In this post, I will be discussing water and how gH affects your hair.
What's gH?
This is where my interest in aquariums & chemistry comes in handy! ;) Since I often test the water of my fish tank & have done extensive reading about this matter, I have become pretty familiar with the chemistry in water. I won't go too in-depth into it, so please bare with me for this scienc-y stuff; I promise I'll keep it simple!
You're probably wondering what gH even means. You've likely already heard of pH, which is used to measure the acidity of things (acidic things have a very low pH, and alkaline things have a high pH. Water is usually around the middle, around 6-8).
gH stands for General Hardness. This is used to measure how "hard" or "soft" your water is by seeing how high or low the levels of dissolved minerals are in your water. If your water has a high gH, you have hard water, which means your water has lots of minerals. Magnesium & calcium are the two major ones. This is why you often see white mineral deposits/water spots when you have hard water. The water evaporates, but the minerals leave a spot in its place. Anyway, if you have soft water, you have a low gH and a low level of minerals. If you have a low gH, you have nothing to worry about as far as hair. Carry on. If you have high gH, you may run into some trouble.
Leave a comment if you have any questions about this. I'd be glad to explain.
Here's a map of the USA showing a general guideline of the gH in different areas. Your water's actual gH may differ from what's on the map; if you really want to know your gH, you'll have to test it. In fact, you can usually take some of your water into a local fish store and have them test it for you.
My water has a gH of 12, so it's in the "very hard" zone even though on that map it says I'd be in the "hard" zone. Like I said, the best way to find out your gH is to just get it tested. Most pet stores that sell fish (like petsmart) will test your water for free if you ask. :)
The minerals in the water can end up building up on your hair, making your hair look more dull and unmanageable. This is actually what pushed me to start the CG method; my hair hadn't been acting the same ever since we'd moved (the water at our last place literally had a gH of zero), and I had been doing the same routine that I'd been following for awhile. The only thing that'd changed was the gH of our water. It built up on my hair and made it frizzy, dull, and just plain sad-looking. Of course, at the time, I didn't realize that the hard water was causing this. This was when I started doing a buttload of reading about my hair & ultimately decided to start the CG method. I also discovered that hard water was probably the cause of my troubles. In a way, I'm glad that we have hard water since it's what pushed me to discover the CG method ;) A few other symptoms of hard water bothering your hair can be strawlike/dry/brittle hair (this is also a sign of too much protein; read this), lifeless/dull/limp hair, and getting more tangles.
Dealing with hard water is actually pretty easy. There are a few things you can do.
-Use a chelating shampoo. The ingredients in a chelating shampoo bind to the minerals (and also chemicals from pool water!) in order to remove those elements from the hair. Key ingredients to look for in chelating shampoos are EDTA, Disodium EDTA, Tetrasodium EDTA, or Sodium Citrate AKA Trisodium Citrate. As long as it has one of those, it'll work. These can be stripping/drying, but it removes the mineral buildup on your hair. Just follow it up with something moisturizing, and don't use it every time you wash your hair. A clarifying shampoo is not the same as a chelating shampoo (nor will it remove minerals), by the way. Clarifying shampoos are for a deep cleaning to remove dirt, oils, & silicones from your hair.
-Get a shower head filter! It softens the water that comes out of the shower. It's a quick, easy fix.
-Use a water softener. I'll let you do your own reading about that, but it also softens the water.
I hope this helped you understand the relationship between gH & hair! :)
Do you live in an area with hard water? Post a comment & share your story.
-CK
My water has a gH of 12, so it's in the "very hard" zone even though on that map it says I'd be in the "hard" zone. Like I said, the best way to find out your gH is to just get it tested. Most pet stores that sell fish (like petsmart) will test your water for free if you ask. :)
How does it affect my hair?
The minerals in the water can end up building up on your hair, making your hair look more dull and unmanageable. This is actually what pushed me to start the CG method; my hair hadn't been acting the same ever since we'd moved (the water at our last place literally had a gH of zero), and I had been doing the same routine that I'd been following for awhile. The only thing that'd changed was the gH of our water. It built up on my hair and made it frizzy, dull, and just plain sad-looking. Of course, at the time, I didn't realize that the hard water was causing this. This was when I started doing a buttload of reading about my hair & ultimately decided to start the CG method. I also discovered that hard water was probably the cause of my troubles. In a way, I'm glad that we have hard water since it's what pushed me to discover the CG method ;) A few other symptoms of hard water bothering your hair can be strawlike/dry/brittle hair (this is also a sign of too much protein; read this), lifeless/dull/limp hair, and getting more tangles.
How do I deal with it?
Dealing with hard water is actually pretty easy. There are a few things you can do.
-Use a chelating shampoo. The ingredients in a chelating shampoo bind to the minerals (and also chemicals from pool water!) in order to remove those elements from the hair. Key ingredients to look for in chelating shampoos are EDTA, Disodium EDTA, Tetrasodium EDTA, or Sodium Citrate AKA Trisodium Citrate. As long as it has one of those, it'll work. These can be stripping/drying, but it removes the mineral buildup on your hair. Just follow it up with something moisturizing, and don't use it every time you wash your hair. A clarifying shampoo is not the same as a chelating shampoo (nor will it remove minerals), by the way. Clarifying shampoos are for a deep cleaning to remove dirt, oils, & silicones from your hair.
-Get a shower head filter! It softens the water that comes out of the shower. It's a quick, easy fix.
-Use a water softener. I'll let you do your own reading about that, but it also softens the water.
I hope this helped you understand the relationship between gH & hair! :)
Do you live in an area with hard water? Post a comment & share your story.
-CK
According to the map, I have the lowest hardness. But, my water comes from a well, so it's probably at least a little hard. I'd really like to have it tested though!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm pretty sure my water comes from a well, too (could be part of why it's got a higher gH). Most pet stores that sell fish will test your water for free. :)
DeleteThe best article I came across a number of years, write something about it on this page. geyser for hard water
ReplyDelete