Hard Water 101 – How to Remove Hard Water Buildup on Curly Hair

Approximately 85% of homes in the US have hard water, and it can wreak havoc on your hair and throughout your home. Hard water buildup on your hair can cause brittleness, frizz, and appear dull. Fortunately, there are ways to remove hard water buildup from your hair. In today’s video, I’m sharing everything you need to know about hard water, how to remove hard water buildup, and how to maintain your hair if you have hard water in your home.

What is hard water?

Hard water is water that contains Calcium and Magnesium, some of the most common minerals found in water. Although these minerals are generally harmless, they bind to surfaces due to their positive charge. Hair tends to naturally have more of a negative charge so hard water minerals bind to the hair and accumulate over time. These minerals mostly bind to the cuticle layer but can be found in the inner cortex layer of the hair. Damaged, high porosity hair is especially susceptible to hard water buildup.

Signs of hard water buildup on your hair

• Stiff, brittle feeling
• Dull appearance
• Shampoos don’t lather well
• Sticky feeling after shampooing
• Conditioner may not help
• Increased friction
• Breakage
• Limp curls
• Products won’t absorb and don’t seem to help soften the hair
• Brassy or reddish discoloration or grayish tint on light-colored hair

Common misdiagnoses of hard water buildup

Low porosity hair 

Hair that has hard water buildup acts like low-porosity hair, so it can be hard to decipher. If you have naturally low-porosity hair and no hard water in your home, you should not be experiencing issues with shampoo, or major brittleness as long as you’re properly deep conditioning your hair. Low-porosity hair is naturally very shiny, whereas hard water buildup makes the hair dull.

Product buildup

Hair with product buildup can be dull, sticky, and brittle but should recover from a regular clarifying shampoo or just double-cleansing with a regular lathering shampoo. Hard water buildup can’t be removed with regular shampoo and requires a chelating shampoo.

Protein overload

Protein overload has the most similar symptoms to hard water buildup. If you’ve been using protein-heavy products and you know you don’t have hard water in your home, it’s protein overload. Protein overload can be fixed with regular clarifying and protein-free deep conditioning, whereas if you have hard water buildup it won’t feel better with just a clarifying shampoo. 

How to tell if you have hard water

Look for signs in your home:

• White residue on surfaces such as faucets and sinks that is tough to remove
• Rusty discoloration on your tub or around your drains
• Water spots on your shower glass, dishes, etc.

Research

• Look online or call your local water treatment center
• Look at online maps

Professional tests

• Have a lab test done (most reliable)
• At-home test kit

How to remove hard water buildup

1. Pre-treat your hair with a pre-poo oil and/or conditioner to prevent dryness and damage
2. Use a chelating shampoo. Look for ingredients such as:
   • Disodium EDTA
   • Tetrasodium EDTA (should be higher on the ingredients list)
   • Pentasoidum Pentetate
   • Sodium gluconate
3. Deep condition. I used the AG Natural Nourish Snow Mushroom Deep Conditioning Mask. I would go protein-free deep conditioner only because protein can make the hair feel stiffer, which you don’t want if you are recovering from hard water buildup. Use a Thermal Haircare Hot Head Cap or a steamer to increase the penetration of the deep conditioner.
4. Use styling products with lots of slip, oils, and moisture. Today I went with the TréLuxe Leave-In, Styling Serum, and Gel. 15% off TreLuxe with code GENAMARIE15.

DIY Hard Water Treatments

Some ingredients such as vinegar, citric acid, and lemon juice are said to help remove hard water buildup. However, the effectiveness compared to a chelating shampoo is questionable in my opinion, and you can’t control the pH of DIY rinses so you don’t want to risk damaging your hair. However, if you’re desperate and are not able to order or pick up a chelating shampoo, I would try apple cider vinegar diluted with water.

Maintenance

• Use a chelating shampoo 1-2 times per month, depending on how hard your water is
• Rinse with distilled water. This option does not seem practical to me because you’d have to buy distilled water and store it.
• Installing a water softener system in your home is the best option to fix the problem for your home and your hair.
• Showerhead filters will not soften hard water, they only remove particles. However there are some showerhead softeners, they just require maintenance by adding salt, sometimes as much as once a week. This option was one of the few that is said to be effective. 

Popular Chelating Shampoos

• Malibu C Un-Do-Goo > pH 9 Shampoo (SLS free)
• Malibu C Hard Water Wellness Shampoo (SLS free)
• Ion Hard Water Shampoo (SLS free)
• Bumble and Bumble Sunday Shampoo (contains sulfate)

Sources:
http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/hard-water-and-your-hair.html
https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/hardness-water