Do you often carry your shampoo and conditioner whenever you
travel? Are your hair behaving differently from the way it felt at home?
Thinking what could be the problem? Well, with the only variable being the
water, it may be the culprit.
Yes, you heard it right. Bathing water can be the culprit behind
excessive hair loss and hair damage. Did you know hard water can cause hair
loss? In this blog, we will share the harmful effects of hard water on your hair,
but let’s begin with the basics.
What is Hard Water?
People often believe that if your home receives well water, you
get hard water. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, more than 85% of American
households receive some level of “hard water”.
The term “Hard Water” is used to describe water that contains high
mineral content. Hard water is found with a high amount of calcium and
magnesium along with traces of sulfates and bicarbonates. Initially, the term
hard water was coined to refer to water that was hard to work with. The minerals
in hard water decrease the soap lathering capacity; thus, a large amount of
soap, shampoo, and detergent is required.
Do you Get Hard Water?
If you are unsure about the water hardness, you can easily get
your water tested to check the exact measurement of minerals in the water.
Alternatively, you can even order an online kit to test the water hardness
yourself.
How Calcium Deposits Contribute to Hair Loss?
Hard water is primarily calcium carbonate. When the calcium comes
in contact with your hair and scalp, it calcifies, which further leads to hair
loss.
Calcification restricts blood flow to the hair follicles and
causes inflammation. It further leads to the destruction of the hair follicles.
Thus, along with shampoo, you can use various natural remedies to counteract
the effect of calcium carbonate.
- Hard Water and Hair
High concentration of minerals, sulfates, and oxidizers can be
harmful to your hair. Regularly washing your hair with hard water can leave
them lifeless, limp, rough, tangled, and can promote hair loss.
As it is difficult to create a good lather, hard water makes the
shampoo less effective. Each hair strand is made up of little scales. Hard
water makes these scales stand up leaving your hair feeling dry, tangled, and
rough. Since the hair are rough, it becomes difficult to rinse out soap.
- Hair Fall and Hard Water
Did you move out of your town recently? Are you experiencing hair
fall? If so, there are chances that hard water may be the reason behind hair
fall.
As hard water contains a high amount of minerals, some of them are
not good for your hair and scalp. The minerals and oxidizers weaken the hair
causing them to break. Hard water makes the hair frizzy, brittle and weak which
leads to hair fall.
Regularly washing the hair with hard water can lead to:
- Dry, dull, frizzy hair
- Hair fall problems
- Thinning of hair
- Eczema of scalp
- Hair gets tangled
- Graying of hair
- Occurrence of split ends
While you must have heard a common misconception that shampoos or
soaps are harsh on the scalp and hair, the truth is that hard water is harsh on
hair and scalp. Therefore, it is important to determine the hardness of your
water and take different measures to get rid of hard water.
Steps to Prevent Hair Damage
How can you stop hard water from playing havoc with your hair?
Here are different ways to eliminate the problem.
- Water Softeners
You can bathe with soft water by getting a whole house water
softener installed at your home. Lee’s Heating and Air offers
professional water softener installation in your Utah home. The
technicians are expert professionals who have years of experience to back their
knowledge. A whole house water softener will ensure that you get soft water
right out of every faucet.
- Weak Acid Rinse
You can use natural remedies as a part of your hair washing
ritual. Take 2 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice and add it to a bucket of
warm water. Pour this mixture onto your hair and leave it for a couple of
minutes. Wash it off with plain water. Use this once a week to get rid of the
calcium.
- Bottled water
You can even use spring water as the final rinse, but is an
expensive option and leads to plastic bottle piling up. This is not a permanent
solution. You can choose bottled water if you are visiting a hard water area
for a few days.
Do you live in an area which receives hard water? Are you tired of
unmanageable hair? Want to prevent hair loss? Get in touch with Lee’s Heating
and Air for a water
softener installation quote. Visit http://leesheatac.com.
Take the above-listed steps in account to achieve healthy hair and eliminate
the problem of hard water.
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