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I never really considered before that the place where you live could affect your hair so much. Here in the UK we have hard water, which from what im reading leaves your hair dry and tangly, hence here we use heavy conditioners alot. However people with soft water have to use lighter conditioners as they dont rinse out as well... but soft water is better for your hair leaving it more shiny/bouncy/soft. I wish we had soft water here!! Also shampoo foams better in softwater, and not as good in hard water. You can apparently loose more hair with hard water too.
In my part of Texas we have extremely soft water (lots of sulpher content). It felt really weird when I first moved here because it felt like soap wouldn't rinse off my body, but it's something you get used to.
I use Aussie Moist Conditioner and Aussie 3-minute Miracle conditioners.
Here in Maryland, our water is closer to soft than hard. I visit relatives a lot and some have water that dosent need a glass to stand, while others have so many water softeners that I dont bother to condition.
Here in Little Rock, Arkansas, I think our water is just in-between the two. Soap rinses off well, but also, your hair isn't left in terrible condition. If you need to, I think there are chemical filters you can put in your showerhead to soften the water.
Hi Ste, I live in the UK too, near Birmingham and we too have hard water. By the way I followed your advice on using baby shampoo and it's worked an absolute treat so thanks for that!
Hi, i live in cheshire...well its more liverpool but its classed as cheshire. I'm glad your liking the baby shampoo, what brand are you using?.. i'm quite fond of boots little baby me all over hair and bodywash (orange). One thing about them tho you have to consider is that they're sometimes formulated at the ph of your or rather a babies eye, to give them the no tear effect. Yet ideally a slightly acidic formulation should be used for optmum hair care. I dont think all are 'no tear' like the boots one, but its just something to consider. I know that the johnsons ones usually are, but if your liking the brand u have then keep using it : ) If your concerned about the ph then you could use an acidifying condioner afterwards like nexxus ensure.
Forgot to say, im also liking MOP C system at the mo, its sulphate free and is ph balanced (for your hair) its also cone free tho dont quote me on this cause I cant be bothered going to the bathroom to check the ingredients right now but from what I remember it is.
Hi Ste,
I'm using Johnson and Johnson No More Tears (transparent orange). I noticed the difference in quality of my hair after the first wash with it. It sits nice and flat on the top of my head but doesn't totally wipe out my waves.
Thanks again,
RM.
hhhmmm well I guess you'll just have to see how it goes... it is the wrong ph tho : ( also it has sodium laureth sulphate I believe so its not really different from most other shampoo's but if you like it stick with it!
I've used that shampoo before and I couldn't stop scratching my head after using it. Also, you can't use conditioner with it? That must be bad?
New Hampshire, USA - the nickname of "Granite State" must apply to the water as well.
I, along with many of my neighbors, have installed large capacity or "whole house" water softeners, and it makes a huge difference in hair care (and increases the lifespan of water appliances too).
I soo want a water softner but I think id have a really hard time convicing my parents why they 'need' one, so I'll just wait till next year when I move out and get my own place.
I've been told our water is on the hard side, but because I've lived here all my life I have no comparisons to make.
The other day I walked in the rain, and I noticed that my hair was very dry and tangly afterwards. Even after brushingn it out it was like straw until after it was washed/conditioned again. Most rain in the Eastern US is somewhat acidic, right?
Is it possible that the acid rain stripped out all the conditioner as well as any natural oils, and made my hair straw-like?
Correction: Soft water does rinse well, in fact, it rinses better than hard water does. It simply feels as though there's a residue, but only because most people become accustomed to how rinsing feels when using hard water. They are mistaking that "squaky clean" feeling for being thoroughly rinsed, when in reality it's not. All that is is roughness from left-over minerals that are coating your hair in miniscule form, which are damaging to hair over time. Soft water is (mostly) free from these minerals, so leaves hair slick, smooth, healthier and less pitted -- in all, better rinsed out in both the short and long run.
Also, people become accustomed to using a lot of shampoo and conditioner when using hard water and fail to reduce by at least 50% when using soft water, so rinsing can take longer because there's simply excess product to remove. This can make rinsing take longer with soft water, but it's really the person's mistake that causes this, not the soft water's fault.
JE
Absolutely true. What a huge difference it was going from water very high in dissolved minerals (manganese, iron, calcium) to "softened" water. Water is the largest ingredient in your hair care routine after all.
