The Impact of Clean Water on Skin and Hair Health: Clean Water for Clean Beauty

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While the tap water here in Reno may be safe to drink, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is good for your skin and hair. In fact, water quality can have a huge impact on the health of your skin and hair. 

 

Hard Water vs. Soft Water

Hard or soft water all depends upon the mineral content. Water that is high in calcium and magnesium is considered hard whereas water with low amounts of calcium and magnesium is considered soft. In the United States 85% of homes have hard water. Despite that staggering number, hard water continues to have adverse effects on everything from home maintenance to personal hygiene. 

 

Effects of Hard Water on Hair 

According to the National Library of Medicine, hard water has a huge impact on the health of one’s hair. Specifically in the breakage and fragility of the hair. In a study done in 2018, the strength of hair washed with hard water as compared to soft water was put to the test. The study concluded by saying that there is, “a significant statistical decrease in the strength of hair,” after being treated with hard water.

 

Effects of Hard Water on Skin

Similarly to the negative effects that hard water can have on hair, your skin is not left unaffected. One such example is in the occurrence and severity of eczema. In a 2022 study conducted in the UK it was concluded that, “increasing levels of hard water…were associated with an increased prevalence of eczema in adults.” Additionally, hard water can lead to problems with dry skin. A study published in 2021 concluded that water hardness, by itself, could lead to severe dry and irritated skin. While dry skin on its own might not seem so bad, it can then act as a conduit for a slew of other skin issues including irritation, acne, inflammation, wrinkles, and premature aging.

 

Hard Water Making Your Life Hard?

Now that we all know about the adverse effects that hard water can have on your hair and skin, you may be feeling worried about the state of your own water. The good news is that we are here to help! Water Unlimited offers a Free Water Analysis test to see where your water may lie on the hard to soft scale. You can schedule your appointment here. 

 

From there, we can determine the next best step for you and for your water! 

¹ Luqman MW, Ramzan MH, Javaid U, Ali R, Shoaib M, Luqman MA. To Evaluate and Compare Changes in Baseline Strength of Hairs after Treating them with Deionized Water and Hard Water and its Role in Hair Breakage. Int J Trichology. 2018 May-Jun;10(3):113-117. doi: 10.4103/ijt.ijt_115_16. PMID: 30034190; PMCID: PMC6028999.

²Lopez DJ, Singh A, Waidyatillake NT, Su JC, Bui DS, Dharmage SC, Lodge CJ, Lowe AJ. The association between domestic hard water and eczema in adults from the UK Biobank cohort study. Br J Dermatol. 2022 Nov;187(5):704-712. doi: 10.1111/bjd.21771. Epub 2022 Aug 18. PMID: 35822417; PMCID: PMC9804584.

³Henning MAS, Ibler KS, Ullum H, Erikstrup C, Bruun MT, Burgdorf KS, Dinh KM, Rigas A, Thørner LW, Pedersen OB, Jemec GB. The association between water hardness and xerosis-Results from the Danish Blood Donor Study. PLoS One. 2021 Jun 2;16(6):e0252462. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252462. PMID: 34077478; PMCID: PMC8171951.