We have hard water. I hate hard water. I always used to have soft water and I’m used to how it makes my hair feel.
So, is there some shampoo/conditioner combo that is good for making hair feel good, in spite of the hard water?
We have hard water. I hate hard water. I always used to have soft water and I’m used to how it makes my hair feel.
So, is there some shampoo/conditioner combo that is good for making hair feel good, in spite of the hard water?
I would recommend a relatively simple shampoo with no conditioning ingredients. I use Clairol Herbal Essence formula for fine or oily hair. I don’t use conditioner unless I’ve been abusing my hair (washing it more than once a day, bleaching), and when I do, I use a leave-in conditioner (Garnier Fructis something-or-other, comes in a little round pump).
A simple shampoo is less likely to react with hard water ions and leave a load of scum in your hair; conditioner shouldn’t be affected by hard water at all, but especially not one that you don’t rinse out.
No, but there’s a non-shampoo/conditioner solution. Go to the grocery store and buy yourself a large bottle of cider vinegar. Bring that and an empty gallon jug (preferably one that had water, not milk in it) into your bathroom. Fill the jug half full of warm water before you shower and add a couple of ounces of the cider vinegar to the water. Between shampooing and conditioning, douse your hair with the mixture. Don’t worry about the smell, your conditioner will take care of that. If it’s really bad you can pour the vinegar water on your hair before you shampoo too. It works for a lot of people, me included.
I should probably use cider vinegar on my hair (we have very hard water here, too), but I don’t bother. I use dandruff shampoo, sensitive scalp conditioner, rinse really well, and then use a very light leave-in conditioner every day that I wash my hair, and that seems to work okay. We have the other problem when we go places with soft water; it feels like I can’t get clean there.
Every time I go home to MA for a visit (like I did last month), I’m astonished at how different the water feels. It honestly feels smooth and silky to me and after just washing my hair once, it feels so clean and healthy. I came back from MA around 6/20 and ever since then I haven’t been able to feel clean, from head to toe.
I remember even when I was a kid and was visiting Plattsburgh, I’d get heartburn just from drinking the water and I never felt clean.