Hard Water (One of the Unrecognized Saboteurs of Hair Growth) Map. Take A Look!

[tryn2growmyhair]

Do you have hard water? Poohbear (thank you ) provided a really good link about split ends that was very helpful. One of the links was to a map of hard water in the US. Our posters in London and Paris should know that they most likely have hard water too. : http://water.usgs.gov/owq/map1.jpeg .

I firmly believe that hard water can sabotage hair growth. Why? From personal experience. My hair does much better when I am in a soft water environment than in a hard water environment, where my hair sheds and is harder and is a lot more difficult to handle. Conditioners do not work as well. Here is what the website on split ends that Poohbear provided to us says about hard water (I knew that it caused split ends! This confirms it.): http://splitends.bebto.com/preventse.htm. LOOK AT THE SHOWERING BATHING WATER SECTION.

My question for those of you who have successfully combated hard water and grown your hair is this:

*What techniques did you use to combat the hard water? Filters? Is there a way to deal with hard water without the expense of a shower filter?
Conditioners?

*Please give as many details about your technique as possible and name brands that you used.

 

[tryn2growmyhair]

More About How Hard Water Affects Hair:

Condition: Hard Water
Over 85% of the population in the U.S., according to the Water Quality Association, are bathing with hard water. While hard water is fine for drinking, it can cause many problems for your hair, scalp and skin.

These problems include:

Hair feels dry
Hair is resistant to color or perming
Dandruff or eczema of the scalp
Dry, flaky skin
Thinning hair
Colors fading too quickly
Perms appearing to fall out
Discoloration or darkening of hair
Hair lacks body and shine
HOW YOUR WATER AFFECTS YOUR HAIR
The water you use to wash your hair, scalp, and skin comes from one of two sources:

Ground Water
Surface Water
Ground Water

If your water comes from the ground, it is either from your own well or from the local treatment plant that derives the water from wells pumping water from the ground. The source of ground water is from rain passing through aquifers, which are layers of minerals. The acidity (pH below 7) of the rain increases the dissolving effect of minerals. These dissolved solids are found in the water when pumped above the ground and used to bathe.

Surface Water

If your water comes from the treatment plant which derives the water from a surface source, the water is coming from either a river or a lake. Surface water usually contains less minerals because the water has not filtered down through the mineral layers. However, increasing populations are polluting the water causing additional bacteria growth. As a result, the treatment plants must add more chlorine to kill bacteria and then add lime (a calcium compound) to help control the chlorine levels.

Water hardness is determined by the level of calcium that is in the water either found naturally from the ground or put into the water by the treatment plant.

While calcium is the element that determines hardness of water, there are many other elements in the water that effect the texture, volume, shine, control and health of hair.

What are the minerals that effect hair?

Calcium
Iron
Copper
Magnesium
Silica
Lead
What other elements effect hair?

Chlorine -a harsh oxidizer added to the water to kill bacteria also adversely effects hair.
How do minerals and chlorine attach to the hair?

Our hair, scalp and skin have an electrical charge and that charge is negative. Minerals and oxidizers are charged positive. When a positively charged mineral comes in contact with our hair, scalp, or skin, it attaches on like a magnet.

How do hard water minerals and chlorine effect hair?

Calcium - If your source for water is a well, then more than likely you have calcium in your water. If your source for water is coming from a treatment plant, calcium may have been added to your water. Calcium is the mineral that determines hardness of water.

How calcium effects hair:

Calcium leaves the hair feeling dry and weighted down. It can even cause a perm to appear relaxed.
Calcium builds up on the scalp causing flaking of the scalp, giving the appearance of dandruff.
Calcium can choke the hair at the mouth of the follicle causing the hair to break off, then coating the scalp, blocking further new hair growth.

Iron - Iron is found in ground water from domestic wells and wells used by treatment plants as the source for local water.

