Hair Myth or No?

[Cheekychica]

Hi everyone,

I've always wondered about the "right" temperature to wash your hair with. I'd heard that cold water is better because it locks the moisture in but it's hard for me to do that because I love my hot showers. I'm not sure if this is true information or not so I wanted to pose the question. It also got me thinking that maybe other people have questions about things that they'd heard or maybe accepted as true when perhaps it's not true at all.

So what do you ladies think? Does it matter what temperature the water is when you're washing and DCing? I've always wanted to know!


Feel feel to pose your questions here. No question is too silly!

 

[lovenharmony]

Well, they say it's best to condition the hair in cool water since it helps to smooth and close the cuticles. As for washing, I've always used warm to hot water. Heat helps to swell the hair and open the cuticles up! That's why most of the good deep conditioners out there suggest using heat or steam - it aids in allowing the product to be absorbed better because the heat opens up the hair cuticle. Afterwards you rinse your hair in cool water to seal in the moisture. HTH

 

[Miss AJ]

I've heard of doing the final rinse with cool/cold to seal in the moisture but I can't recall any hair care tips I've ever read saying to wash the hair in cold water. I can't even wash my hands in cold water cuz the soap won't suds up and I wouldn't understand anyone who washed their hair in scalding hot water so common sense tells me warm water is the way to go.

 

[Cheekychica]

Thanks, it's looking like wash in warm water and rinse the conditioner out in cool water to seal the moisture. I'm going to have to suck it up! I wonder if rinsing my conditioner out in warm/hot water was negating any of the beneficial effects...

 

[Neith]

Also, if you're looking to actually get your hair and scalp clean, warm water is best. I don't suppose that shampoos would be as effective in cold water.

I use warm water while washing and lukewarm to rinse conditioner out.

I've tried final rinses with cold water - didn't see any difference.



What makes me a little confused is that putting water on hair - no matter what temperature - opens up the cuticles some.

Does cold water just open the cuticles up less than warm water? Even with cold water, your cuticles would be slightly raised...

 

[Miss AJ]

I've been rinsiing in the sink with warm water first to get all the conditioner out and then I do the cold water rinse and my curls do look and feel better ever since I've added this method to my regi. Right after a steam treatment I looooove the cold water but my teeth still chatter each time I dump a cup of water on my head lol.

 

[Cheekychica]

Does cold water just open the cuticles up less than warm water? Even with cold water, your cuticles would be slightly raised...

I'd like to know too.

 

[Miss AJ]

^^I'm browsing the Googles and so far all I'm seeing is that the only false thing about rinsing with cold water is that it will make your hair shiny. Napps don't shine anyway so I can't say if that's true or not.


ETA: Ok, I found the answer. All temps of water open the cuticle, but cold water won't open them up as much as warmer temps.