EFFECTS OF HARD WATER ON HAIR
HOW DOES HARD WATER CAUSE HAIR FALL?
We all want that perfect hair. But sometimes some factors come into play and stand as an obstacle in our way. One such obstacle is hard water. Known to be one of the top hair fall reasons, this is a factor that isn’t something we can have control on. So, then how to control hair fall caused by this hard water? There are many healthy hair tips out there, most of them including the usage of home remedies and using a proper hair fall shampoo. But despite that, many of us complain about landing up with hair we aren’t happy with. Today, let’s understand what hard water is and how it affects our hair!
WHAT IS HARD WATER?
When rain falls, it brings clean, mineral-free water with it. But when this water seeps into the ground and comes in contact with different types of rocks & soil, it becomes heavy with minerals. The most dominant traces of minerals in this water are that of calcium and magnesium, along with other metallic elements. This water is typically hard to work with and is therefore called ‘hard water’. What this essentially means is that it is difficult to use this water for our day-to-day requirements such as washing, drinking, cooking, etc. Most times, the water that you get in your home is pumped from an underwater source, and that is how hard water ends up into your home.
HOW TO TEST FOR HARD WATER?
The first and foremost indicator of hard water is that it is literally hard to work with! You will find that it has a certain heavy taste to it. Moreover, it’s extremely difficult to get soap to lather in. To understand whether or not you have hard water in your home, you can fill some tap water and 10 drops of liquid soap into a bottle and then shake it. If the suds aren’t that many, then you can infer that you have hard water. Alternatively, you can also get in touch with your local council to understand the type of water you get access to.
HOW DOES HARD WATER AFFECT HAIR?
If your water supply itself is composed of hard water, then you have no option other than to wash your hair with hard water, which might also end you up with damaged hair. So, then how to control hair fall? Let’s understand how hard water is one of your hair fall reasons.
MINERAL DEPOSITS
MINERAL DEPOSITS
As discussed above, hard water is heavy with minerals. So, when it comes in contact with your hair, it introduces these minerals into your hair. You may think that washing them repeatedly can rid you of these mineral deposits. However, that wouldn’t happen as long as you’re using hard water to wash your hair. But what is it about these minerals that make them such bad news? Well, for starters, they make the scales of your hair shaft open up. These scales are part of the hair cuticle. Opening them up gives these minerals direct access to your hair cortex. This cortex is the one that determines your hair colour, curl pattern, thickness, and texture. Considering that, when these minerals penetrate it, your hair strand becomes heavy and looks visibly limp. The weight of these minerals also puts pressure on your roots, while also making your hair more susceptible to breakage. If you’ve coloured your hair, the colour tends to fade away. Another problem these minerals cause is that they attack the skin on your scalp and cause it to dry. This leads to scalp flaking. Hence, minerals aren’t just one of the top hair fall reasons, but they also attack your scalp. This can also result in damaged hair.
CALCIFICATION
CALCIFICATION
One of the main ingredients that are found in this hard water we’ve been talking about is calcium. Now, calcium is a hardening agent. Our body has quite a bit of calcium as it is an essential ingredient for our bones so they can be strong and healthy. However, the calcium in hard water is what we know as ‘soap scum’. When this soap scum aka calcium settles on our scalp, it comes in direct contact with our hair follicles and tends to clog them up. Known as calcification, this process restricts blood flow to your follicles, thereby thwarting hair growth. So, even if you are giving your hair the right kind of nutrients, this calcium residue proves it to be not quite enough. Moreover, it also causes scalp inflammation. When these factors come together, they destroy your hair follicles. So, if you have strong your roots are and you nourish your hair properly, calcification still has a chance of winning here. One of the top healthy hair tips suggests using magnesium oil along with your hair fall shampoo to control this problem.
pH LEVEL
pH LEVEL
If you think back to your school days, you will remember back from chemistry class a little thing called the pH level. To revise, pH is what measures the acidity or the alkalinity of a given substance. The pH scale goes from 0 to 14, and 7 is considered to be neutral. A score below 7 would mean that the substance in question is acidic whereas a score above 7 would say that it is alkaline.
Now, your hair has a pH level of about 4 to 5.5. Hard water, on the other hand, has a pH of 8.5 or higher. We discussed above how hard water can result in the scales on your hair cuticle to rise. Constant exposure to hard water can get the pH levels of your hair to increase and lead to a super high pH level of 10. This would mean that your hair cuticle would swell up, making you more susceptible to irreversibly damaged hair, making this one of the most dangerous hair fall reasons.
HOW TO CONTROL HAIR FALL CAUSED BY HARD WATER?
Hard water is one of the most difficult culprits to deal with as far as dealing with hair fall is concerned. One of the biggest hair fall reasons, it is one thing that might just lead you to have damaged hair.
So, how to control hair fall and salvage your hair from the evil that is hard water? Well, for starters, one of the top healthy hair tips suggests that you can use a good hair fall shampoo. The Pantene Hairfall Control Shampoo, when paired with the Pantene Hairfall Control Conditioner, gives you results that you can measure. One of the top healthy hair tips suggests that you use a hair serum along with this. We recommend the Pantene Open Hair Miracle for this as it gives your strands the necessary moisture that hard water would have possibly stripped them of.
And that’s pretty much it, ladies! Don’t let those hair fall reasons interfere with your hair care. Follow healthy hair tips and have the hair of your dreams!
Hair care problems are varied for different people, so your hair care products should also be so. Take a look at our diverse range of Pantene Shampoos and Pantene Conditioners and pick your choice!
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do you soften hard water for washing hair?
2. Can you recover hair from hard water effects?
3. Does oiling hair help with hard water?
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