How iron effects hair:

Iron leaves the hair feeling dry, brittle and weighted down.
Iron can cause dark hair to tint darker and blonde hair to turn orange.
Iron can block perms and color from properly processing.
Copper - Copper originates in water in three ways:

It comes from the ground and is pumped into the water from a well.
Particles of copper can come from copper piping. The corrosion caused by hard water lifts the copper particles off the pipes and deposits them into the water.
Copper sulfates are added to swimming pools to control the growth of algae. Copper is often added to lakes (that are a source of drinking water) in the summer to kill algae.
How copper effects hair:

Copper discolors hair causing blonde hair to turn green and dark hair to tint darker.
Copper can weigh hair down and cause dryness.
Copper can inhibit the proper processing of perms, color and relaxers.
Magnesium - Usually found wherever calcium comes naturally from the ground, magnesium is abundant in the soil and is very much a part of the mineral complex associated with hard water.

How magnesium effects hair:

Magnesium causes hair to feel dry.
Magnesium causes hair to appear weighted down.
Magnesium can inhibit the proper processing of perms, color and relaxers.
Magnesium causes hair to lack shine.
Silica - Silica is a sand-like substance found in desert or volcanic areas. It is usually bound to calcium or magnesium and forms very hard, virtually insoluble deposits.

How silica effects hair:

Silica causes many of the same effects on the hair as calcium.

Silica causes hair to feel dry.
Silica weighes hair down.
Silica can cause dandruff-like symptoms of flaking.
Build up of silica can choke the hair follicle causing hair to fall out.
Lead - Lead acetate is used in certain home remedy gray hair cover-ups.

How lead effects hair:

Lead can cause the hair to feel dry.
Lead can prevent the proper processing of perms, color, and relaxers.
Chlorine - unlike the other elements listed above, chlorine is not a mineral but an oxidizer. Chlorine is put into drinking water and swimming pools to kill bacteria. In addition to the following effects chlorine has on hair, due to it's oxidizing effects, chlorine also oxidizes minerals onto the hair causing worse effects of those minerals.

How chlorine effects hair:

Active chlorine in the hair can cause hair to feel gummy when wet and straw-like when dry.
Chlorine can damage the cuticle and proteins of the hair.
As an oxidizer, chlorine can cause the air and sun to oxidize hair and worsen the conditions listed above.
Chlorine can cause hair to feel dry.
Chlorine can cause hair to become brittle.
Chlorine can cause hair to lack shine.

http://www.wellnesssalon.com/content/Cn_Hair_Solutions_Hard_Water.aspx

I took out the part about the products these people are advertising because I have never used them and do not endorse them, LOL!

 

[MrsQueeny]

I know a couple of people have shower filters to combat this. I am going to be purchasing one also. Thanks for the info Q

 

[Kalani]

Man, I should really invest in a shower filter. My water comes from a well and is hard water with lots of minerals including calcium and iron. I knew the elements in the water could cause build up and make it a little dry and dull looking, but I didn't know it could actually damage the hair.

I haven't had any huge problems from what I can see but it never hurts to take extra pre-cautions. Who knows, after using a shower filter my hair might start looking super fabulous! I can live with that!

 

[Poohbear]

Your welcome tn2gmh!

I noticed a big improvement in my hair after getting a shower filter (the brand I got was Paragon). My hair is much softer and I experience way less breakage...and my hair is growing!

 

[bajanplums1]

Good info.

 

[crml_buttafly]

the dark blue area is a hardwater area???? *excuse me, i'm slow this morning*

 

[Kalani]

I did a search and comparison on shower filters. They all profess to remove a large amount of chlorine from surface water but say nothing about removing hard minerals from well water.
I wonder if its worth getting or do I need something more along the lines of a water softener (which is way over budget for me right now)?

 

[tryn2growmyhair]

the dark blue area is a hardwater area???? *excuse me, i'm slow this morning*

I am not sure, but I think there is a legend somewhere on the map that explains the colors.

 

[hubutterfly]

the dark blue area is a hardwater area???? *excuse me, i'm slow this morning*

Darker the blue the softer the water. Red is the hardest water.

 

[GodMadeMePretty]

Co-signing on the hard water. I've had a water softener since December 2000 and in late 2003, I noticed that when I washed my hair, it was still hard. Just generally unmanageable. Wouldn't you know that the softener was COMPLETELY out of salt? I mean there was nothing in there except that nasty filthy water. I'll never run out of softener salt again.

I can't speak to filters but I do know that the water softener is great.

