July 21, 2010

Effects of Hard Water on Hair

Posted in Category : Hair Care

Some people believe that the only purpose hair care serves is on an aesthetic level. In truth, however, the texture, quality and luster of the hair are also widely used by the medical fraternity to gauge the overall health of an individual. To elaborate, the hair cells are some of the fastest growing in the human body and as a result require significant amounts of energy to do so. The body also recognizes the hair being of low priority and therefore will always divert the energy to other areas of the body that may require it more urgently. Some of the scenarios in which this is likely to occur are in the case of an infection or long term illness and trauma. In all of these scenarios, the energy is redirected to help the affected organs and tissues to recuperate properly. Only once they have been returned to an acceptable level of health is the energy rerouted back to the hair for continued growth and texture.

However, being in perfect condition does not guarantee that you hair will look great. The kind of care you give your hair will depend significantly on the kind of constituents of hair care you use. One should remember that each individual’s hair is different and has different properties. Just because one hair care product works on another individual does not necessarily mean that the same product will have anywhere near the same results as on yours. Using hard water to wash your hair is probably one of the most damaging aspects of hair care. This would also require substantially more amounts of soap, shampoo and detergent than compared to soft water when it comes to washing one’s hair. Soap is known to be much less responsive and effective when used in very hard water because it reacts with the excess minerals to form calcium or magnesium salts. The accumulation of salts as well as other material in the hair results in the hair acquiring a certain tinge of color to it. This is also known to make it feel rather limp, dull and lifeless no matter how many times you choose to rinse it. When the hair appears to be in a rather incompetent condition, the only thing one can really do is to moisturize it as much as possible. There is another aspect that one has to consider while discussing hair care and hard water. This is that as soon as you get a perm or have the hair straightened and wash it with hard water – you will witness some color change, a dullness in the hair texture or even the perm ‘appearing’ to fall out.