Do I Live in an Area That's Bad for My Hair? Do I Have Hard Water?
Imagine: You pack up your whole life, make the big move to the city (let’s say San Antonio, TX shall we?), and settle in for an exciting new beginning. Things are generally going really well, minus a few… oddities here and there. Your clothes have been feeling a little stiff after laundry day.
And this weird, white residue is building up on your cups after every dishwasher cycle. OH, and most irritating of all, your usually glossy, bouncy hair is falling super flat and is impossible to manage. What gives??? Do I have hard water?
We hate to break it to hypothetical you, but you’ve likely just moved to one of the worst hard water locations in the U.S. (Ugh!) But before you curse your bad luck, know this: About 85% of the U.S. lives with some level of hard water, and the hard water effects on hair range from not so noticeable, to majorly impacting everyday life.
It is true that some places are worse for your hair than others. The worst of them, besides San Antonio, include Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Tampa.
But if you live in one of these hard water cities, does that mean your hair is doomed? Nope! Not when you have us looking out for you. We break it all down for you below.
OKAY, BACK UP. WHAT DOES IT MEAN IF AN AREA HAS HARD WATER?
When an area has hard water, it means that its water supply has a high concentration of minerals, specifically calcium and magnesium.
HOW DO THE MINERALS GET IN THE WATER?
If your water supply comes from groundwater (under the surface) or even surface water (lakes and rivers), it’s most likely running through soil and rocks and picking up minerals as it goes.
And because minerals like calcium and magnesium are soluble in water, they easily dissolve and become part of the water flow. The higher the concentration of dissolved minerals, the harder your water will be.
Take Las Vegas for example. Its water supply comes mainly from groundwater and the Colorado River, which is a mineral-dense water supply. Therefore, Las Vegas residents have incredibly hard water.
WHAT ARE THE HARD WATER EFFECTS ON HAIR?
Minerals found in hard water can be extremely damaging to strands. Some of the most common hair probs stem from hard water effects on hair, including color fade, brassy tones, dull color, dehydrated strands, hair that never feels clean, coarse texture, droopy curls, and highlights that seem to only last a couple weeks.
Plus, hard water can interfere with color processing and make it extremely difficult for your stylist to get your desired results. Read our full guide to hard water and hair here.
SO IF I LIVE IN AN AREA WITH LOW LEVELS OF HARD WATER, I’M GOOD RIGHT?
Well… not exactly. Just because you don’t live in a notoriously bad hard water location, doesn’t mean the minerals in your water don’t still negatively impact your hair. You might not experience the same level of hair probs, but it might affect you in ways you don’t even notice.
Like that perfect blonde you’ve always wanted but can never quite reach? Or the fact that your hair always looks weighed down no matter how much volumizing product you use? Yup, could be your water.
YIKES, OKAY, SO WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT HARD WATER?
There are plenty of options, like overhauling your plumbing system, adding a filter system, adding a filter to your shower head… but as you’re probably already thinking, that can cost A LOT of money and become a major inconvenience. Lucky for you, there’s a much simpler and faster solution.
Our Dream Filter Pre-Shampoo Mineral Remover Spray is the first spray of its kind that gently removes mineral buildup from your hair and scalp, leaving you with hard-water-free strands.
How does it do it? In 3 minutes or less, Dream Filter’s gentle formula works like a magnet to attract minerals to the surface of your hair where it then encapsulates them for ease of washing away. Use every 3-4 washes, or even daily if your hard water is particularly bad.
We recommend following Dream Filter with Color Wow Color Security Shampoo for a truly clean finish. Unlike typical shampoos, our formula is made without any residual ingredients that stick to the hair and scalp, further dulling color and weighing hair down.
So even if you live in one of the worst hard water cities in the U.S., these products will give you your freshest, cleanest hair and scalp, free of any mineral buildup, and your lightest, brightest, glossiest strands ever.
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Read more about the effects of hard water on hair:
