Natural girls know that some curls are prone to being unmanageable. What’s more, these hair types are especially susceptible to mineral buildup from shower water. But before you start stressing about which styling products are best for these tresses, here’s some information from NaturallyCurly.com about what to check for in the H2O you use to care for your hair.

Minerals. The idea of showering or bathing is to clear your skin and hair of dirt and other unwanted elements. Right? Well, shower water usually contains small quantities of common minerals such as calcium, copper, iron, lead, magnesium and chlorine. What’s more, while you shower these minerals can latch themselves onto your strands. This buildup can create a rock-solid compound that can damage your hair’s health and attract and trap grease or dirt near your scalp. That certainly makes your mane more difficult to manage. What to do? Put a mineral filter on your shower head or clean the attachment more regularly.

Temperature. The individual cuticle layers of your hair’s strands will react differently depending on the temperature of the water. Under hot water, the cuticle layer opens and lets in more hair-clogging minerals. Under cold water, the cuticle layer closes, which can trap minerals in strands. What to do? Wash tresses with warm water. Also, hair experts caution that spending too much time under the shower can cause sensitive hair to frizz.

Click here to find out how to prevent hard-water buildup on hair.