Hard water in its own is not bad at all, but when it comes to your hair, this is another story. If you live in the UK, chances that you have hard water are hight. As Scale Guard emphasis that around 60% of the UK classed as having hard water or very hard water! This means you hair is not really happy and you have to make some efforts to protect it.
How Hard Water Could Damage Your Hair?
Hard water contains high levels of minerals especially calcium and magnesium. These types of minerals are strong and the first thing you notice is hair dryness. Hair dryness causes other problems like breakage as hair will be in its weakest condition. It also causes thinning and fizziness as the hair lacks hydration and softness. Sadly, the more your hair is dry, the more it tangles all the time. One last thing but really important to consider is the health of your scalp. As hard water will not just affect your hair, but your scalp as well. Here is a rule to keep in mind, healthy scalp means healthy hair. So, if you take care of your hair but ignoring your scalp, you’re not getting anywhere!
How Could I Protect My Hair from Hard Water?
Install a water softener shower head: soft water is a must when it comes to solve your hair problems. Installing a water softener will definitely solve over half of your hair problems! Yes, half of your hair problems, because half of our hair problems comes from dryness. This is one of the best and affordable water softener in the UK.
Use purifying shampoo: purifying shampoos are made to detox your scalp and fight dandruff. Using it once a week would help you to maintain your scalp health, but don’t overuse it to avoid dryness. Find purifying shampoos that have light ingredients like OUAI Detox Shampoo and Scalp Revival by Briogeo.
- Apply Hair Mask: hair masks help you nourish and moisture your hair. Applying natural-based masks every week is an essential way to revive your hair from dryness. It’s important to keep your hair moisturized all the time to avoid thinning, frizzes and hair loss. The top three masks I recommend are Pantene Pro-V Repair and Protect, Don’t Disappear Repair and Metal Detox.
- Rinse your hair with citrus and vinegar: here you have to test if your scalp is sensitive or not before applying vinegar. As some people get irritation when using citruses. The purpose of rinsing your hair with vinegar or citrus is to clarify your scalp from any deposits, dirt and dandruff. There are certain shampoos that people prefer over using pure citrus and vinegar to avoid scalp irritation. I personally recommend using shampoos with citrus and vinegar instead of pure ones and these are my favourite products Apple Cider Vinegar Blend by Aveeno and Apple Cider Vinegar by OGX.
- Nourishing conditioners and leave-in conditioners: as I mentioned earlier about how important it is to apply masks once a week, this one is even more important and a gamer-changer. Using shampoos alone will not be enough at all! Using the wrong conditioner is waste of time and money as well. This means you have to carefully choose your conditioner to get the most of it. Especially if you live in the UK, you really need to look for super hydrated conditioners. As someone who lives in the UK, I recommend to try Coconut Milk Conditioner, Luxe Oil Keratin Conditioner and Fanola Restricting Conditioner.
Tips to Maintain Your Hair Healthy
- Healthy food = Healthy hair:
Now this sounds pretty obvious, but what are the types of food in specific that make your hair heathier? Eggs come on the top of the list. Eggs are full of protein and biotin and both are crucial for healthy hair. Collagen is not just helpful for your skin, but also your hair. Berries are full of collagen, antioxidants. Fish, especially salmons, contain massive amount of Omega-3, acids and biotin. Finally, eat mixed nuts for snacks to boost vitamin E, vitamin B, zinc and healthy fats.
- Supplements work like magic!
Yes, choosing the right supplements will work like magic, but there are some points to consider. First, read about the supplement you want to purchase to make sure it doesn’t contain ingredients that may affect other things in your body. You also need to follow the dosage carefully to avoid side effects and potential risks from excessive use. Another important point to consider is that hair growth supplements will make your body hair grows too! Did you read everything carefully? Okay then this is some recommendations based on high rating on Amazon, Biotin with Coconut Oil, HealthAid Hair Vitamins and Perfectil Original Formula.
- Hair Hygiene is the Real Deal.
Hair hygiene will help you maintain your hair health. As water in the UK along with the cold weather causes hair damage and dryness, then hair hygiene routine is crucial to keep your hair healthy and beautiful. It doesn’t have to be 10-step routine or 2-hour-a-day routine. All you have to do is to wash your hair 2 to 3 times a week (Depending on your hair type). For oily hair, it’s better to wash it every other day as the scalp excess oil continuously. For dry and normal hair, it’s ideal to wash it twice a week to keep your hair hydrated. If you have dry hair and you wash it every day, you will end up having more damages and dryness! As dry hair doesn’t excess oil as much as oily hair. Whatever your hair type is, you have to read about how to choose the right products and how to use them properly.
- Visit a Specialist!
If you follow all the tips and nothing has changed, then you may need a medical check to know the reasons behind hair damages. Some diseases have direct affect on your hair and no matter what you do, as long as you don’t know what’s happening inside your body, you won’t see any good results!
