Shower Up With New Strands of Hair : Step 4 of 10,000 HEADS

Water
& the Shower Filter
...its affect on your hair

Step 4 Shower Water Filter

Water is extremely important within the 10,000 HEADS System; it is the subject of 2 steps because of the time it spends ‘on’ and ‘in’ your body and scalp. The water used on your hair when you shampoo and rinse is extremely important and alters both the length of your hair color and the overall condition and health of your hair. Any process or product that results in damage to the hair strand and hair follicle needs to be analyzed and re-evaluatede as we continue our quest for Killer Strands.

This step is also made on the assumption that your tap water is as pathetic as it is in this area, if you have wonderful water–count your blessings, and you may also skip this step. For the remainder of you, it is the chlorine, most likely that you taste, chlorine is used to disinfect water, but at certain levels is not safe for drinking, showering or bathing. That water is as bad for your hair strands as it is for your taste buds.

The chlorine that is in today’s water is at dangerous levels within the bathroom, when you take a hot shower the chlorine vaporizes in the air, combines with other organic compounds in the air and forms chloroform gas, which is a strong irritant to the lungs and causes fatigue. Besides the lungs the chlorine wrecks havoc on the hair and it appears as dried out, frazzled and depleted, it is one of the worst types of damage and very difficult to recover from. Young water polo players and swimmers come through the clinic, and with the chlorine levels in competitive swimming pools super high, the damage in these 16, 17, 18 year olds hair comes very close to some of the worst we’ve seen, it is almost the same as oxidation from peroxide burning where you will also see a lot of breakage and splitting. (If you have someone experiencing this problem please email the clinic killerstrands@gmail.com for the proper treatment suggestion, we have this solved with a fairly easy protocol).

To solve this problem of lousy water there are 3 levels of solutions, which depend on the amount of money you can spend and the type of living arrangement you have.

MALIBU 2000 WELL WATER SHAMPOO: Cheapest, easiest and works for traveling…a good clarifying shampoo. Now this can be tricky and the only brand that I have ever found (the Head Colorist at Vidal Sassoon turned me on to) is MALIBU2000. They have a number of different shampoos and protein packs, the one you want is the shampoo that says “WELL WATER ACTION shampoo” Sulfate-free. They have done the impossible, created a gentle for your color/ hair follicle shampoo that cleanses the chlorine and other grime out of the water so it is not sitting on the hair, day in and day out. This works when you cannot afford the shower filter, but our number 1 choice for this step is the:

SHOWER WATER FILTER: There are dozens of them out there, and everyone claims to be better than the next. The plan is to get a list of “KILLER – Shower Filters”, to help distinguish the good from the bad. The Aquasana brand seems to be the one many of you end up with, I would say you are safe with that one. Use www.AllergyBuyersClub.com for a nice selection and good service. Keep track of when you bought the filter and buy enough filters for the year (great gift idea for someone to get you). You save $$ if you buy filters when you purchase the shower head, but it is imperative to change the filter when recommended or it becomes useless. Another advantage to the filter: helps with the pH balance of your hair; imperative for soft, shiny hair.

WHOLE-HOUSE SYSTEMS: There are even more companies that do this than the other 2 combined. The issue regarding the chlorine in the water and the chloroform bomb the hot water creates has become well known, as it is dangerous for asthmatics and bothersome to those with lung problems, so the water industry has grown a lot in the last 10 years to help take care of the demand. Call 4 or 5 water treatment companies in your area, with Kenmore(Sears) being one of them, get estimates and tell them you are looking for water that will be as nice as Reverse Osmosis treated water and your concerns with your hair. Pick one and let us know how they do so we can start up a list of, “KILLER – water treatment companies”.

Using either of the last 2 methods will do wonders for your skin and the shower stall as well. Having that change in the water will give you softer, smoother skin and will keep your shower stall much cleaner so the purchase actually solves 3 problems, not bad for a single purchase.

Summer Hair Care Trik by Malibu-Goo-Roo & Hair Colorist

Coming from a stylist planted and raised in Malibu, I would have to say “summer” is my season, like it or not.

Every year when Spring hit us and my clients started jetting away to every hotspot on the planet I had "Tropical Hair Care" cards printed up (so I had less to fix when they returned). Not that I minded fixing their hair, I just truly was and am a stylist that cares about the condition of hair, all hair. With the history of Vidal Sassoon as my home and heart there really isn’t any other way I would or should’ve ended up, they stress condition-condition-condition there and not till I was fully wrapped up in Salon work did I realize how that would pan out.

For most Stylists I notice they pay it no mind, I mean if a client doesn’t care why should they . . . That’s not how I work or think. . . I am forever teaching and instructing on how to take the absolute best care of your hair, I guess it will never go away. Which again is OK, the people that listen get the benefits…and with the new YAHOO ANSWERS “hair” category I get all the teaching & preaching I need to fill my cup. Remember my silly goal of wanting to fix all the "bad hair" on the planet...

Dakota’s "Tropical" Hair Care Card...said the following:

• Chlorine from swimming pools or salt water from the ocean can destroy and damage both hair and hair color.


• Carry with you or be sure to purchase on landing a 6-12 or 24 pack of “soda” water that can be purchased in any city of any country I have ever had anyone go to.


• Purchase as much as you guess you will be in the water. If you are going for a 3 day weekend to Cabo, purchase 2 -3 bottles per day you are there.


• Each time you exit the pool or ocean after cooling off or swimming if there is no clean water shower handy, pour a bottle of the soda water on the hair. The carbonation stops all action of the chlorine, chemicals and salt from doing any damage to the hair and as soon as is practical without disrupting the day, get yourself to a shower and shampoo with Malibu 2000, either UN DO GOO, WELL WATER or SWIMMERS shampoo that you brought with.


• The last important thing I think should be done ? ...the vacation should NOT be altered or ruined because of “hair”. That’s silly and ridiculous, especially because most people I know are so focused on career that if they ever do take the time to get away, for Jiminy Christmas - E N J O Y IT Bozo!.... the last thing you should do . . . is worry about hair. You know I can fix anything.

Part of healthy hair, is plenty of rest relaxation and having fun in life. So this is a method I have tested and determined works efficiently without disrupting the trip…. The one headache: stopping at a store on arrival which most of us do anyway.

I had people do this for years with pretty good success and still remember the one week a Law student from Pepperdine went to Puerto Vallarta… this was a girl who had very long - very blond hair, & was going a full week . I was sure she would have some light lime green in the hair, her hair was just so very light blond and she was young and partied a lot. To my surprise, she was completely green-less, I was dumbfounded, and still remember thinking wow she must have stayed out of the pool.
Only to find out she had gone in 3 times every day as well as at least once a day in the ocean, " I followed your soda water routine - when we landed I bought a case and just made sure every single time I went in the water I had some bottles with me," she said!
There was the lesson of my life! There was the proof I needed to know how really truly well my plan worked, if she was 100% completely green-free as well as the condition of her hair was truly remarkable, it was like she had never left. To this day I am thrilled this was such a great answer, mainly because I came up with it before I ever began my chemistry training !

Hip Hop Hooray, remember this trick this summer as you cruise to the beach with nothing but a surfboard and towel on your back . . . . . . .

its such a simple trick to the destructive and damaging forces of chlorine, Sun, salt water and UVA & UVB rays on the gentle hair strands.