you are so right!!! And a night of wine can only be a good thing!

ya, I pull my hair back quite often, though I try to leave it down at least once every two days, sometimes doesnt work that way. I also think a plait might be less damaging, though that's just my own theory.

I had that Buffy exfo/moisturizing bar and it dissappeared SO fast, it was sad. I even tried to make sure no water hit it but the hot water on my body seemed to melt it just as fast. So I didn't get another one now I use an exfo lotion that works better so it's all good.

i want to know as well please - limp hair?!?

i am really impressed with all the hair knowledge...i never had lots to start with but last year on our annual pilgrimmage realised i had a problem when my old hairdresser touched my head in horror and asked me what the ç%&/ was going on...i still owe her an answer - never thought about the water, thought it was the products, growing old, hormonal - you name it...when i walk out of the bathroom in the mornings, it looks like i had my haircut in there...dark hair on white tiles - i want to run away!

so - i don't have much hair left, wash my short bob every day because otherwise i would look too bad to go to work...do you have any advice?

i don't have the guts to not wash my hair everyday - please suggest an alternative?

I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but I wonder how vinegar, which is an acid, can be good for your hair? And isn't the state of your hair more a result of your diet and lifestyle, for the lenghts of hair are pretty dead anyway, so I think you can only do something in advance, before it grows. Hair doesn't soak in any nutrition, everything you use just covers things up. Damage done is damage done. Which goes for your skin as well.

hey Serafina,
just wanted to let you know, I swung past lush today and they don't have that shampoo anymore, and won't be getting anymore, it is discontinued.

but I did get another one which looked interesting, the Godiva bar. Will give it a try on the weekend (worried about the cocoa butter which might make my hair greasy... not sure....)
she said that one is simliar to the Hard shampoo and it will help soften the hard water as well. She said all the lush shampoo bars will help with hard water.
this one doens't have SLS (but another more gentle sulfate which is a bonus).
anyhow, just wanted to let you know.

I still haven't tried the vinegar rinse in the shower, I always forget to make a batch until I am nearly done, so hopefully I'll get my act together here one day to give it a go.

ETA:

	Quote:	sandaleen
	i want to know as well please - limp hair?!?

you wouldn't use a lot of oil otherwise yes, you'll get more greasy hair. But your hair has to be super clean, no products coating the hair at all (like silicones for example), then the oil is able to soak in and help keep it moisturised. It is true that the hair is dead, but the texture and condition of it can indeed be helped. Just like when you have dry skin, if you apply a moisturiser, it will be moisturised and not patchy with dry bits.

sorry, that is a bit of a simplistic explanation, but there are some good google pages that explain more.

as for the hair loss, I dunno. I am dealing with some as well, but it is indeed hormonal for me . I have read that not properly cleaning the scalp (as opposed to just the hair) can lead to hair loss as the sebum (oil) can easily clog the follicle and the follicule can get suffocated and stop hair from growing. Maybe try gently, but thoroughly, massaging the scalp, preferably when you have some conditioner on as you might make more tangles and with only shampoo it might be harder to comb out, and lead to hair being pulled out, which I can only assume we want to avoid!!!

There are actually some oils which are said to help with hair loss (can’t remember at the moment) but these can be massaged into hair, left (over night, say) and washed off the next day.

	Quote:	MacGregor's Daughter
	I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but I wonder how vinegar, which is an acid, can be good for your hair? And isn't the state of your hair more a result of your diet and lifestyle, for the lengths of hair are pretty dead anyway, so I think you can only do something in advance, before it grows. Hair doesn't soak in any nutrition, everything you use just covers things up. Damage done is damage done. Which goes for your skin as well.

The reason vinegar works, as I understand it, is because shampoo is much too alkaline for hair, so adding something more acidic helps to equalize that (vinegar has a ph of between 2 and 3, while skin and hair have a ph of around 5/6, water is neutral [and too alkaline for skin and hair], at 7, and shampoos are more alkaline, so over 7). I think the whole point is to get some balance back. Vinegar is too acidic to use regularly, and it is normally recommended not to use it more than once or twice a month (though many people use it more frequently and are happy with that, so might depend on their hair, the water, etc).

One could use something less acidic than vinegar if that was available. Milk is less acidic, but I don’t know how that might work to be honest. I know some people like things like yogurt (also acidic) used in a hair mask, so I don’t see why milk couldn’t work as well. Might explain why goats milk is also popular as a skin care product.

Thanks so much for checking for me. I am (no so) patiently waiting for my LUSH order to arrive. Oddly, the 2nd order I made has arrived, but the first hasn't. Of course that's the one with the shampoo in it!

Their website says all the LUSH hard shampoos sold in CH have Natrium Lauryl Sulfat in them. This sounds lovely, but I think it's actually just the German for Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, SLS. I'd love to be wrong about this though.

d'oh - you're right!!!ah well, too good to be true right?
well, will give it a go anyway then. maybe the mix won't be sooo bad for my hair. though since I started washing it more often it is getting more oily! vicious cycle.

will try again to cut back on the shampooing, but doesn't seem likely.
The Godiva shampoo smells SO nice, can't wait to give it a go. And I tried out one of their perfumes (Freedom something or other) and it smells great! though I am always a sucker for sandlewood, jasmine, ylang ylang and neroli mixes, so I was sure I'd like it.

But you are in Geneva right? I think there is a Lush store there.

Here's a good webpage about why vinegar works. I'm still really happy with it for my hair. I shampoo every couple or few days (my hair is dry). I rinse the natural shampoo out with water and then after I turn the shower off I spray some diluted vinegar over my hair. I just squeeze it out of my hair without rinsing again. Vinegar helps dissolve the calcium in our hard water and helps smooth out my hair.

I have a plastic squeeze bottle of diluted vinegar (diluted with rosehip tea made from distilled water) with rosemary and lavender sprigs in it that I just leave in the shower. Easy Peasy.

I'm in canton Geneve, but not actually in Geneva. I almost never go there because the parking is so bad.

edit: I just looked on the website and saw that their Geneva shop is in the shopping center near my husband's office. I should just send him over with my LUSH shopping list! (yeah right lol)

I have to say that I am saving to get this water system which takes the kalk out of the water. I have seen it at my hairdressers and a friend owns one. She had problems with her hair and skin before and after getting the system she stopped having problems. I suggest you search the site and its highly recommended by my friend.

http://www.giewasser.ch/english/index.htm

familiahenttonen - did you end up purchasing the water system? If so, did it make a difference? Would love some feedback on options other than using vinegar.

Since this has been refloated and it's a constant worry of mine, has anyone found a water filter for their shower? I looked in a big Migros but couldn't find any... Not sure where else to look.

Nah, don't do anything and blend in with the population.

There is a tried and tested water conditioner which works magnetically,

There are certainly similar companies around,

http://www.maratec.biz/

They write you would also need a particle filter to stop the magnetic device filling up with "dirt"

Maybe ask your local Sanitär person?

www.directories.ch

I searched the yellow pages for sanitary facilities and result for canton Zurich is as follows,

http://yellow.local.ch/en/q/?what=Sa...id=directories

.

I hope this info is not too late. Pantene brand shampoos work well with hard water.

I've been wondering about this as well. I've always used L'Oreal Nutri Gloss conditioner when I was in the UK and since moving here found my hair in such an awful state. But I've recently switched to the Nutri Gloss Light conditioner and it seems to have returned my hair back to its original state.

No idea why it worked but I'm not gonna question it.