Water

sweetcocoa

Active Member
This is from the online book(Richard Stein) that I posted last week...

THE WATER YOU RINSE
--AND SHAMPOO--IN

If your hair looks drab even after you have done your best for it, you should consider the possibility that the water you are washing in is hard. This means it contains dissolved minerals (iron, copper, and sulfur are some of the more common ones) that can not only dull your hair--and sometimes even tint it pinkish or greenish--but damage it, too. Dissolved minerals and other impurities can act on protein in the hair shaft to break it down and discolor it, leaving you with dry, dull, treated-looking hair that will be increasingly resistant to your attempts to make it look shiny and healthy.

If you do have hard water, my suggestion is to make gallon jugs of softened water to use for shampooing and--just as important--rinsing. You should notice an immediate improvement in the condition and look of your hair...especially in the winter. Use any good, water softening preparation and follow the directions; if it's good enough for your laundry, it's good enough for your hair.

An alternative to softened water is plain distilled water. You can buy distilled water in gallon jugs at any grocery store. It isn't expensive but can be an annoyance to lug home. Distilled water is distinguished by what is not in it rather than by what is.

By the way, some people think that a cold-water rinse helps to flatten out the hair's cuticle so it appears shinier. There is no real evidence that this is so, and it is my own belief that the warmer the rinse water, the more likely it is to carry off dissolved dirt, waxes, and other debris. If you are convinced of cool-water benefits, however, rinse completely with warm water first, then once again with cool.
 

ny2atl

New Member
This really excites me! I'm going to try the distilled water. This article may have solved something for me. My hair has taken on an orangey tint in some places. I normally get a red streak across the front in the summer and thought that maybe it was just my coloring changing and spreading!
Now, it's making sense. I've been using more water on it and I guess more HARD water on it. I never knew my water was hard. Hopefully the distilled water will get rid of this orange tinted hair!!


Question: Is it hard to thoroughly rinse your hair with the jug or whatever you're using seeing that you're only pouring with one hand and manipulating with the other? (If that makes sense)
 

sweetcocoa

Active Member
It depends, because I also use it when I shampoo(lot of work...but worth it for me so far). When I rinse between the shampoo and conditioner I thw whole thing because I want all the shampoo out(I warm it up). When I do my final rinse I may use 3/4 of it. When I do a conditioner wash, I use a little to wet my hair first, use the conditioner, then rinse with water until I feel I've rinse enough. If I'm just rinsing I pour enough over my hair to soak it(which usually isn't a whole bottle).
 
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