Our client, Bridget, came to us a few months leading up to her wedding, looking to brighten her hair for her big day. Normally a bright blonde, Bridget’s tone had faded to an orange hue - an unfortunate effect of a wildly common issue: water build-up.
Luckily, one of our balayage specialists, Ashley Pineda, and one of our stylists, Hector Garcia, knew immediately what to do, and catered Bridget’s treatments and services to help offset the impact of the water build-up, get her hair health back on track, and restore amazing vibrancy to her hair for her big day.
Overall, build-up from water can lead to hair damage, causing issues with dryness and breakage, which impacts your hair color over time.
On the simplest level, tap water picks up excess minerals on its route to our homes. It’s this excess mineral content that latches on to the cuticle and scalp, and forms a “hard,” calcified layer. Over time, this build-up, combined with excess chemicals and heavy metals in our water, diminishes hair health.
The result? Hair that feels brittle, appears dull, and is prone to split ends.
When it comes to chemically treated hair color, water build-up causes the color to oxidize and face more rapidly. Below are Ashley and Hector's 5 Simple Steps to help prevent and treat mineral-build up in the hair.
1. KNOW YOUR WATER
The EWG is a great resource for this. Their tap water database allows you to easily find out more in-depth details about the water in your area.
EWG TAP WATER RESOURCE
2. INSTALL A SHOWER FILTER
Make sure that it filters for heavy metals, as not all of them do. One of our favorites is the Jolie Filter.
3. USE COLOR-SAFE SHAMPOOS + CONDITIONERS
Color-safe shampoos and conditioners help protect and maintain the vibrancy of your hair color, even when exposed to water build-up. The lines we carry at the Atelier are all color-safe. You can shop the full collection here: Atelier Color-Safe Shampoos + Conditioners.
4. USE DEEPLY CLEANSING TREATMENTS
Scalp Detox: The Christophe Robin Purifying Cleansing Scrub is one of our favorite products for scalp detox at the Atelier. It cleanses and rebalances the scalp and is safe enough to use on sensitive scalps. Trying incorporating this into your routine every two weeks.
Clarifying Shampoo: Incorporate a clarifying shampoo once a month. These contain surfactants, which help to deeply clean the scalp and hair. Be careful not to overdo it, as you can end up drying the hair out if you use it too often. The Virtue Clarifying Shampoo is out favorite (plus, it's color-safe).
5. MOISTURIZE + REHYDRATE THE HAIR
Incorporating leave-in treatments can be enormously helpful in restoring the hair cuticle. They will help fortify your hair over time and protect against the impacts of hard water.
Innersense Sweet Spirit Leave-In Conditioner: Apply to clean, wet hair on the ends.
Virtue Healing Oil: Can be added to the ends of hair, either wet or dry, to seal the cuticle and fortify the hair.
Virtue Restorative Treatment Mask: Use every 2 weeks. After shampooing, squeeze as much water as you can. Apply the mask, comb through ends, leave it on for as long as you can (overnight is great).
