What is your water doing to your hair?
(photo by photigy.com)
As a hair professional, it’s our job to care for hair. And in that process, we must consider everything that happens to our hair on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
And one major factor that impacts our hair is water; especially hard water.
One effect of hard water is that soaps and detergents lose some effectiveness. Instead of dissolving completely, soap combines with the minerals to form a coagulated soap curd. Because less soap is dissolved, more is required. And the sticky insoluble curd hangs around–it clings to the skin and may actually inhibit cleansing.
These curds cause washed hair to seem dull and lifeless. Hair that was gorgeous after being professionally colored in the salon can begin to seem to look flat and even take on a different hue than the original color. Hard water often causes way more use of that great conditioner that you bought at the salon than you probably need to use. Most of the time the main culprits in hard water are calcium and magnesium.
Homes that have water softeners usually use a sodium ion exchange to remove sodium and magnesium from the water. This results in a mineral-reduced water that allows the soaps, detergents, conditioners and even our toothpastes to work more effectively. After installing a water softener in your home, your first time showering or washing your hair can seem very strange. You can feel like things are very slippery when wet! The reality is, you are feeling the effects of less mineral deposits in the water you are using and your hair, skin, clothes and home fixtures are truly clean without that soap curd build up. You will also be able to use less laundry and dish soap. Your shampoo and conditioner will last you much longer and so will your favorite body wash.
So, in a nutshell, if you’ve been thinking about installing a water softener, go for it! Your hair will thank you!
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