Hard Water affecting hair! Vinegar rinse??

mrandmrsm

Hi,

We have lived in a really hard water area for just over 4 years & in the last 18 months I have really noticed how this is affecting my hair.
I have:
Long fine hair
That is naturally a mousy blond colour which I have highlighted for years with bleach highlights.

In past 18 months I have noticed that my hair is:
Not growing as much
Becoming more straggly on the ends
And the bleach highlights are not as bright as they used to be seem to need more often
And every time I go to the hairdressers they ask if I swim a lot cause there is a slight greeny tinge to my hair!! I don't swim a lot so definitely not chlorine.

Researching this I found the culprit was probably the hard water and to use a 1 part apple cider vinegar 1 part water rinse in a spray bootleg instead of conditioner once a week.

I wash my hair less now as I used to everyday but know this may have contributed to worsening condition have cut down to every other day.

My question really is will it work?
Is there anything else I can/ should be doing?
Can't afford one of those costly water softeners for the house I'm afraid & my biggest concern is getting the mineral build up out of my hair!!!

Thanks for any help!!

terra_ferma

mrandmrsm wrote: »

Hi,

We have lived in a really hard water area for just over 4 years & in the last 18 months I have really noticed how this is affecting my hair.
I have:
Long fine hair
That is naturally a mousy blond colour which I have highlighted for years with bleach highlights.

In past 18 months I have noticed that my hair is:
Not growing as much
Becoming more straggly on the ends
And the bleach highlights are not as bright as they used to be seem to need more often
And every time I go to the hairdressers they ask if I swim a lot cause there is a slight greeny tinge to my hair!! I don't swim a lot so definitely not chlorine.

Researching this I found the culprit was probably the hard water and to use a 1 part apple cider vinegar 1 part water rinse in a spray bootleg instead of conditioner once a week.

I wash my hair less now as I used to everyday but know this may have contributed to worsening condition have cut down to every other day.

My question really is will it work?
Is there anything else I can/ should be doing?
Can't afford one of those costly water softeners for the house I'm afraid & my biggest concern is getting the mineral build up out of my hair!!!

Thanks for any help!!

tap water contains chlorine, maybe that contributes?
it may be worth trying washing your hair using filtered water to see if it helps (as chlorine and limescale would be reduced)
brita filters are not cheap but you can get good deals from Amazon (I found that aqua optima were not as good at removing limescale)

also washing your hair every day may be too harsh
silicones are something else that can cause problems, leaving a waxy residue on your hair because it's coated with a film of silicone. I would try using a delicate shampoo without that junk in it, like some baby shampoos, or more natural ones (check the ingredients because brands are very good at giving you the impression their products are 'natural' even when full of junk -anything ending in one is likely to be silicone)

GlasweJen

Try using a clarifying shampoo for blonde hair, these lift some of the build up off and my hair really benefits. I'm a natural blonde and use mine once a week with a regular shampoo 2 times a week.

Callie22

I live in a hard water area too and I'm having terrible problems with my hair at the moment. I'm using a natural shampoo, I've tried vinegar rinses but nothing's helping. I spent Christmas back home where the water's lovely and soft and my hair looked so nice. If anyone can recommend something for long, brown hair then I would be so grateful!

terra_ferma

GlasweJen wrote: »

Try using a clarifying shampoo for blonde hair, these lift some of the build up off and my hair really benefits. I'm a natural blonde and use mine once a week with a regular shampoo 2 times a week.

Maybe I'm missing something, but can't see the point of using a shampoo that causes a build up of silicone, and having to use a different shampoo to get rid of it once a week.
Wouldn't it be better to just use a shampoo that doesn't cause the build up in the first place? it can't be good for your hair.