Solutions for very soft water?

September 26, 2005 8:04 AM

The plumbing in my new flat has extremely soft water which leaves my hair looking flat & somewhat ridiculous. Can I replace the shower-head or filter the water in some way to harden it, or should my hair go the way of Sinéad?
posted by jenleigh to Home & Garden (16 answers total)

Lush makes a special shampoo bar for soft water. Maybe that's worth a try.
posted by amarynth at 8:19 AM on September 26, 2005

I find short hair on women sexy. Send us a pic. luv.
posted by darkmatter at 8:20 AM on September 26, 2005

I find short hair on women sexy. Send us a pic. luv.



Gee.. that's helpful!

I would contact your landlord and find out what the situation is with the water and if he's had any other complaints/comments.
He may know of something that can be done.
Good Luck!
posted by SoftSummerBreeze at 8:40 AM on September 26, 2005

Using less conditioner on your hair will help, or only use conditioner every other wash, or try a sport/frequent use formula. I went from very hard to very soft water and had the same problem. Rinsing in pure cold water also helped.
posted by methylsalicylate at 8:42 AM on September 26, 2005

what methylsalicylate said
posted by matteo at 9:10 AM on September 26, 2005

Mod note: deleted a few comments, let's try to get this off to a better start okay?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:25 AM on September 26, 2005

This won't be terribly useful, but I thought this article from the Straight Dope was interesting.
posted by I Love Tacos at 9:26 AM on September 26, 2005

If the water is soft, there's nothing you can do to make it harder. You'll probably need to change shampoo/conditioner, or at least use less conditioner less often. Make sure you rinse it really well. Try a shampoo/conditioner for fine/limp hair -- they leave less stuff in your hair. (Since we got the water softener on-line, I don't even use conditioner any more. I still keep some in the travel bag for places with harder water, but I don't usually use it.)
posted by jlkr at 9:34 AM on September 26, 2005

I had the opposite problem...going from a soft water to a hard water area also changed the way my hair looked.

Solution? New haircut that worked with my hair's new "attitude". I still thought my hair felt crunchy, but at least it looked better.

(Changing shampoos and using conditioner less often also sound like good ideas.)
posted by luneray at 10:45 AM on September 26, 2005

At the risk of re-igniting the American centric debate, which I missed. This shampoo claims to be designed for soft water. However, the website said they do not ship out of the USA. Perhaps it is available in a local salon or arrangements for foreign shipping could be made via email. I have no idea whether it works, it is totally a result of my lame Google-Fu (sorry jjg). Perhaps if I had more I could find one available in Scotland.
posted by caddis at 10:46 AM on September 26, 2005

Seconding the Lush recommendation. You might even find that some of their shampoo bars that aren't specifically for soft water work out better than what you're using now.
posted by mendel at 11:06 AM on September 26, 2005

Is using a styling product out of the question?
posted by cali at 11:17 AM on September 26, 2005

> If the water is soft, there's nothing you can do to make it harder.

You can put it in a bucket and add minerals. Salt is a mineral, and easy to come by.
posted by jfuller at 3:44 PM on September 26, 2005

jfuller, she'll fuck her hair up real bad, salt's a killer especially if she has thin hair
posted by matteo at 3:51 PM on September 26, 2005

You can buy mineral salts to replicate hard water, but I would not recommend that route. Using less shampoo or one specifically designed for use with soft water and spending some real time on rinsing will be easier and probably better. If you do go with mineral salts put them into the water you use to make the lather, rather than in the rinse, I think. Here is some info on adding salts. Beer brewers do this to replicate certain brewing waters.
posted by caddis at 4:20 PM on September 26, 2005

I thought this article from the Straight Dope was interesting.

Interesting in the sense that it ended a little inappropriately, I think.

"Myself, I think my skin is soft enough with hard water - it's never stopped my Special Lady from running her hands all over my body every night."

Uh, TMI, thanks.
posted by phearlez at 8:17 AM on September 27, 2005