Soft water and shampoo question

[Brenda in FL]

I hope the hive can help me out here. We just moved and I have noticed a difference in the water here, particularly with shampooing our hair. The water utility website says the water is "moderately soft."

Our hair feels heavy and even a bit coarse after shampooing, and then has a dull/greasy look when dry.

I imagine using less shampoo might be part of the solution. But what about different brands or products? Would rinsing with vinegar help?

Thanks in advance for any insight you can give me!!

[In The Great White North]

My Dad has soft water and it is very difficult to get all the shampoo or conditioner out of my hair (or soap off me). It feels slimy and I have to rub my skin to get rid of the soapy feeling. Hair is harder to rub. Some shampoo left in your hair would cause it to be heavy and dull. Less probably won't affect it, but make sure you rinse it all out.

I've never tried vinegar.

[Brenda in FL]

Bump - Anyone? Please . . . .

[Brenda in FL]

My Dad has soft water and it is very difficult to get all the shampoo or conditioner out of my hair (or soap off me). It feels slimy and I have to rub my skin to get rid of the soapy feeling. Hair is harder to rub. Some shampoo left in your hair would cause it to be heavy and dull. Less probably won't affect it, but make sure you rinse it all out.

I've never tried vinegar.

Thanks - thankfully its not as bad as that slimy feeling. At my in-laws old place they had a water softening system and I hated it - so slimy!!! Here - not so bad on the skin - but hair is a different story!

[percytruffle]

We have very soft well water. I'm not talking moderatly soft, but very soft, like no minerals in it at all! We use Clairol Herbal Essences Drama Clean shampoo. It washes out well. Then, we follow with a tiny amount of conditioner of choice. I use Garnier Fructis. Do not use a conditioning shampoo.

For bar soap I have found that Ivory soap rinses off well. Dove leaves a film.

[4kids4me]

...soft water makes it feel like the shampoo isn't coming out, but it actually gets the shampoo out BETTER than hard water.

You also need less shampoo.

Here's a little blurb from a website (http://www.chagrinvalleysoapandcraft.com/hardwater.htm):

You need water to shampoo your hair and hard water makes it harder to wash your hair. Each hair shaft is made up of little scales, like shingles on a roof. Hard water tends to make the scales stand up, which makes your hair feel rough and tangly. Since your hair is tangled and rough, it is more difficult to rinse out all of the soap. Soap is less effective in very hard water because its reacts with the excess minerals to form calcium or magnesium salts. These are not easily soluble in water and can result in soap film. Washing hair in soft water will have a different result because it leaves fewer insoluble deposits on the hair.

HTH!
:D

[Mom to Aly]

I used to visit my grandmother in Texas, and she had really soft water, which left me feeling the same--slimy! It is supposed to be that it leaves the "natural" minerals and oils on your skin and hair, which leaves you feeling... oily!

These are the things I found worked--even though I always had dry hair, I bought shampoo for oily hair, and using not as much, would still lather well, and scrub my scalp (where oil builds up--you want to get as much as you can out). I would rinse in cold water (completely cold--it leaves as little as possible in--warm water promotes the soap and lather). Once they came out with the daily, sports shampoos, I got those--they are for frequent use, and leave less on your hair. I even went on to the kids once eventually--they leave even less on you.

Good luck! Hey, it is supposed to be great for your clothes, though!