ETA: Does that map say 1975? Is there a more recent one?

 

[Jewell]

Where I live and frequently visit are completely dark blue. Thank goodness.

 

[tryn2growmyhair]

Co-signing on the hard water. I've had a water softener since December 2000 and in late 2003, I noticed that when I washed my hair, it was still hard. Just generally unmanageable. Wouldn't you know that the softener was COMPLETELY out of salt? I mean there was nothing in there except that nasty filthy water. I'll never run out of softener salt again.

I can't speak to filters but I do know that the water softener is great.

ETA: Does that map say 1975? Is there a more recent one?

Which water softener do you have? How does a water softener work?

Also, this was the only map that was in the link but anyone who finds a more recent one, please let us know.

 

[Tru_Mind]

Kinda off subject...but Demi Moore uses vitamin enriched bottled water to wash and rinse her hair. Sounds expensive too me...Demi has a lot of hair!

 

[GodMadeMePretty]

Which water softener do you have? How does a water softener work?

Also, this was the only map that was in the link but anyone who finds a more recent one, please let us know.

It's a Culligan water softener but I think any of them will do the trick. Culligan had a longer warranty than the others I had seen.

I cut and paste this information from another website.

We call water "hard" if it contains a lot of calcium or magnesium dissolved in it. Hard water causes two problems:

It can cause "scale" to form on the inside of pipes, water heaters, tea kettles and so on. The calcium and magnesium precipitate out of the water and stick to things. The scale doesn't conduct heat well and it also reduces the flow through pipes. Eventually, pipes can become completely clogged.
It reacts with soap to form a sticky scum, and also reduces the soap's ability to lather. Since most of us like to wash with soap, hard water makes a bath or shower less productive.

The solution to hard water is either to filter the water by distillation or reverse osmosis to remove the calcium and magnesium, or to use a water softener. Filtration would be extremely expensive to use for all the water in a house, so a water softener is usually a less costly solution.

The idea behind a water softener is simple. The calcium and magnesium ions in the water are replaced with sodium ions. Since sodium does not precipitate out in pipes or react badly with soap, both of the problems of hard water are eliminated. To do the ion replacement, the water in the house runs through a bed of small plastic beads or through a chemical matrix called zeolite. The beads or zeolite are covered with sodium ions. As the water flows past the sodium ions, they swap places with the calcium and magnesium ions. Eventually, the beads or zeolite contain nothing but calcium and magnesium and no sodium, and at this point they stop softening the water. It is then time to regenerate the beads or zeolite.

Regeneration involves soaking the beads or zeolite in a stream of sodium ions. Salt is sodium chloride, so the water softener mixes up a very strong brine solution and flushes it through the zeolite or beads (this is why you load up a water softener with salt). The strong brine displaces all of the calcium and magnesium that has built up in the zeolite or beads and replaces it again with sodium. The remaining brine plus all of the calcium and magnesium is flushed out through a drain pipe. Regeneration can create a lot of salty water, by the way -- something like 25 gallons (95 liters).

This is from Culligan's site:

What is the difference between softening water and filtering water?
You don't have to be a hydrologist to understand the basic principles behind water filtration and water softening. Here's an abridged version of what happens when you filter or soften water.

Filtering water involves separating mineral particles, like manganese, iron, hydrogen sulfide or other organic matter, from pure H2O. By passing water through a "filter bed," or "media bed," these granular particles are trapped - and clean, purified water passes through the bed.

Softening water involves something called "ion exchange" to remove dissolved minerals - like calcium, magnesium, iron and manganese - that can't be trapped in a filter bed.Softeners use fresh resin beads with sodium attached to the resin. As water enters the tank, dissolved calcium and magnesium are attracted to the resin. The resin passes up the sodium in exchange for the dissolved chemicals and the water is then rid of these impurities.

Whether you use a filter or a softener depends on whether the contaminates in your water are particles or dissolved minerals.

 

[tryn2growmyhair]

Thanks for all the tips. Greatly appreciated. It sounds like a water softener is for the entire house and a shower filter can be just for the shower. Am I correct in assuming this? Thanks again.

 

[Melaninme]

Wonderful! Thanks for sharing the links!

