You moved to a new city, or your water supplier changed, and your curls no longer behave the way they did. The product list stayed the same. It is tempting to blame the city, but a city-wide number can only answer part of the question. The useful step is to find the right number, from the right source, for your address.
Find the source behind the city figure
The most useful city number comes from the utility or health authority that serves the water network, with a stated period and measurement. A regional map, geology report or nearby city cannot tell you what comes from your tap. Rizzado only publishes a city page when there is a primary public source to link.
Read the statistic as it is published. An average, a median and a range answer different questions. A range across treatment plants can mean that two addresses in the same city receive different water. In that case, the range is more honest than inventing a single city average.
Curious how a routine is built from numbers like these? See how Rizzado works, step by step.
See how Rizzado worksLook for timing before changing products
A change is easier to interpret when it has a timeline. Did it begin after moving, after a building treatment change, or after a different wash product entered the routine? Did the weather, colour treatment or wash frequency change at the same time? A city-level value cannot separate those variables for you.
Notice patterns over several wash days. A curl that feels different once after travel, heat or a new styler does not make the water the cause. Repeated observations give you a better question to test.
Try a small comparison
If you choose to try a product labelled for mineral deposits, keep the rest of the routine steady and compare the next two or three wash days. This is a practical experiment, not a medical test and not proof that a particular formula removes a useful amount of minerals.
If the number is unknown, leave it unknown. Do not substitute a nearby city or a hardness estimate from a filter seller. The right next step is to ask the utility which system serves your address or use its published report.
What to do with your city's number
Find the report from the utility that serves your address, not the city's general website. Note the statistic it publishes, whether that is an average, a median or a range, and the year it covers.
If the figure is a range, read it as a range. Two addresses in the same city can receive different water, and that is useful information. Then compare your wash days before and after the change, altering one variable at a time.
CITY DATA
Compare a published local source
These pages keep the utility or public authority source next to the figure. They are a starting point for a question, not proof of what is happening to your hair.
Browse every city with a primary source