Source
r/curlyhair•
prettyevil

Soft Water is Ruining my Hair

I have been doing curly girl for about a year. No poo, only using the recommended Tresseme conditioner. My hair was doing great. A few months ago we moved. The water is very soft. Initially, my curls softened into bigger barrels and my hair just felt overall softer so while I lost some volume I was okay with it.

But now I have severe dandruff (and skin problems all over) and nothing I'm doing seems to help. I tried SheaMoisture African Black Soap dandruff control shampoo and Loreal Everfresh antidandruff shampoo (recommended in the guide) but no difference. Tried using a vinegar soak and rinse to no avail and tea tree oil soak and rinse. I tried Head and Shoulders shampoo which helped reduce the flakes but also turned my hair into a frizzy haystack (and 'helped' is not worth frizzy haystack hair with less but still present dandruff).

I do not use any products besides the conditioners (and the shampoos listed above recently). I wash my hair every other day usually, but sometimes once a day due to working out. (The amount of washing is non-negotiable; I know it's supposedly better to do less, but my routine doesn't allow it.) Plop for about 5 minutes then let it air dry.

Please help. I've reached the point of crying over how bad my scalp and skin have been since moving here.

Posted Feb 4, 2020, 8:06 AM UTC

15
Dupexi•

Are you sure it's too soft, not too hard? I'd see about testing it for contaminants. Hard water is the one that usually has the drying effect - hair feels like straw. Basically, there's too many minerals in hard water, while soft water is usually about as de-mineralized as you can get. Not to say you can't have too much of a good thing, it's possible your hair is sensitive. If you test your water and it's super soft, (and assuming you have access to your water supply), see if you have a water-softener installed. If you do, consider removing it. If it's hard water, see about installing a filter.

2
prettyevilOP•

I have done a test strip (the pool type). Our old water registered as 'hard' and the new water registers as 'very soft'. You can also just feel it since the water is very slippery to the touch.

It's a rental so we have no access to anything water supply related. The property manager is also fairly non-responsive unless told someone might die due to a problem so I can ask if there is a softner and if something can be done about it, but it would take so long I definitely need to find something else in the meantime.

1
Kat_n_that•

You can get attachments for your shower head that filters the water, you'd have to check with your landlord about installing it but I think it's pretty easy

1
blckrainbow•

Get the neutrogena t/gel or t/sal medicated shampoo to help with dandruff - it got rid of mine after 3 washes so I swear by that stuff. Get your scalp back to healthy first and then worry about the curls. Maybe a water filter would help, but also I'm not sure if it's only good in case of hard water.

1
MacksAnEgg•

Hey! I have crazy soft water too! I have shoulder length 2C/3A curls with very very low porosity. The biggest difference is with soft water is it harder to rinse out your shampoo. Massage your scalp very very well to try and get this all out. What I have to do is shampoo my hair with my normal shampoo, do an acv rinse over my whole head and scalp, massage that in, let it sit while I do everything else, then condition like normal-making sure to avoid my scalp. I do notice that with my soft water I have to use more gel than I would otherwise to get the curls to really stay. About the skin problems I notice I have to use soap like normal, then use a moisturizing body wash after to get my skin to be happy with me. I also lotion after I get out and I do NOT wash my face in the shower.

1