Dealing with Hard Water Hair Damage

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Are You Using Hard Water?

Water seems like a pretty basic hair care essential, but did you know that the wrong kind of water can actually damage your hair? Mineral-heavy hard water, in particular, can have a damaging impact on your strands. 

So, how exactly can hard water damage hair? It all comes down to the high levels of calcium and magnesium. As well as hard water hair damage, this can cause health issues when ingested in large quantities. It can also be corrosive to plumbing over time. So, all in all, it’s best to avoid or minimize hard water when at all possible.

If you aren’t sure whether you have hard water in your home, there are several signs you can look out for. Check your pipes and look for a white, chalky buildup along the seams where they join. These are mineral deposits and are a good indicator for whether or not you have hard water coming through your faucet.

Hard water also promotes soap scum when the calcium reacts with soap residue. If washing your hands leaves you feeling like you have a soapy film on them after rinsing, this is from the hard water. Calcium carbonate deposits on your dishes or white spots left behind after drying are also possible hard water indicators.

Can Hard Water Damage Hair?

Does hard water damage hair? The short and simple answer to this question is yes, it does. When it comes to your hair, using hard water to wash and rinse leaves behind a similar kind of buildup to the calcium carbonate deposits on your dishes. While a few washes here and there shouldn’t have much of an impact, repeated exposure can increase this buildup over time, leaving your hair strands weighed down by excess minerals and your scalp covered by residue. Since a healthy scalp provides all the nutrients for new growth, buildup can interfere with this solid foundation for healthy hair.

The result is dull, lifeless hair lacking the bounce and shine that normally signals good hair health. Hard water residue is also drying and corrosive, giving you brittle strands that split and break easily. Over time, this leads to overall hard water hair damage that promotes frizz and makes your hair less manageable. If your hair is colored, you might also find the vibrancy of your color fading quickly with hard water hair damage. This can leave you with a dull tone or even cause discoloration from the original shade.

Signs Of Hard Water In Hair

There are a number of indicators that you can look for in trying to determine whether you are experiencing hair damage from hard water. These include, but are not limited to:

• Hair breaks more easily
• Hair tangles more easily
• An increase in  split ends
• Hair is often thin or dry

Can Hard Water Cause Hair Loss?

There is good news and bad news regarding this question. The bad news is that, yes, prolonged hard water damage can cause hair loss. However, it is not the most common outcome, and often takes a long time to occur.

The good news is that much of this hair water hair damage is reversible if a proper hair care routine is undertaken as soon as the issue has been discovered.

How To Get Rid Of Hard Water

The most effective way to rid your home of hard water is also the most labor-intensive. Installing a water softener will remove calcium and magnesium at the source, keeping your hair and pipes clear of any mineral buildup. However, this is only possible if you own your home and can afford to invest in and install a water softener.

Your next best option is to filter the water at the end of the line. Showerhead filters are a great way to remove the excess minerals from your water, ensuring you’re washing and rinsing without adding unwanted deposits to your hair and scalp. 

But, don’t worry if you can’t take these steps to eliminate your hard-water issues; there are other ways to minimize and repair hard water hair damage. 

Protecting Your Hair From Hard Water

Knowing how to prevent hair damage from hard water begins with getting rid of hard water and continues with a proper hair protection plan. 

Protecting your strands from anything starts with healthy hair. Just like the rest of your body, your hair is less vulnerable to external factors when it’s strong and healthy. So, to give your hair a fighting chance against hard water, make sure you have a nourishing hair care routine that’s designed for your unique needs. 

Remember that hair soaks in water when it’s dry, so using custom pre-shampoo masks for your scalp and hair can reduce the amount of contact and penetration from hard-water minerals. Choose a clarifying shampoo that’s designed to demineralize and eliminate hard-water buildup from your hair and scalp. Using a penetrative, moisturizing conditioner can also help fill your thirsty strands, leaving less room for your hard water to linger and preventing the drying effect that promotes breakage. If you want to protect your hair from color desaturation, pretreating with the right hair oil can lock your color in and repel hard water from getting past your hair’s cuticle.

You can also limit hard-water buildup by reducing the number of washes. A good dry shampoo can keep your hair looking fresh and healthy between washes, allowing a break between hard-water exposures.

Repairing Hard Water Hair Damage

If you find that hard water has already damaged your hair, plenty of options are available to get it healthy and manageable again. Consider a scalp detox and make sure you’re using styling and treatment products that focus on hydrating your hair and delivering the nourishing elements it needs to promote healthy growth.

A strong leave-in conditioner or a hair mask can soothe damaged hair while taming the brittle results of that damage. Hair supplement products, especially those made to target the health of your scalp, can also give your hair an additional boost to get it  back on track. And, if you really want to get the most restorative effect out of your products, consider purchasing custom formulas that tailor ingredients to match your unique hair challenges.

Hard Water Hair Damage Can Be An Easy Fix

Having hard water in your home doesn’t have to be a death sentence for your hair. Protecting your strands by giving them what they need to be healthy is the best defense against any kind of damage. If your normal hair care routine doesn’t seem to be getting the job done, perhaps it’s time to look into a customized system. The Prose hair consultation can help you identify your unique needs and match you with custom products that deliver what you and your hair have been missing.