If you’ve noticed that it takes a lot of soap to get a good lather, it’s hard to rinse shampoo out of your hair, or you have dry skin that doesn’t improve over time, hard water is probably the cause of your problems. In fact, hard water exacerbates several major skin problems. A water softener can prevent many of these skin issues, saving you thousands of dollars in skin care products and even medical fees. We’ve taken a closer look at the most common skin problems related to hard water.

What’s Wrong with Hard Water?

Hard water has a high metal and mineral content that makes it really hard to completely wash off soap, beauty products, and lotions. It’s alkaline, so the pH is closer to many cleaning chemicals than the neutral pH found in clean water. Unlike pure, softened, or filtered water, hard water is full of minerals. These minerals block soap and other substances from dissolving in the water, making it difficult to rinse products off your skin. Unfortunately, letting those products build up on your skin causes dryness, acne, and can prematurely age your skin. To make matters worse, one dermatology resource suggests that these minerals also form deposits on your clothes and sheets, which can aggravate skin conditions.

  • Acne complications
  • Hard water triples the problems for people with acne. Soap and beauty products build up on your skin, mineral deposits clog pores, and dry skin caused by hard water causes your skin to produce even more oils. Even if you don’t have acne, switching from purified water to hard water can cause breakouts.
  • Product build-up
  • Since soap, beauty products, and lotions don’t rinse well, they build up on your skin. Hard water makes it difficult for other substances to dissolve completely, so getting a good, deep clean is extremely difficult. In addition, these products won’t lather properly in hard water. Most people end up using more product, which increases the build-up when it doesn’t rinse completely.
  • Clogged pores
  • Furthermore, the minerals in hard water are small enough to enter your pores, where they can irritate the skin and cause breakouts. Skin often becomes dry, red, and irritated from these mineral deposits, especially delicate facial skin.
  • Increased oil production
  • When soap and other products build up on your skin, they also lead to dryness and irritation. When your body notices that your skin is dry, it tries to compensate by adding more oils to your skin. Unfortunately, if you already are susceptible to breakouts from minerals in the water, your body’s natural response makes it even worse.

Dry skin copyright

Existing Skin Issues: Psoriasis, Eczema, and Dermatitis

If you already have an existing skin condition, it’s especially important to purify your water. The minerals in hard water cause persistently dry skin, which can worsen the condition and even cause flare-ups in people with these skin issues. Hard water increases outbreak frequency and severity in these conditions.

Dry Skin and Premature Aging

Hard water prevents the skin from absorbing moisture normally. This leads to dry skin and other skin issues, which speeds the aging process. When individuals use hard water long-term, dryness causes the skin to look dull and wrinkled.

Fortunately, it’s easy to improve your skin just by changing your water. A good water softener purifies the water in your home and brings it back to a normal pH. Your skin will stay healthy, and you’ll notice that you use less soap and other beauty products. Prevent acne breakouts, ease inflammatory skin conditions, and avoid dry, damaged skin with a simple water softener. To learn more about this easy fix, please contact us today!