The Effects of Hard Water on Skin And Hair

Hard Water and Skin

If you are living with hard water in your home, you could be facing some real problems with your skin and hair. Hard water contains an excess of the mineral’s calcium and magnesium. When washing, these minerals react with fatty acids in soaps and shampoos to form chemicals that do not dissolve in water. And this is why your shampoo and body wash may not form a good lather. In addition to a poor showering experience, you may also be experiencing other effects of hard water on your skin including:

Hard Water and Acne

When hard water reacts with soap it forms a soap scum that cannot be dissolved by water. This thin soap film is hard to wash off the skin and leaves a residue that block pores. When our pores become blocked, it directly affects the skin's production of natural oils. This creates a lack of moisture and also alters the pH balance of the skin, which can result in break outs, acne and bad skin.

Hard Water and Eczema, Dry Skin & Skin Irritation

Eczema is a severe dry skin condition that affects a range of people in the world. Hard water is said by the NHS and has been shown in studies to:

- Cause eczema in those with healthy skin

- Make existing eczema worse

- Cause people with healthy skin to suffer from dry skin and skin irritation

- Cause people be more prone to developing eczema - especially infants.

This is because an excess of hard water minerals can really strip moisture from the skin by blocking your pores and leaving a damaging soap residue on the skin. Eczema and psoriasis are far more common in hard water areas, but even if you're not suffering with them, you could still feel the effects of dry, chapped and sensitive skin.

How Hard Water Effects Your Hair

Dry, Itchy Scalp And Dandruff

Hard water dry skin doesn't just effect our body, it also damages the skin on our scalp and hair too. Our scalp and hair need lots of moisture to stay healthy and nourished. Hard water minerals react with shampoo to leave a soap residue in our hair. This residue becomes trapped leaving soap and hard minerals on your scalp. This results in a dry flakey scalp that can be painful and itchy.

Damaged, Thin & Brittle Hair

Not only could suffer with a dry flakey scalp, but you could also be suffering with a poor hair condition. This is because hard water erodes the hair elasticity, leaving your hair to feel very rough and straw-like. In addition, hard minerals strip moisture from your hair, which can cause it to feel dry and frizzy. It also causes colour to fade more quickly, hair breakage and hair loss.

How to Treat Eczema, Dry Skin & Dry Hair

The only permanent way to get rid of hard water is with a water softener. Skin and hair products can’t solve the problem and are a temporary help. Water softeners work by removing calcium and magnesium minerals from the water in your home. This softer water is kinder to skin and requires only a small amount of soaps and detergents. It reduces the chance of irritation and ensures the water doesn’t remove precious moisture from sensitive skin. O find out more info about how we can help your family and for a free hard water testing, click to enquire online or call us.