Do you live in a hard water area? I live in the south east of England and I’m surrounded by chalky soil: this definitely affects my local water supply. If I splash water on the counter tops I see a tell-tale white mark after it has dried. My kettle also gets covered in limescale and I have to use a water filter to stop a film forming on top of my tea.
Unfortunately, this hard water also affects my hair, making it dull and dehydrated. I originally grew up with the soft water of Scotland and my hair used to look so shiny and smooth without much effort on my part, however, after moving to England in my twenties, my hair became really rough in texture. I tried using different products and also rinsed with diluted cider vinegar as well as filtered water, but nothing really worked because the minerals had already built up on my hair.
strange discovery
A couple of years ago I developed a weird twitch in my eye which wouldn’t go away. It was so embarrassing as it would sometimes jump like crazy when I was talking to people and it made everything I looked at appear to jiggle up and down like a bad home video. It got me looking into the reasons for it and I found out that magnesium deficiency could cause this to happen. I went all out and made a magnesium spray, had Epsom salt baths, tried magnesium supplements and ate magnesium rich foods. It didn’t help the twitch, but it led me to discover a wonderful hard water hack for hair!
hard water hack for hair?
I knew that magnesium could prevent over-calcification in the muscles and I wondered if it also applied to calcium deposits on the hair shaft. I had already made a magnesium spray so just as an experiment, I spritzed it all over my hair, massaged it in and then washed and conditioned as usual. And eureka! I was shocked, my hair looked smooth, shiny and bouncy! It hadn’t looked like that for about 15 years. I thought it was perhaps a fluke: maybe it was just a good hair day, but each time I tried it, it worked! Now, I use this spray every week to maintain its condition.
How to make magnesium spray for hair
This spray is also known as ‘magnesium oil’. It isn’t technically an oil but it feels slightly greasy, hence the name. You may have read about magnesium oil being effective for treating muscle aches and pains as well as restless legs. I personally don’t like using it on my skin as it feels quite tingly and uncomfortable, but I will continue to make this spray for my hair. It’s so easy to make, you need:
- 100ml spray bottle
- 1/3 cup magnesium chloride flakes
- 1/3 cup cooled, boiled water
Method: Measure out the water into a jug and stir in the magnesium flakes until dissolved. Decant into the spray bottle.
To use: Spray the magnesium oil onto your hair and gently massage it in before washing and conditioning.
The measurements above will fill a 100ml spray bottle and you can scale up or down as necessary. Magnesium chloride flakes are fairly easy to find in health stores, pharmacies and even in Costco. Just be sure not to buy Epsom salts, which are magnesium sulphate. If you can only find it in fine granules, use half the amount (1/6 cup). Ultimately, the strength of the solution isn’t too important as it will be washed off, so don’t worry about measuring accurately.
So that’s it! Did this hard water hack for hair work for you? Let me know in the comments below!
