Shampoo bars and water hardness

I had a really astonishing experience today that I really want to share. I've always suspected that my water was moderately hard, and many shampoo bar users note that water hardness does affect the efficacy of shampoo bar use, though they have been working pretty okay for me. So anyway. I was washing my hair today, and after rinsing off the shampoo, I used the lemon juice rinse on it, but as I began to rinse the juice rinse out of my hair, I felt a lock of hair that was still a little oily so I stopped rinsing. The lock of hair was still coated in the lemon juice rinse when I ran my shampoo bar down the length of the lock, and IT GLIDED. Following this, it lathered amazingly quickly. I was seriously astounded but then I realised that lemon juice contains both citric and ascorbic acid (though probably in teeny amounts) that maybe "converted" my hard water into soft water. I never thought water hardness would make such a big difference but it did! I've got an order of citric acid and ascorbic acid on its way to me from Lotion Crafter, and hopefully it'll help turn my water "soft" and make my shampoo bar experience even better! I'll post any updates here, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

Shampoo bars: the beginning

I decided, a couple of months ago, that  I was going to grow my hair long, and slowly phase out my use of SLS shampoos.

The routine I had adopted as I was trying to use up all the SLS shampoos in my bathroom was, to be honest, really good for my hair. I washed my hair every other day with a scalp treatment shampoo and conditioned with a deep conditioning hair mask, and I would oil my hair every alternate night (the day before I washed my hair) with organic virgin coconut oil, and organic extra virgin olive oil. My hair looked gorgeous and I received quite a few compliments. But... I wasn't satisfied because I knew how much chemicals were in the products I was using.

I stumbled upon shampoo bars completely by accident. I shop on Etsy a lot, and was looking at a vanilla sandalwood soap bar that I really wanted to buy. The seller had a promotion going on, so I purchased two soap bars and two shampoo bars. I did all my research before I started using them though; what to expect, etc. I know I have to find out, through trial and error, what is a good routine for me because everyone's hair responds differently to shampoo bars, and it depends on the shampoo bar itself, hair type, water hardness, etc. Here is a log of my first few experiences with shampoo bars:

1st wash: Honey ale and egg shampoo bar
I didn't oil my hair before I washed my hair because I wanted to see the effects of the shampoo bar on its own. My hair came out a lot drier than I expected it to, maybe because I was a little over zealous in my washing; shampoo bars are supposed to be more gentle on your hair and they aren't supposed to strip your hair of its natural oils. The texture of my hair was squeaky clean as well, and I do not mean that in a pleasant way. My hair dried to the texture of straw, with a slightly unpleasant waxy feeling. I lightly oiled it with some jojoba oil, which helped.

2nd wash: Honey ale and egg shampoo bar, rice vinegar rinse (1 tablespoon vinegar : 2 cups water)
I oiled my hair before this wash with extra virgin olive oil. Big mistake. It took a long time to get the oil out, and once again I washed my hair till it was squeaky clean. I didn't want to purchase apple cider vinegar because I don't want it to change my hair colour, so I used what was on hand in my kitchen: rice vinegar. People say that after the rinse the vinegar smell will fade away. I didn't wash the rinse out of my hair to see what would happen. When my hair dried, it was dry like straw, yet oily at the same time. The vinegar smell did not go away, and the waxiness remained, too. I lightly oiled it with jojoba oil, but this time the jojoba didn't help.

I also found out that the water hardness in my area ranges from soft to moderately hard, which may be the problem.

3rd wash: Lemon rosemary shampoo bar, lemon juice rinse (1 tablespoon juice : 2 cups water)
I didn't oil my hair before this wash. My hair was oily though, from the olive oil and rice vinegar residue. Not a pretty sight. My hair responded a little better to the lemon rosemary bar. It didn't strip my hair of its natural oils as badly as the ale and egg bar did. As for the rinse, I swished my hair around in it for a bit before I poured it over my hair. Washed it out maybe five to ten minutes after. My hair has dried, and this is the best it has been since I started using shampoo bars. It is somewhat soft, though nowhere near the wonderful softness I got while using SLS shampoos and conditioners. It isn't as dry as the two previous times, and the waxiness is minimal. The ends are looking rather ragged; I'm hoping that an oiling with jojoba oil will make it look and feel a little better.

I also went on a little spending binge earlier this evening; bought a few Chagrin Valley shampoo bars, and citric acid and ascorbic acid, which I am going to use get rid of any hard water problems; I have a strong suspicion the water in my area is moderately hard, which is interfering with my new routine.

Update: 24/03/11
The lemon rosemary bar (lather twice) and lemon juice rinse are working relatively well, but I realise my hair gets oily after 1.5 days. Other reviews of this particular bar say that it isn't very good for oily hair, and I have to concur. Sigh. Maybe I'll try the honey ale and egg bar again today with the lemon juice rinse, and see what happens. I can't wait for my CV shipment to arrive...