If your hair is clean but looks dull and feels rough, and the shower leaves white marks on the screen at home, the cause is very likely the water. Here we explain what hard water does to hair and how to remove limescale.
Short answer: Hard water contains a lot of calcium and magnesium. Those minerals cling to your hair with every wash: they make it rough, take away its shine and make shampoo lather less. A purifying shampoo once or twice a week removes them; an everyday shampoo is not usually enough.
In short
- Hard water leaves limescale (calcium and magnesium) on the hair fibre.
- Signs: dull, rough hair, less lather when you wash, and hair colour that fades sooner.
- It comes off with a purifying shampoo twice a week, not by washing more often with your usual shampoo.
How to tell if your water is hard
- The shower screen, the tap and the kettle build up white marks.
- Soap and shampoo do not lather much.
- Your hair feels rough when you rinse, even if you use conditioner.
In Spain the water is hard across much of the Mediterranean coast, the Balearic Islands and the centre of the peninsula. Your local water company publishes the hardness level.
What limescale does to hair
The minerals settle on the fibre and add to silicone, hairspray or dry shampoo residue. The result is hair that feels heavy, shines less and tangles more. On colour-treated hair, the colour looks dull sooner than it should.
How to remove it
- Use a purifying shampoo twice a week, in two rounds: the first lifts, the second cleans.
- Leave the second round on for a minute before rinsing.
- Finish with conditioner from mid-lengths to ends.
If you want to understand this type of shampoo better, see the guide what a detox shampoo does.
Which Nitiel product fits
RESET WASH is Nitiel’s purifying shampoo: it removes tap-water minerals, silicone, dry shampoo and hairspray with a gentle base, with no SLS or SLES. It is suitable for colour-treated hair, vegan and ECOCERT COSMOS Natural certified.
Sources and references
- Hardness of Water. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Defines water hardness as the amount of dissolved calcium and magnesium and explains why soap lathers less.
- Hair Cosmetics: An Overview. M. F. R. Gavazzoni Dias, International Journal of Trichology (2015). Scientific review of surfactants, silicones, conditioners and protein hydrolysates in hair care.
Frequently asked questions
Does a shower filter solve hard water?
A filter can reduce chlorine and some of the minerals, but it does not fully soften the water. It helps, and even so it is worth keeping the purifying shampoo once a week.
Does vinegar remove limescale from hair?
Diluted vinegar is acidic and helps dissolve some of the limescale, but it is easy to overdo it and dry hair out. A purifying shampoo formulated for the job is more consistent and easier to use.