystal Gel. Yes it is just citric acid--but I have tried other forms of citric acid and they don't work like this. I also have a hard water shower filter, and it's okay, but the Crystal Gel is my first line of attack.
posted by HotToddy at 7:35 PM on June 15, 2011


My hair does the same thing with hard water. I'd recommend treating your hair with a product with EDTA as the main ingredient, and then purchasing a water softener for your shower head.
posted by moira at 2:11 PM on June 16, 2011


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