How hard water negatively affect our skin and hair
My fridge broke back in February and I had to get a new one. So I got a double door one with ice and water dispenser. Per the manual my filter should last six months. However, by the second month, the red light was one and my water was tasting icky. When I call GE to complain, the ask me about where I live, then pursuit, to tell me about the water in my region...
My hair is chronically dry. Yes, curly, natural hair is dry but mine is on a new level of dryness. I have done everything! Deep conditioning, spritz, aloe Vera rinse, Apple cider vinegar rinse, I co-wash...
I mean I've been natural for over five years. I know a few tricks.
But my ends are always so dry and raggedy, I'm always cutting! My hair can't go pass BSL (bra strap Length) without hacking four to five inches off so I can like my hair.
I have been doing some research about chlorine, lead and all kind of stuff included in our water. I found out hard water effect on hair is not pretty.
"Hard water tends to make the scales stand up, which makes your hair feel rough and tangly. Since your hair is tangled and rough, it is more difficult to rinse out all of the soap. Soap is less effective in very hard water because its reacts with the excess minerals to form calcium or magnesium salts."
When it comes to skin it sounds even worse
"The calcium and magnesium in hard water seem to cause skin to become more dry which may lead to irritation. Also since hard water requires much more soap, shampoo or detergent than soft water, people living in hard water areas tend to use more which can aggravate eczema."
Sounds a lot like my situation, so I decide to purchase a shower water filter.
Chlorine Filter & Hard Water Softener Shower Head - High-Pressure 3-Setting Filtered Showerhead - Prevents Hair Loss & Skin/Hair Dryness - Eliminates Bacteria & Purifies Water
I found a fairly cheap one ($20 ish) on amazon and it promised to solve all my problems.
It came in a box like this, a few detached pieces and very little instructions but it wasn't hard to figure out what went where.
I can't really measure how much chlorine and other gunk it's filtering. I washed my hair twice since I've had it. I can feel there is a noticeable difference. Normally my naked hair (without product, straight from the water) would feel dry but with my filter, my feels supple as if I had spray my Aloe vera juice already.
So that tells me the PH level of the filtered water is getting a little better. And my skin is not so ashy and dry!
Normally once I get out of the shower my skin needs immediate lotioning or else I can feel the dryness, my skin stretching like it's about to crack.
Now I don't really feel that way, but I'll have to skip lotioning all together one day to see how right I am.
Have you had any hard water problem? What did you do?
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