Haircare for Hard Water

A staggering 85% of homes in the U.S. have hard water, so chances are you’ve been washing your hair in it for years. And if you do nothing to combat hard water’s effects, your hair could suffer to the point of extreme dryness and breakage. So, how do you care for your hair when you’ve got hard water?  

Haircare for hard water involves minimizing contact with the hard water and cleansing any buildup from your hair. The techniques you use and how often you wash your hair will depend on your hair type and condition. 

In this article, we’ll tell you all you need to know about hair care for hard water so you can avoid its adverse effects and enjoy your best hair ever! 

What is Hard Water? 

For anyone who doesn’t know what hard water is, we’ll briefly define it here. Hard water is any water that contains a high concentration of minerals, such as magnesium and calcium. This is usually not a problem with drinking water, but it's terrible for your hair.

When you wash your hair in hard water, your hair eventually exhibits signs of dryness and brittleness (which can lead to breakage if not remedied quickly). In the most severe cases, your hair may also develop a dusty cast due to the minerals. And when the hard water builds up on your scalp, you could experience flaking and itchiness. 

Haircare Products that Help with Hard Water

Now that you know the hair-related consequences of hard water, we’ll bet you want to see what you can do about it. Here are some hair care products you can add to your regimen to combat the effects of hard water: 

• Hard Water Shampoo: A hard water shampoo is a cleansing product designed to strip away minerals from hard water buildup. Follow the instructions on the shampoo for the best results. 

• Clarifying shampoo - Clarifying shampoo has a high concentration of cleansers - therefore, it cleanses deeper than your average shampoo. This could be all you need to keep hard water from settling and building up on your hair and scalp. 

• Hard water filter: As you might expect, hard water filters remove mineral deposits from hard water. Just attach the filter to your shower head and wash your hair as usual. 

• Apple cider vinegar rinse: Apple cider vinegar’s deep cleansing properties can rid your hair of hard water buildup in a minute or so. You’ll apply it to your hair after shampooing and then rinse it out after about a minute. Just be sure to dilute your apple cider vinegar with distilled water using a 1:5 ratio to avoid adverse effects. 

How Often to Wash Your Hair 

In most cases, you should wash your hair whenever it gets too oily or your scalp itches. There’s no reason why you should go around with dirty hair because you have hard water. Just get yourself a hard water filter or use a heavy-duty shampoo (or do an apple cider vinegar rinse) every so often. 

We hope that you’ve found this article helpful. With the tips and information in this article, you’ve got all you need to manage your home’s hard water and preserve your hair’s health. 

Author: Andrea Reyes

Andrea is a mother, wife, writer, and natural hair enthusiast of 15 years. Currently on her natural hair journey, she’s been trying countless products and techniques to understand and embrace her natural hair. She is the creator of NaturallyTextured.com, a new website featuring informative articles that share tips, tricks, and techniques aimed to help others learn to love their hair through proper hair care. She writes with the hope of making hair care easier to understand and implement.