I recommend using a chelating shampoo instead of the listed alternatives, it is easy to mess up hair if you don’t have the proper pH. A chelating shampoo will be the proper pH and is effective.
Taken from:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CkZHgkDIM-6
The showerstik is the only shower head that can actually filter out the minerals that I know of, regular shower heads can help remove chlorine but will not make water soft.
Hardness prevents soap from lathering by causing the development of an insoluble curdy precipitate in the water; hardness typically causes the buildup of hardness scale (such as seen in cooking pans). Dissolved calcium and magnesium salts are primarily responsible for most scaling in pipes and water heaters and cause numerous problems in laundry, kitchen, and bath.
Symptoms of Hard Water include:
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Stiff, dingy laundry
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Mineral deposits on dishes and glassware
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High soap usage & need for fabric softeners
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Extra work to remove soap curd on bathtubs & shower stalls
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High energy costs, possibly due to scale build-up in pipes and on appliances
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Scale build up in sinks, tubs, faucets & appliances
Taken from:
https://wqa.org/Learn-About-Water/Perceptible-Issues/Scale-Deposits/
Map of Hard Water in the USA (USGS):
General guidelines for classification of waters are:
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0 to 60 mg/L (milligrams per liter) as calcium carbonate is classified as soft
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61 to 120 mg/L as moderately hard
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121 to 180 mg/L as hard
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More than 180 mg/L as very hard.
Taken from:
https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/hardness-water#overview
My thoughts:
The most important thing to remember about hard water is to avoid natural soaps.
All of the alternatives in this chart are harsher than the chelating shampoos.
Most water is hard water, it’s normal water. Don’t borrow trouble if what you are doing is working.
Personally - I use that Malibu C hard water wellness shampoo as my regular shampoo because it’s gentle, my hair likes it. But had well water, used Deva CARE low-poo for years with no issues.
Like Texas water (at least where my friend lived in San Antonio, I’ve also visited El Paso) is very hard, difficult for washing hair. I used 10 parts water : 1 part apple cider vinegar when I visited there, my relatives used stronger rinses but since I didn’t have the stuff to test for pH I went with a more diluted mixture since I was in a pinch. It was my only time encountering hard water, I was pretty unprepared haha. Where I live the water isn’t that hard so I’ve never had trouble or felt the need for a water softener. All water is going to have some hardness to it
unless you have a water softening system[false], it becomes a problem depending on where you live.I actually agree, I wouldn’t personally use the alternatives because you can mess up the pH easily but I thought maybe a no-poo person or someone needing something real fast might want to try it. I would recommend using a chelating shampoo instead, you don’t have to worry about the pH and messing up your hair. I should probably make that clearer in the post.