How hard water damages your hair and skin
Your hair and skin deserve to be cared for. We all know a bad hair day can make or break your week, and dry skin in the hot desert heat is miserable. If you’re soaking up hard Utah water every time you shower, you’re fighting an uphill battle to stay moisturized. Frizzy, dull hair and dry, itchy skin are both side effects of hard water caused by too many minerals. These minerals are working against your soaps and shampoos, making them less effective and hard to wash off. Let’s dive a little deeper …
Why is hard water bad for your hair?
A study from 2016 published in the National Library of Medicine found that washing your hair in hard water caused the hair to quickly decrease in thickness. After only 30 days the hair from 15 females was found to be thinner and have a ruffled appearance. That’s after only one month of hard water washing!
The presence of the minerals themselves are not the culprit here, rather the minerals make it difficult to rinse off all of the shampoo and conditioner used. What happens is the cleaning agents stay on the hair and cling to strands, and if your water contains too many calcium carbonate minerals (like you have in hard water), it is more difficult to lather the shampoo in your hair. You aren’t able to effectively rinse out the soaps and end up leaving them in your hair. This causes more than just thinning, other symptoms include:
Dry scalp
Hair loss
Breakage
Frizziness
Dullness
Fading of hair color
Why is hard water bad for your skin?
Much of the same science applies to your skin as it does to your hair. An added side effect to hard water minerals on your skin is that it can cause your pores to clog up, either through the minerals themselves or soaps/body wash being left on the skin.
This is particularly irritating for those with sensitive skin or more serious skin conditions. In fact, studies have shown that hard water can cause acne and aggravate conditions like eczema and dermatitis. In an article published by Real Simple, a board-certified dermatologist said that “calcium and magnesium in hard water react with fatty acids in your soap and shampoo to form chemicals that coagulate. As a result, your skin doesn’t get cleaned properly and the chemicals leave a residue on your skin.”
Another well-known dermatologist who works with high-profile clients had this to say about hard water effects on skin, “Hard water, it turns out, exists in many locations. It alters our skin’s oil so that instead of flowing like a liquid, it becomes a bit thicker and waxier. This can lead to clogged pores, which causes many complexion problems ranging from blackheads and larger pimples to rosacea. Plus, calcium itself may irritate your skin, causing dry, scaly, pinkish patches. If you find your shampoo or soap doesn’t lather up and when you rinse you still feel a residue is left behind, you are most likely bathing with hard water.”
So, to recap, hard water effects on your skin include:
Itchiness
Dryness
Acne
Aggravation of eczema
Aggravation of dermatitis
Scaly patches
Blackheads/pimples/rosacea
A side effect of hard water minerals on skin is that it can cause your pores to clog up, either through the minerals themselves or soaps/body wash being left on the skin.
This affects humans and pets!
There is also something to be said about your laundry if it is washed in hard water. The same principles regarding soap and shampoo reactions to hard water apply to laundry detergents as well. Those detergents aren’t able to be fully rinsed out of your clothes, towels and linens, which could mean you’re also adding detergent to your skin throughout the day and while you sleep. Hard water makes for a tough time!
Longevity Water Treatment removes the contaminants that cause hard water
So, you have some options when it comes to removing calcium, iron and other minerals causing your hard water problem. Off-the-shelf softeners can be decent at removing levels of hardness and although they generally don’t have a long lifespan in areas with very hard water (like Utah), they are much better than having hard water.
Longevity Water Treatment systems are the level-up to traditional softeners and will reduce your water hardness to near zero while leaving enough good minerals in the water. Our systems are also built to fill your water needs, removing any other contaminants, bacterias, viruses, and pathogens in your water. Due to the high quality components and media used, Longevity systems will last on average 20-25 years with little to no maintenance.
