How Water & Its minerals can affect your Hair + the 1st Step To Perfect Hair Color
As a former professional athlete the Olympics are the most incredible
Television they could plant in front of me, I'm in heaven. What about Olympic hair that must go through so much...watching the swimmers & divers hit me, its time I give my southern California advice on water logged hair solutions. Spending time with the Malibu water polo team and helping their hair routine 8 years ago - gives me a bit of history with the subject. Water Polo is huge in all the local schools its such great exercise for kids. But the hair must be taken care of, healthy happy shiny hair is still a goal of most every kid once they hit about 13. This way the kids can still color their hair, I never think a sport should curtail your regular life and vice versa. Hair color is possible but the condition of the hair when you are in and out of chlorinated pools, diving - swimming - Jacuzzi's - water parks must be watched. Your hair takes a beating and in particular your hair color. My protocol works perfectly, if you follow it exactly. Sitting watching the Games I made a list of every water activity I could think of to see if this was warranted...
That's a lot of people doing a whole lot of water related activities all hell on hair, so here we go ... then we'll get back to "Highlights are History"- promise
Most of the people in the United States are using well water or hard water and that is only in your house, can you imagine what the water is like that is used in public places. It gives me the shivers.
All public water locations should have a water treatment service taking care of the water and running pH and other tests to keep the water at the right levels. I am told that blond hair should not even turn green if the levels are correct, if hair is turning green it means the levels of copper in the pool are too high. It may be that the water is too acidic (low pH) and that this is coming from the corroding fittings of the heater, so the solution is simple. Alternatively you may be over-using algaecide's that are copper-based, so never knowing this before, I've always reverted to Malibu 2000 and other tricks. Lets look at our water and what it can cause and create.
Over 85% of the population in the U.S., according to the Water Quality Association, are bathing with hard water. While hard water is fine for drinking, it can cause many problems for your hair, scalp and skin.
These problems include:
- Hair feels dry
- Hair is resistant to color
- Dandruff or eczema of the scalp
- Dry, flaky skin
- Thinning hair
- Colors fading too quickly
- Discoloration or darkening of hair
- Hair lacks body and shine
HOW YOUR WATER AFFECTS YOUR HAIR
The water you use to wash your hair, scalp, and skin comes from one of two sources:- Ground Water
- Surface Water
If your water comes from the ground, it is either from your own well or from the local treatment plant that derives the water from wells pumping water from the ground. The source of ground water is from rain passing through aquifers, which are layers of minerals. The acidity (pH below 7) of the rain increases the dissolving effect of minerals. These dissolved solids are found in the water when pumped above the ground and used to bathe.
Surface Water
If your water comes from the treatment plant which derives the water from a surface source, the water is coming from either a river or a lake. Surface water usually contains less minerals because the water has not filtered down through the mineral layers. However, increasing populations are polluting the water causing additional bacteria growth. As a result, the treatment plants must add more chlorine to kill bacteria and then add lime (a calcium compound) to help control the chlorine levels.
Water hardness is determined by the level of calcium that is in the water either found naturally from the ground or put into the water by the treatment plant.
While calcium is the element that determines hardness of water, there are many other elements in the water that effect the texture, volume, shine, control and health of hair.
What are the minerals that effect hair?
- Calcium
- Iron
- Copper
- Magnesium
- Silica
- Lead
- Chlorine -a harsh oxidizer added to the water to kill bacteria also adversely effects hair.
Our hair, scalp and skin have an electrical charge and that charge is negative. Minerals and oxidizers are charged positive. When a positively charged mineral comes in contact with our hair, scalp, or skin, it attaches on like a magnet.
How do hard water minerals and chlorine effect hair?
Calcium - If your source for water is a well, then more than likely you have calcium in your water. If your source for water is coming from a treatment plant, calcium may have been added to your water. Calcium is the mineral that determines hardness of water.
How calcium effects hair:
- Calcium leaves the hair feeling dry and weighted down. It can even cause a perm to appear relaxed.
- Calcium builds up on the scalp causing flaking of the scalp, giving the appearance of dandruff.
- Calcium can choke the hair at the mouth of the follicle causing the hair to break off, then coating the scalp, blocking further new hair growth.
Iron - Iron is found in ground water from domestic wells and wells used by treatment plants as the source for local water.
How iron effects hair:
- Iron leaves the hair feeling dry, brittle and weighted down.
- Iron can cause dark hair to tint darker and blonde hair to turn orange, sometimes I think this is many readers problem.
- Iron can color from properly processing.
- It comes from the ground and is pumped into the water from a well.
- Particles of copper can come from copper piping. The corrosion caused by hard water lifts the copper particles off the pipes and deposits them into the water.
- Copper sulfates are added to swimming pools to control the growth of algae. Copper is often added to lakes (that are a source of drinking water) in the summer to kill algae.
- Copper discolors hair causing blonde hair to turn green and dark hair to tint darker - the reason for that Green!
- Copper can weigh hair down and cause dryness.
- Copper can inhibit the proper processing of color and relaxers.
How magnesium effects hair:
- Magnesium causes hair to feel dry.
- Magnesium causes hair to appear weighted down.
- Magnesium can inhibit the proper processing of color and relaxers.
- Magnesium causes hair to lack shine.
How silica effects hair:
Silica causes many of the same effects on the hair as calcium.
