Water is the most abundant substance in the human body. Just about all of us learned that way back in school didn’t we?

Then it was ‘drink ‘x’ amount of water ‘x’ times a day to stay healthy and hydrated. These facts were drilled into us as far as how water affects our bodies but what about our hair?

Things I wish someone had told me when I was starting my hair care journey…

Internally, water is a very good natural moisturizer for your hair…that being said, it does make a difference on whether the water is hard or soft. Not only does softer water work on the outside of the hair shaft keeping it from becoming dry, brittle, clean and helping it to resist dullness, it also works on the inside providing moisture and keeping the individual strands hydrated and easier to manage.

Water helps feed the cells of our body in general and our scalp specifically. The scalp contains a multitude of cells which nourish the strands through their hair bulbs (the tiny clear bubble on the tip of each shed hair strand). Any and all nutrients our hair needs comes from a healthy, well nourished scalp. Without water, our scalp would dry up and our hair would eventually become dry and break off.

You should always drink plenty of water for overall health if nothing else. If you are concerned about your hair’s health, it is nothing short of a requirement especially if you are adding vitamins (for your hair’s health and growth) to your daily routine. Drinking eight full ounces of water will take those little pills, capsules or powders right where they need to be to start on their hair-helping way.

Also, I’ve found that it is a good idea to drink a more tepid temperature of water when taking vitamins instead of very cold water. The vitamins will start to dissolve faster...the quicker they dissolve, the sooner they’ll start to work.

When it comes to washing the hair, I’ve heard some people say they like to use water alone instead of shampoo, I suppose this is okay if your hair strands are coated in nothing but sebum (your scalp’s natural oil).

This is a personal choice I’m sure, but whether you choose to clean your hair using that method of your favorite shampoo, make sure you don’t have the water set too hot. Water too hot can damage the hair cuticle and without a cooler rinse, it’ll leave the cuticle open and prone to more damage from manipulation and the elements. Plus, really hot water can burn the scalp...damaged scalp means non-growing/unhealthy hair.

Though there are times when you have to use hotter water like when you are rinsing hair relaxer or curly perm cream from your hair. The water MUST be hot to COMPLETELY remove the cream or else the residue may wind up damaging your hair or scalp. This kind of damage can sometimes be irreversible.

So you see, water is good for you overall and in my opinion, when it comes to nourishing and hydrating the hair and scalp, you just can’t have enough and water just can’t do enough.

Happy drinking.