Water Softener= Bad, Bad Hair
 

Hi Everyone! I haven't really been around much because I had a method and products that were giving me amazing results.

Alas, we now have a water softener at our new home and I am back to square one. I have no curl definition, just frizzy, soft, flyaway hair. I am so very frustrated to have to begin again!

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I am off to begin my thread searching for advice.

I wish I had an answer! I had the same problem when I visited my brother for the holidays.

Benefits of Water:

The human body, which is made up of between 55 and 75 percent water,
Water is crucial to your health,
It makes up, on average, 60 percent of your body weight....

Cheltenham Personal Trainer

Thank you for such a great answer that has nothing to do with one having a water softener and bad hair days. :scratch:

I've had a water softener since being CG. My hair can get OC'd if I'm not careful & if I don't give it enough protein. I rarely need LI's. What products are you uding?

I think that is exactly my problem, OC'd. My old house had very hard water and I needed a heavy condish and LI. I have been using Suave Tropical Coconut for cowash, TIGI Moisture Maniac and then Giovanni smooth as silk for LI. Then usually just some gel for styling.

You may need a non sulphate cleanser or even a real shampoo from time to time. Also try using one condish to wash in one step or use a very small amt of your rinse out on the ends. Try skipping the LI & a do a PT to get your moisture/protein balanced.

Unless you want the water softened for some other purpose, you could just not use the softener - mine has a bypass valve to just skip it entirely, or else you could just not put salt in it and the water would pass through untreated.



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Thanks Del, great advice. I am probably overdue for a PT anyways. I do use a low poo about once a month, may need to adjust that a bit.

Bypassing the water softener is not an option, due to the rust in the water out here in the country. My skin loves the soft water though, so there is a postive side to it!

Can your hair tolerate mag sulphite/epsom salt? You can make a spray & mist it before styling or even on 2nd hair. I do this infrequently because it is drying but it will give you a boost. If you like oils you can add a few drops or a little conditioner. There are recipes posted just do a search. :) I use 1/8 t in a 2oz bottle & replace after a few days.

We visit and just bought a second home in a city in WV (for us, it's really rural.) Although we have public water and sewer, there is a water softener. We haven't spent a lot of time there, but I find that my hair is less curly when I'm using softened water.

You may want to up your level of "cleansing." You could use some of the cleansing conditioners that contains a mild surfactant like Cocamidopropyl Betaine. I find that the cleansing conditioners that don't have a mild surfactant don't do much. At home, our water is on the hard side. I use CJ Daily Fix every few weeks. I can't use it too much or it's drying for my. DevaCurl NoPoo also contains the coco b, I find that drying with any use.

My new love is Curly Kinks Natural Shampoo The coco b is further down the ingredient list. My hair feels great after I use it. The funny thing about the Twirly Curl Cleanse is that it's called a cleanse in the name, but the website also refers to it as a shampoo. I think that's because of the coco b--if it has a surfactant, is it really a lowpoo and not a cleansing conditioner. For me, it's the ingredients and not the name. People can name a product whatever they want. It's how it performs.

If the salts from the softener continue to bother your hair, you could do a final rinse with distilled water???

My hair never tolerated magnesium at the old house, but maybe now it will. At this point it isn't going to hurt to try something new. I will have to go check out some recipes. Thanks Del.

Thanks for the suggestions Kathy. I did have some hair cleanser that I bought from Jessicurl, I will have to dig through some boxes and see if I still have it.

I think my inner PJ is being awakened! Although, I do have a box full of products that never worked before, maybe some of those will work for me now!