Hard water area, matted hair help!!

[poppym12]

I've recently moved to a small city which has the hardest water ever. This became apparent when I washed and conditioned my wavy shoulder length hair yesterday and ended up with a matted wet bird's nest on my head. All I could find to try to sort it was olive oil. Now I have a frizzy, oily mop of what used to look like hair .

Should I be using a different shampoo? Applying different products? It needs washing again obviously as its an oil slick but I'll have to go and get something that works better with hard water.

Any ideas or recommendations please?

Use big jug of water with about half a cup of vinegar as final rinse. Pour carefully through all the hair. The smell disappears when it's dry.

Bumble & Bumble Sunday shampoo is good for hard water. Need a conditioner afterwards though.

Just tap water and any kind of vinegar @BoreOfWhabylon?

Will try to find some of that today @Ponks, thanks.

Yes, any vinegar - except balsamic, I think that might be a bit sticky

You can get shower heads that soften the water as it run through. That might work well for you.

The Bumble & Bumble is expensive but you only need a tiny amount , I get it from Boots.

I live in north London and the water is very very hard. I use a shampoo bar followed by Aldi conditioner then sometimes a tiny bit of serum. My hair is lovely and soft. Two things worth considering...1. It can still feel quite stiff/ matted when wet, but is fine when dry. 2. If you use products with silicone and then heat style it, especially if you use dark coloured hair dye, you can get a build up that feels matted. There’s not loads you can do about this except use a clarifying shampoo (baby shampoo will do). I used to have this but no longer colour my hair or use straighteners.

Vinegar rinse or soda water rinse - you need acid to counteract the alkaline in hard water

Thank you for the tips. I've bought a couple of clarifying shampoos and a bottle of vinegar ready for the next attempt at washing. I've been growing out my colour for 12 months so mostly it's natural and grey. I cheated on Monday and went for a wash and blow dry. My hair has been soft ever since and still looks OK. The hairdressers around here must have water filters or something .

Do you use conditioner? I'm in a soft water area and if I don't use conditioner my hair is a tuggy mess. So lots of conditioner will help!

Collect rainwater for last rinse

This is the worst thing about living in a hard water area

I've lived in a hard water area all my life so I'm used to it.... I really feel the difference when I'm on holiday somewhere with good water, my hair is amazing! Gets its natural loose curl back and everything.

I find you need to use more shampoo to get a good lather. Then more conditioner to keep it tangle free. I always comb through with a wide tooth comb while I'm still in the shower too- once I'm out of the shower, any knots are a nightmare to get out.

We have had those special shower heads plus a built in water softener but I don't think it makes any difference.

Yes, I always use conditioner. My hair is naturally wavy so I'd been washing, conditioning and just running my fingers through it to remove the odd tangle then leaving it to dry naturally for the last couple of years.

I don't think that's an option here as it really does need combing through after conditioning which drags/flattens my waves meaning it dries frizzy and fluffy.

I can't collect rainwater as its a 2nd floor flat without a balcony.

I have this too. ☹️

Sally's Beauty Supplies sell amazing sachets, by Malibu, for hard-water hair. You only need to use one once a week. They neutralise all the hard-water build up in your hair.

Amazon sell them too. I've used these, they work.

water sachets www.amazon.co.uk/Malibu-Hard-Water-5g-Sachet/dp/B0019HYC6G/ref=mpsa12?adgrpid=56118916794&gclid=Cj0KCQiAxrbwBRCoARIsABEc9sixHJYI3dAM6iNZsUEnFbVyzw2Mi29Lf33Lz0PB412YooNSW1JurMaAlR4EALwwcB&hvadid=259030955160&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=1007247&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15405935361997004456&hvtargid=kwd-301615570068&hydadcr=7751_1824086&keywords=malibu+hard+water+shampoo&qid=1577962915&sr=8-2]]

Malibu do a shampoo and conditioner too! I'm very tempted, but they're £27 each! Yikes.

Boy did I egg up that link 😂

EFF up! 😂 😂

Comb through your hair while the conditioner is in it then rinse

After all that effort the link doesn't work for me @WantHerGone

I couldn't get a comb through it at all when it happened on Sunday @dancemom. Never know it to feel so hard and matted. In the end I resorted to olive oil and a tangle teezer.

Strange though it sounds, try a light conditioner before washing.

Thoroughly comb it through, use a gentle shampoo for your hair type and follow with more light/spray-in conditioner/serum.

Live in Wolvo where the water's as hard as London.

@poppym12

😂 Thats good, as the sachets were freakishly overpriced on Amazon. Here’s a cheaper link to the sachets: www.additionallengths.co.uk/hard-water-wellness-remedy-p500/s3463?gclid=Cj0KCQiAxrbwBRCoARIsABEc9siyEqq3fcsaK3zAHSR3v54Q_tAo6ZWxMabq5bza3ZQcY6bJnu1GMikaAjVdEALw_wcB