According to the map, I live in an area that is "deep" red hard water territory! LOL!!! So I would have to say that this map is on point as the water here is extremely hard. Also, I see clearly why I love washing/styling my hair whenever I visit my mother as she's in an area of "deep" blue soft water.

Because the water here is so hard, I've invested in a shower filter, but I do from time to time wash and condition my hair with either spring or distilled water. I do a herbal vinegar rinse to clarify when I feel the need to.

Also, to reduce damage from the hard water, I don't shampoo as frequently as I use to. I shampoo only once a week and I deep condition twice a month. As the weather here is gets warmer, I'll do conditioner washes (in between my shampoo washes), which are gentler on the hair strands.

Again, great article. Thanks for sharing!

Do you have hard water? Poohbear (thank you ) provided a really good link about split ends that was very helpful. One of the links was to a map of hard water in the US. Our posters in London and Paris should know that they most likely have hard water too. : http://water.usgs.gov/owq/map1.jpeg .

I firmly believe that hard water can sabotage hair growth. Why? From personal experience. My hair does much better when I am in a soft water environment than in a hard water environment, where my hair sheds and is harder and is a lot more difficult to handle. Conditioners do not work as well. Here is what the website on split ends that Poohbear provided to us says about hard water (I knew that it caused split ends! This confirms it.): http://splitends.bebto.com/preventse.htm. LOOK AT THE SHOWERING BATHING WATER SECTION.

My question for those of you who have successfully combated hard water and grown your hair is this:

*What techniques did you use to combat the hard water? Filters? Is there a way to deal with hard water without the expense of a shower filter?
Conditioners?

*Please give as many details about your technique as possible and name brands that you used.

 

[Dolapo]

yay! i live in a soft water area

 

[mkstar826]

My hair and skin look and feel so much better after I got my shower filter. It's a great investment!

 

[miss_brown]

I have a Culligan shower filter (highly recommended on the board... thanks ladies), and it's great! My products work better, and it was cheap (on clearance at Lowe's). Definitely worth the money

 

[jaded_faerie]

the hardness color for Florida white while Maryland is blue....since moving to Florida for college my hair isnt as soft and breaks MUCH more then back home...this might have been the problem...i would have never guessed...

 

[plainj]

Wonderful info. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Poohbear]

the dark blue area is a hardwater area???? *excuse me, i'm slow this morning*

Dark Blue - softest
Light Blue - soft
White - hard
Red - hardest

I see that in my area... Louisville, Kentucky (Northwestern KY)... it's shaded white. So I definitely needed a shower filter.

 

[Nyambura]

My technique to combat hard water is to use distilled water as my final rinse and in my home-made spray for leave-ins (just mixture of d-water, my oil of choice, and cheap watery conditioner). I noticed the difference in moisture in my hair on the first use. HTH.

 

[Melaninme]

Thanks for the information. I'm planning on going the Culligan route.

It's a Culligan water softener but I think any of them will do the trick. Culligan had a longer warranty than the others I had seen.

I cut and paste this information from another website.



This is from Culligan's site:

 

[aquarian1252004]

Great thread! Thanks for the resource. Oh course the city (Chicago) in which I spend most of my time is red as all hell . When I move back home I will be alright though. Now that you mention it I think I can tell some differences in the waters between the two cities.

For the ladies that invested in a shower filter to reduce hard water please provide your recommendations (include price and place of purchase) TIA.

 

[sweetpineapple]

of course I live in central Ohio with the hardest water ever. i knew the water here was terrible. Im off to buy that filter. . . . .the move to NY or LA seems brighter in my future.

 

[baglady215]

Here is another map... I think it is more recent than 1975.

http://www.mortonsalt.com/consumer/products/watersoftening/doyou.htm

 

[bludacious]

I attended college in a small town. The town water supply was basically well water. You can imagine the problems that I encountered. My hair was 100% natural at the time. My hair broke off. My skin broke out. The water was not fit for drinking. if you poured water from the fountain in a cup, it looked liked a pepsi.

 

[Crysdon]

if you poured water from the fountain in a cup, it looked liked a pepsi.

I know it's not a laughing matter, but that that quote sounds so funny.