Hair texture is a reason for concern for almost everyone. Busy schedules and hectic lifestyles leave you with little or no time to follow a proper hair care routine. By the time you start following a healthy hair care routine, the damage is already done. However, an important factor that many people ignore is the water quality. Hard water, which is quite common in most places in India, is one of the main reasons for excessive hair fall. Hard water makes your hair frizzy, and coarse and also dries up your scalp, which results in dandruff. Unfortunately, many people are not aware of the ill effects of hard water. So, in this blog, we discuss the effects of hard water on your hair and how to save your hair from hard water.
Does Hard Water Cause Hair Fall?
Hard water contains an excess amount of calcium and magnesium which mix with your hair products to form a salt. The salt that is formed leaves a residue on your scalp and hair, which blocks your scalp from absorbing the moisturizer from the conditioner. As a result, your hair gets dry and tangled, which leads to breakage. When hair breakage goes unchecked, it can lead to hair thinning. Some of the ways how hard water affects your hair are:
- Calcium build-up doesn’t let the scalp absorb moisturizer
- Minerals crystallize on your scalp and make hair brittle
- Minerals in hard water make soap and shampoos ineffective
- Excess minerals block the pores on your scalp
- Makes hair frizzy
- Hair lacks volume and looks flat and frizzy all the time
- Mineral build-up encourages bacterial growth, infections, and yeast
- Makes the scalp dry leading to dandruff
Considering the negative effects of hard water on your hair, you need to take the right steps to avoid damage to your hair. The following tips below will help you save your hair from the effects of hard water. Read on.
8 Effective Ways to Save your Hair from Hard Water
1. Use a Water Softener
Though there are a lot of home remedies to deal with hard water, none of them are effective in removing the hardness of the water. The degree of magnesium and calcium in hard water is extremely high, which creates multiple issues like brittle hair and hair loss, skin issues, less lather formation, extra consumption of soaps & shampoos, salts deposits on bathroom appliances & marble floors, and scaling in shower. This is the reason why it is essential to use a water softener.
If you want to focus just on your hair and skin, you can invest in a good bathroom water softener such as KENT Bathroom Water Softener. But if you are looking to save even your appliances from the ill effects of hard water, you must install a whole house, fully-automatic water softeners such as KENT Automatic Water Softener available in 40 liters or KENT Autosoft available in 25 liters.
A compact water softener, the KENT bathroom water softener in 5.5 liters can be easily attached to the source of water supply so that you get soft water whenever you need it. The water softener uses a 2-step regeneration process, which can be easily executed by users without any professional help. The water softener exchanges ions of calcium and magnesium with sodium to make hard water soft. It’s time that you stop experimenting with expensive shampoos and switch to a water softener to see the difference in your hair and skin issues.
2. Install Shower Filter
Shower filters are easy to find and relatively easy to install. Shower filters help in reducing minerals and chlorine present in water, which also helps in reducing damage caused by hard water. The shower filters give you value for money; however, these are not as effective as water softeners.
3. Use Purified Bottled Water
To save your hair from damage, you can also use purified bottled water. Many people get bottled water especially for rinsing their hair and saving it from damage. However, using bottled water is not only expensive but also harmful to the environment. Instead of getting bottled water, which is expensive, using a water softener is a better and more feasible option.
4. Use Moisturizing Masks and Leave-in Conditioners
As your hair is unable to absorb moisture as a result of using your hard water, it is necessary to use hair care products that provide proper moisture to your hair. Get a moisturizing mask from a renowned brand or leave-in conditioner that contains jojoba oil, argan oil, or almond oil. A leave-in conditioner will seal the moisture and give a smooth finish. However, as long as you don’t get a solution for hard water, using these products will be a temporary solution.
5. Lemon Rinse
The acidic nature of lemon helps in removing build-up from your hair. Add a teaspoon of lemon juice with 3 cups of water. Pour this rinse on your hair after shampooing. Massage your scalp and leave it for a couple of minutes. Lemon rinse increases the shine of your hair and the antiseptic property also reduces dandruff caused by hard water.
6. Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse
Apple cider vinegar rinse also helps in reducing mineral build-up. Apple cider vinegar wash also helps in balancing the hair sebum secretion, thereby making your hair fresh, soft, and shiny. Make sure that you rinse off the solution using lukewarm water instead of cold water.
7. Nutrients Good for Hair
Your hair loss could also be caused by the lack of necessary nutrients in your body that help keep your hair healthy. In order to ensure you are not missing out on any essential nutrients, add Iron, Proteins, and Vitamin D to your diet.
8. Time to Relax
Stress is another major cause of hair loss in a lot of men and women. In a lot of cases, people have experienced their stress phase followed by sudden hair loss. And the more they think about hair loss, the more stressed they get and the more hair they lose. It’s a loop. Therefore, it’s important that you meditate and do yoga regularly to keep your mind at peace and avoid stress-related hair loss.
Last Few Words
Hard water can do a lot of damage to your hair. If you are tired of using all the hacks to improve your hair texture, it’s time to use a water softener. You can get a bathroom softener from KENT, which is a non-electric, chemical-free appliance. To find out more about the range of water softeners, click here.