People with skin issues often try every cream and lotion to get their skin feeling soft and healthy again, and feel frustrated when they cannot find a solution. However, what many people are unaware of is the extent to which the water if their home could be affected their skin. If your home has hard water, which many homes do, bathing, showering, and washing your hands in this water could be the source of your problems. To help you get a better idea of how the hard water in your home could be affecting your skin, here is a quick overview of the harmful nature of hard water.
Damages Skin Cells
Hard water can cause damage to healthy skin cells over time. This is due to the fact that a variety of chemicals and elements can be found undissolved in hard water such as zinc, lead, magnesium, and calcium. When these elements come into contact with your skin, they can begin to break down the elastin and collagen found in healthy skin cells. Not only can this cause your skin to age quicker, making your look older, but also, it can weaken skin cells making your skin more vulnerable to damage from the sun’s harmful UV rays.
Ineffective on Germs
The chemicals and elements present in hard water are further problematic for your skin as these elements will actually coat your skin, and leave a thin, dull film behind made up of these insoluble minerals. This can prevent the body’s natural oils, which carry natural antimicrobial agents, from reaching the surface of the skin. As a result, washing your hands, and body, in hard water can actually leave you more vulnerable to, rather than protecting you from, germs, and can result in more infections over time.
Can Lead to Acne
This film of undissolved minerals hard water leaves on your skin could also actually be the cause of any acne problems you may have. This film of minerals and elements on your skin can cause your pores to become blocked, which can lead to acne breakouts. Additionally, hard water is known to dry out skin, which can also be a cause of skin irritations and flare-ups of acne.
Skin Issues Due to Dry Skin
As was hinted at above, hard water can dry out your skin. This is due to the fact that, as we mentioned previously, the film and residue hard water leaves behind on your skin can block your body’s natural oils, which can cause dry skin, as well as skin irritation and itchiness. In severe cases, skin exposed to hard water can become so dried out that it can become inflamed and cracked. This can be particularly problematic for those who suffer from dermatitis. While hard water is usually not the cause of dermatitis, hard water will dry out your skin even more than it already is, leading to increased, and more severe, flare-ups of your dermatitis.
As you can see, hard water can lead to variety of skin problems, which can be particularly problematic for those who are prone to dry, cracked, or irritated skin. So what is the answer to this problem? The best solution would be to have a water softener installed in your home. As the name implies, water softeners take the hard water entering your home, and turns it into soft water before it reaches you. These water softeners remove all of the harsh chemicals and minerals from your water supply, and provide you with water that is healthier for your skin, clothes, and appliances. Contact us to learn more about the damaging nature of hard water, and the benefits that a water softener could bring to your home.
