After my previous article on ” 5 Secrets to healthy hair “, a lot of you e-mailed saying the article helped you and would love more such tips . Keeping in mind the questions you sent, I decided to write a follow up on hair care to tackle a very big problem – Hard Water. A lot of my clients complain how they can’t deal with water changes. You move cities, you go on holidays and the water may just not suit you hair.
The hardest part about hard water is, it makes you lose shine, causes dryness which in turn causes itchiness and leads to hair fall. The cycle is never-ending.
Often than not, you can’t change cities so you have to find ways to deal with the hard water.
What is hard water ?
Hard water is water that has a high mineral content like calcium and magnesium. Hard water is not harmful to your healthy but can definitely take a toll on your hair. Minerals dissolved in the hard water after prolonged use can create a scaly film on the hair. This prevents the moisture from entering the hair resulting in is dry, dull and tangled hair. It can also cause build up on scalp leading to dandruff.
There are a couple of ways to deal with hard water that I know of and which can definitely help you too :
1. Lemon or Vinegar rinse –
Lemon and vinegar having acidic property which can help you combat the mineral build up. Add a tablespoon lemon or vinegar to 2-3 cups of water and massage your hair with it. Leave it on your scalp for few minutes and then wash it off with cold water.
Lemon is one of my favourite things ever and I can’t survive without it, be it in my tea, food or hair care routine. I often use it with oil to massage my hair before shampoo to help combat any kind of flakiness.
Disclaimer : Don’t use lemon before and after. Use it only one time and only 2-3 times a month as acidic stuff like vinegar and lemon if used too much can cause your hair to lighten and cause dryness too.
After I use lemon or vinegar I usually make sure I apply serum. Moroccon or argan oil too have ingredients that combat minerals in the water.
2. Shower Head Filter –
Yes it exists. Just like you have water filter that you attach in taps to get cleaner water, you have shower filters like Aquasana ( $70 ) to reduce the PH level of your water. It lasts 6 months post which you can refill it.
3. Reduce chemicals –
I have mentioned this earlier in my blog too. Avoid chemicals on your hair as much as possible. This includes using sulfate-free shampoo, letting your hair dry naturally and using hair protector before straightening or curling your hair.
4. Use Clarifying shampoo once or twice a month –
Clarifying shampoo like Pantene Clarifying shampoo or Paul Mitchell Clarifying Shampoo have surfactants that help to remove hard water deposits, chlorine or other impurities. Now you have to be careful with these as they have sulfates. I use them only once a month to make sure the build up is cleaned. On a daily basis, stick to sulfate-free shampoo. This is the perfect solution to carry along if you are travelling and on the go and need to deal with water in different cities.
5. Alternative form of Water –
Many people who are very conscious of their hair, wash their hair with bottled or filter water. I have personally tried this before and it works. Fill in a jug of filter water ( that is if you have filter attached to your drinking water tap ) and have your last rinse with this water. This will remove any buildup that could have been possible while washing your hair. When I have time, I occasionaly still use this method though practically it is not possible everyday
Let me know if these tips helped you and if you have any further questions.
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The Crispy Corner
Author : Nupur Singh, founder of www.socialnupur.com and a certified image and style consultant. If you would like a personalised image,style, colour or dressing solution session email now on thecrispycorner@gmail.com or ask me your question here
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