- Silica causes hair to feel dry.
- Silica weighs hair down.
- Silica can cause dandruff-like symptoms of flaking.
- Build up of silica can choke the hair follicle causing hair to fall out.
How lead effects hair:
- Lead can cause the hair to feel dry.
- Lead can prevent the proper processing of perms, color, and relaxers.
How chlorine effects hair:
- Active chlorine in the hair can cause hair to feel gummy when wet and straw-like when dry.
- Chlorine can damage the cuticle and proteins of the hair.
- As an oxidizer, chlorine can cause the air and sun to oxidize hair and worsen the conditions listed above.
- Chlorine can cause hair to feel dry.
- Chlorine can cause hair to become brittle.
- Chlorine can cause hair to lack shine.
2008 OLYMPIAN Water Repair YO Hair Trick
What I had my water polo players do for Hair
<> works at the Gold Medal Level ! :
- while dry, wet hair with bottled water(or similar-not pool)
- apply a handful of hair conditioner, we used KeraCare's Humecto daily conditioner -- a 5 lb. tub is available and it works Xcellent- have the coach buy one for the team to use
- apply rubber swim cap - tuck in hair
- when finished, have large bottle of "SODA WATER" available(carbonated) pour & rinse thru hair - stops chlorine from doing any damage
- take Shower immediately, shampoo with Malibu 2000 Well Water or Swimmers Shampoo - Sulfate-free all of them
- Use THRIVEN 1-2 times per week
Water Polo Players are treacherous on their hair, they are in the pool all the time so its a great gage for anyone below their level of chlorinated water time.
Now this works for general hair protection in water sports.
++ TREATMENT FOR WATER ALTERED HAIR
If you feel the water in your home has built up on your hair, something we do before coloring Celeb's hair is apply different water treatment packs. Which I am happy to make available to you. The problem with having them done in a Salon for you and me? The cost and the time, it adds at least another hour to your time in the Salon and anywhere from $30 to $80.
Making these available to you at home, I will sell the individual treatments to you for $3.50 plus they can be put in a regular mailing envelope so the shipping can be $1.50 for 1 treatment. That is pretty incredible. I will list the various treatments and tell you they are super SIMPLE to apply... just time consuming - perfect for at home application. If you are applying your hair color ( which I hope ) apply the treatment the night before, then get up and color your hair > Perfect Plan! Wait till you see how much better your hair color comes out if you pre-treat your hair - its a treat and yes its worth the time and effort. Try it once, its a small investment.
COLOR PREPARE -1st STEP TO PERFECT HAIR COLOR
What It Is:
A patented, fresh-dried vitamin complex that dissolves into a gel in the palms of the hands forming a rich lathering treatment specifically formulated for hair prior to every color service in the salon, at home or when traveling to assure predictable and successful color results.
What It Does:
- Prepares hair for superior color
- Gently yet effectively removes minerals from hair that inhibit proper processing of color
- Extends life of vibrant color to prevent fading
- Helps prevent brassiness or discoloration
- Accelerates processing time of color
- Protects scalp from itching or burning caused by oxidizing chemicals
A patented, fresh-dried vitamin complex that dissolves into a gel in the palms of the hands forming a rich lathering treatment specifically formulated for blonde and highlighted hair to be used in the salon, at home or when traveling to brighten and increase shine/ vibrancy while helping to prevent damage from environmental elements in the air and water.
What It Does:
- Immediately brightens blonde and highlighted hair
- Removes & prevents hard water mineral build-up that can dull blonde & highlighted hair
- Immediately restores vibrant color and radiant shine
- Improves flow and movement of hair
- Prevents dry-feeling hair
A patented, fresh-dried vitamin complex that dissolves into a gel in the palms of the hand forming a rich lathering treatment specifically formulated for swimmers to be used in the salon, at home or at the pool after swimming to remove and prevent all the elements from pool, spa or ocean water that can otherwise damage and discolor hair.
What It Does:
- Immediately removes chlorine and mineral build-up from swimmers’ hair to help restore health and wellness to hair and scalp
- Removes chlorine and bromine that can otherwise oxidize and dry hair
- Helps prevent brittle, damaged hair
- Removes copper build-up to lift green discoloration
- Restores vibrancy to hair color
- Dramatically improves look and feel of hair
- Helps reduce itching and scalp irritation
What It Is:
A patented, fresh-dried vitamin complex that dissolves into a gel in the palms of the hands forming a rich lathering treatment specifically formulated for hair shampooed in hard water or exposed to water softeners that use salt and/or phosphates. May be used in the salon, at home or when traveling to lift surface minerals and oxidizers, remove discoloration, brighten and increase shine/vibrancy while helping to prevent damage from environmental elements in the air and water.
What It Does:
- Removes all hard water minerals that can discolor or damage hair
- Eliminates brassiness
- Normalizes hair texture
- Revitalizes shine and manageability
- Restores flow and movement of hair
- Prevents dry-feeling hair
- Safely restores natural color
- Makes hair feel lighter after removing hard water minerals
- Formulated with a patented, nature-identical Vitamin C Complex
- Food-grade, wellness ingredients
- Preservative-Free, Fragrance-Free, Sulfate-Free
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Sounds great! I have had trouble in the past with my blonde hair dyes looking brassy. Maybe this would handle it.
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