Raleigh water, color longevity, and a small list of fixes.

Raleigh’s municipal water is slightly alkaline, soft by national standards, and chloramine-treated for most of the year. None of that is exotic. Most cities have water that does something to hair. The reason it is worth writing about is that almost every colorist on this guide confirmed seeing the same patterns: blondes pulling brassy in late winter, brunettes going flat, glosses fading faster than the formulation would suggest. Once you know what you are looking at, the fixes are small.

What is actually in the water

The City of Raleigh publishes monthly water quality data. The current measured hardness is about 25 milligrams per liter as calcium carbonate, which is roughly 1.47 grains per gallon. USGS classifies anything below 60 mg/L as soft. pH runs around 8.42, slightly above neutral. The watershed sits in the Neuse River basin and the treated water is disinfected with chloramine year-round, except for a switch to chlorine that usually runs from the last week of February through the first week of April. That switch is the part most colorists notice first.

What soft, alkaline, chloramine-treated water does to color

Three things, in order of how often they cause trouble:

• Chloramine and chlorine oxidize color pigment. Both disinfectants lift the cuticle slightly with every wash and fade deposited color over time. The seasonal chlorine window in late winter is more aggressive than the year-round chloramine baseline, which is why many clients notice their color reading off in March.
• Alkaline rinse water keeps the cuticle open longer. Water above neutral pH does not seal the cuticle the way slightly acidic water does. Color and tone wash out faster from hair that finishes its rinse alkaline.
• Soft water carries less of the protective mineral coating that lightly buffers color in some other regions. Raleigh hair is less prone to mineral buildup than it would be in a harder-water city, but the trade-off is faster overall fade.

Four things that help

• A shower filter rated for chlorine and chloramine. The single biggest-leverage change. Cartridge filters made for chloramine cost less than one root touch-up and last two to three months. Standard “chlorine-only” filters do not address chloramine effectively. Most of the salons on this guide recommend the same two brands. Ask in the chair.
• A clarifying shampoo monthly during the chlorine window. Late February through early April. Not weekly the rest of the year, that strips color. Once a month during the disinfectant switch is the protective dose.
• Cool water on the rinse. Cooler rinse water helps the cuticle reseal at a lower pH and holds color noticeably longer.
• Less heat at the styling stage. Flat irons at 410°F do more cuticle damage than a year of disinfectant exposure. Drop to 360°F and most fine to medium hair will hold a style equally well.

What does not help

Purple shampoo three times a week. Most of the brassiness people see in March is chlorine oxidation, not pigment loss. Toning shampoos do not fix that and can over-cool the result. Save the purple shampoo for the targeted week before a gloss appointment and skip it the rest of the time.

Water softeners marketed for hair color also do not help much on Raleigh water. The water is already soft. The relevant intervention is filtration at the showerhead, not softening the supply.