The Better Blog

Hard water may look like regular water, yet it impacts your hair and scalp differently from soft water. It’s not considered dangerous to your health, yet it can cause problems for your scalp and hair. 

After many showers or baths, hard water minerals in your hard water form a film on your hair, preventing moisture from entering. It can also cause scalp buildup and create challenges for your follicles, leading to dullness, dryness and if left unchecked, hair loss. 

Have you ever wondered why even when you use the same products, in the same exact way, you get different results when you’re traveling or away from home? 

The water quality at your hotel or relative’s house probably isn’t the first thought that comes to mind. However, just as the condition of your hair can easily vary depending on the climate or season, your hair and the products you use will also react differently when you wash it in hard water vs. soft water.

Does your hair feel dull, brittle or frizzy no matter what you seem to do? Do you feel like you have to cleanse your hair multiple times and apply copious amounts of shampoo to see any sort of suds? When you step out of the shower, does your scalp feel dry to the point of itching? 

If any of this sounds familiar, you might be dealing with hard water. The “hardness” or “softness” of water is determined based on the concentration of minerals it contains, namely calcium and magnesium. But that’s not all. Did you know the pH of your water is important to the health of your hair as well? 

Keep reading to learn about all the sneaky little qualities present in your water, what they do to your hair, and what exactly you can do about them.

Poor diets or lack of sun can leave us with wispy hair, dry skin and brittle nails. Thankfully, vitamins and minerals are available in pills and delicious gummies to fortify our diets. Supplements formulated to target our hair, skin and nails are especially beneficial for those of us experiencing the effects of aging and menopause.

Because everyone’s underlying physiology is different, and our hair, skin and nails regenerate at varying rates, the timetable for results will differ for everyone. That said, it may take a year or more to see hair growth results; however, improved moisture, thickness and elasticity will typically happen faster.

Summer’s here, and after more than a year spent indoors, it’s time to get out and enjoy the warm weather. But even with your excitement for the new season, you might be wondering how you can protect your delicate, thinning hair from summer’s environmental aggressors.

Thankfully, we’ve got you (and your hair) covered. From tips to keep you looking your best without adding stress to your tresses to easy remedies you can do at home to ensure your thinning hair thrives, we’re here to help you survive summer and make sure it’s a worry-free one, well, at least where your thinning hair’s concerned.

As the location where your skin and hair unite, your scalp is unique. Many women overlook this part of their bodies, but regular exfoliation is mandatory to achieve healthy, lustrous hair.

Shampooing cleans your scalp to a point; however, a more intensive detox done regularly will help you fortify your hair follicles and bolster your scalp's health by eliminating:

• Excess oils
• Product buildup
• Dead skin cells
• Dirt and debris

How often you use a scalp cleanser will depend on several factors (i.e., hair type and condition), but you should generally do it every seven to 10 shampoos. 

Did you know it’s actually normal to lose between 50 and 100 strands of hair a day? This is also why you’ll notice greater amounts of hair loss if you don’t comb or brush your hair daily, or  when taking your hair out of a protected style. You’ll also notice more hair in the drain if you don’t wash your hair daily. With approximately 100,000 hairs on your head at any given time, normal shedding is hardly noticeable.

So what does it mean when the hair loss is noticeable?

Before you jump to the conclusion that your hair is beginning to thin, stop and consider the other factors that might be at play—because your hair loss could actually be due to breakage.