SCRANTON — If you have noticed that your hair feels and looks different when you are on campus, Scranton's water may be to blame.

The Scranton area has a water hardness of 259 mg/L, or very hard water, according to Aquatell, an online water treatment retailer and manufacturer.

Water hardness can negatively affect your hair texture, making your hair feel dryer and more brittle. The minerals can also affect the longevity of any color services done to your hair and the ability to lighten your hair.

Water hardness refers to the amount of mineral in water, specifically calcium and magnesium. According to the United States Geological Survey, water hardness is calculated by how many milligrams of minerals are in a liter of water.

Hard water can have a negative impact on your hair and skin. Alexis Rink, a hairstylist at Lavish Salon, says she sees the effects of Scranton’s hard water on her blonde clients the most.

“Your hair cuticle is going to be flared open a little bit because that’s just naturally what happens when you lighten the hair. So that means it’s much more susceptible to being able to get minerals and hard water into it,” said Rink.

According to Summit Salon Academy, a beauty school, the hair cuticle opens, and melanin, which gives your hair its pigment, is broken down when bleaching the hair. After bleaching or color services, the hair cuticle remains slightly open, making it vulnerable.

“I have a couple of clients that no matter how blonde we would get her that day, the next time she would come in, it would look a shade darker than what we did it at. Then there’s a couple clients that their hair, it’s even hard for me to blow it out, I can feel there’s stuff in their hair. I know that it’s because there’s actual buildup in their hair,” said Rink.

Students at the University of Scranton have noticed a difference in their hair when they are living on campus compared to when they are at home. Paige Barnett, a sophomore math and history major from Long Island, New York, says she can feel a huge difference in her hair when she’s in Scranton.

“It’s dryer. The water at home is better,” said Barnett.

According to Simplypure, a Long Island based company specializing in water treatments, Long Island has moderately hard to hard water.

Abigail Blancato, a junior journalism major from Southington, Connecticut, says she notices her hair gets brassier when she’s on campus.

“I’ll get my hair done when I’m at home and when I come back to school, it's already dark in like a week. Normally when I’m home, it doesn’t really happen as much. I’ll start to get darker in maybe 2 or 3 weeks,” said Blancato.

The state of Connecticut has moderately hard water, according to Hydroflow U.S.A, a water conditioning company.

Blancato and Barnett both dye their hair blonde.

Rink recommends using clarifying products to help combat the effects of hard water.

According to Byrde, a clarifying shampoo removes product buildup, residue and pollutants from your hair.

Rink also recommends using water filters.

“You can get water filters that just go on your shower heads. I would definitely say trying to clarify your hair, depending on how much you wash it, but I would say at least every two weeks,” said Rink.