Hard Thai Water Makes Your Hair Dry And Brittle Like Straw And Falling Out

[miketu]

Hi all, are there any shampoos available in Thailand or other any other solutions to counter the destructive affects of Thai hard water making your hair dry and brittle and falling out??  Thailand at least in BKK and Cha Am has very hard water that has turned my hair in to dry, brittle, discolored straw on the top of my head.  I'm a guy and shouldn't be that concerned but the destructive affect of this water is ridiculous!   Any advice short of leaving the country would be appreciated.  I heard that using Thai bottled drinking or mineral water would help but it didn't.  Unfortunately Thailand has never heard of distilled water being available in grocery stores!  Thanks!

Edited January 5, 2018 by metisdead
ALL CAPS in title edited to normal font

[Forkinhades]

Do you not use conditioner?

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[miketu]

3 minutes ago, Forkinhades said:

Do you not use conditioner?

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Nope, thanks, a conditioner doesn't work.  I tried tons of them before and no help at all.  The water is so hard here that you can tell what guys dye their hair because the water turns their hair a nasty reddish brown.  

[lopburi3]

Bangkok has rain water from the rivers so is only moderately hard.  Cha AM could be a different story.  Most bottled normal priced water has been RO treated and will be soft.  Mineral water is intentenly hard.  If you are have issues using RO water suggest you seek professional advice as suspect it is not due to hardness.

[Sheryl]

Add some vinegar to the water you wash and rinse your hair with. If hardness is the problem this should solve it. But if the oroblem us presence of other chemicals it might not.

 

This isn't well water by any chance is it? As if so (private well not municipal supply) you should get it trusted for arsenic.

 

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[miketu]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

Add some vinegar to the water you wash and rinse your hair with. If hardness is the problem this should solve it. But if the oroblem us presence of other chemicals it might not.

 

This isn't well water by any chance is it? As if so (private well not municipal supply) you should get it trusted for arsenic.

 

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Thank you, I'll try that.  I saw where people use apple cider vinegar?   How much vinegar should I add to the tall 1500 ml water bottle?

[miketu]

2 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Bangkok has rain water from the rivers so is only moderately hard.  Cha AM could be a different story.  Most bottled normal priced water has been RO treated and will be soft.  Mineral water is intentenly hard.  If you are have issues using RO water suggest you seek professional advice as suspect it is not due to hardness.

Great, thanks for the good advice.

[Sheryl]

Thank you, I'll try that.  I saw where people use apple cider vinegar?   How much vinegar should I add to the tall 1500 ml water bottle?

Regular white vinegar around 20 baht a liter is fine.

As to how much it will depend on how alkaline the water is. There are 2 ways you can tell:

1. Get test strips (pool stores sell them) and test the pH, then experiment to find how much vinegar it takes to bring the pH to 7.0

2. Without test strips, experiment to find the amount of vinegar which results in being able to easily get a good soap lather (hard water doesn't easily produce suds).

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[miketu]

3 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Regular white vinegar around 20 baht a liter is fine.

As to how much it will depend on how alkaline the water is. There are 2 ways you can tell:

1. Get test strips (pool stores sell them) and test the pH, then experiment to find how much vinegar it takes to bring the pH to 7.0

2. Without test strips, experiment to find the amount of vinegar which results in being able to easily get a good soap lather (hard water doesn't easily produce suds).

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thanks, for hard water in the "average", how much would you estimate to put in 1500 ml of water?

[Sheryl]

maybe start with 1/2 - 1 cup and see how that goes.  If your problem is truly pH, you'll know when you have the water right - it will lather up easily and then rinse out well leaving the hair feeling clean.

 

BTW if you own your own house you might think of putting in a sediment filter plus resin exchange filter, with or without also a carbon filter -- that is what  I did.

[kickstart]

6 hours ago, miketu said:

Unfortunately Thailand has never heard of distilled water being available in grocery stores!  Thanks!

I buy distilled water from a hardware  shop at our local market ,or from my local motorbike shop ,it is out they just got to go and find it ,it is  Nam-Glang, in Thai  I pay 15 bart  for a 1 liter bottal .

Have seen it in Big  C ,but a long time ago .

[Speedo1968]

Where I live, outskirts of village near a small town south of Khon Kaen, water is from government.

Water quality depends on season of year, winter water is hard, most other seasons ok.   Chlorine levels are all over the place as can be the amount of sand particles.   Get nematodes in water at least once each year.

 

Some excellent advice from Sheryl, thanks for that.

 

Could I perhaps add that a "good", and I stress the word "good" coconut oil shampoo may help.  Even try making your own with a combination of vinegar and coconut.

Not sure how long you have lived in Thailand but, if your "diet" is new to you the excessive salt etc will certainly affect skin / hair condition as will AC cooled buildings.    

This time of year ( especially early / mid winter ), where I live the wind comes off the Chinese deserts, it is dry.

If you intend to try distilled water for your hair I would advise against using it as a replacement for normal drinking water.  Understandably the higher cost would not warrant its use.

[NancyL]

I've found the water in Bangkok to be "softer" than the water in our CM condo, but perhaps I'm just staying in Bangkok hotels that filter their water for their guests.  Sheryl's correct, the way to tell about the pH of water is how your shampoo suds in your hair.  New York City has some of the best water in the world.  I always had a "good hair day" when I did business there.

 

Here in CM, where our condo water is a little on the hard side, I use vinegar rinses and instead of a regular conditioner, I use one of those extra-rich "once a month" conditioners every time I shampoo -- but just a little so it doesn't make my hair too heavy.

[rak sa_ngop]

You say that conditioner does not work. Is that after you have shampoo-ed already?

 

I have not used shampoo in years because of its drying out effects. I just use conditioner by itself twice a day (Thai brand Lolane Natura) and this works for me.

[Beachcomber]

Baby Oil - Johnsons is the best.

 

After having washed the hair get a small amount of Baby Oil (about a teaspoon full) and rub it in the hair, then get under the shower again to wash it out. Don't use any soap or shampoo, just let the water wash away the surplus oil. 

Your hair will be all soft and shinny 

 

You can also use baby oil to keep care for your skin. A small amount rubbed into your face and over your shoulders, the shower water will let it rundown you body and you'll have a glowing healthy skin just like one of the Chippendales.