What Causes

Hard Water Dry Skin

Minerals and additives in your water affect your skin just the same way the affect your hair. After all your skin and your hair are made of the same material. For more about hard water see What is Hard Water also see dry skin treatment remedies.

How do hard water minerals and chlorine effect skin?

Calcium - If your source for water is a well, then more than likely you have calcium in your water. If your source for water is coming from a treatment plant, calcium may have been added to your water. Calcium is the mineral that determines hardness of water.

How calcium effects skin:

• Calcium leaves the hair feeling dry and weighted down. It can even cause a perm to appear relaxed.
• Calcium builds up on the scalp and skin causing flaking of the scalp, giving the appearance of dandruff and a dry skin sensation.
• Calcium can choke the hair at the mouth of the follicle causing the hair to break off, then coating the skin and scalp.

What other elements effect  skin and hair?

• Chlorine -a harsh oxidizer added to the water to kill bacteria also adversely effects hair.

How do minerals and chlorine attach to the hair?

Our hair, scalp and skin have an electrical charge and that charge is negative. Minerals and oxidizers are charged positive. When a positively charged mineral comes in contact with our hair, scalp, or skin, it attaches on like a magnet.

Chlorine - unlike the other elements listed above, chlorine is not a mineral but an oxidizer. Chlorine is put into drinking water and swimming pools to kill bacteria. In addition to the following effects chlorine has on hair, due to it's oxidizing effects, chlorine also oxidizes minerals onto the hair causing worse effects of those minerals.

How chlorine effects your skin:

• Chlorine can damage proteins of the skin and hair.
• Chlorine can cause the air and sun to oxidize skin and hair
• Chlorine can cause skin and hair to feel dry.
• Chlorine can cause hair to become brittle.
• Chlorine can cause hair to lack shine.
• Active chlorine in the hair can cause hair to feel gummy when wet and straw-like when dry.

Swimmers are some of the most flexible and toned people, yet upon inspection of their skin, there are signs of aging that includes lines, wrinkles, and many forms of keratosis and comedones.
Swimmers are likely the most oxidized group of exercise enthusiasts because of their exposure to oxidizers such as chlorine or bromine in conjunction with the calcium, copper, and other minerals in the water where they swim.

During the summer, many swimmers compound their oxidation in outdoor pools that accelerate the damage to their skin. Then to add to the problems for swimmers, the constant wet/dry cycle speeds up the oxidation of skin. Also, swimmers often complain that their skin is dry and itching. That is a reaction from the oxidizing chemicals and minerals on the skin. Total Oxidation Management can change lives for swimmers and those who soak in hot tubs.

HOW YOUR WATER AFFECTS YOUR SKIN &  HAIR

What are the minerals that effect hair?

• Calcium
• Iron
• Copper
• Magnesium
• Silica
• Lead

Iron - Iron is found in ground water from domestic wells and wells used by treatment plants as the source for local water.

How iron effects hair:

• Iron leaves the hair feeling dry, brittle and weighted down.
• Iron can cause dark hair to tint darker and blonde hair to turn orange.
• Iron can block perms and color from properly processing.

Copper - Copper originates in water in three ways:

1. It comes from the ground and is pumped into the water from a well.
2. Particles of copper can come from copper piping. The corrosion caused by hard water lifts the copper particles off the pipes and deposits them into the water.
3. Copper sulfates are added to swimming pools to control the growth of algae. Copper is often added to lakes (that are a source of drinking water) in the summer to kill algae.

How copper effects hair:

• Copper discolors hair causing blonde hair to turn green and dark hair to tint darker.
• Copper can weigh hair down and cause dryness.
• Copper can inhibit the proper processing of perms, color and relaxers.

Magnesium - Usually found wherever calcium comes naturally from the ground, magnesium is abundant in the soil and is very much a part of the mineral complex associated with hard water.

How magnesium effects hair:

• Magnesium causes hair to feel dry.
• Magnesium causes hair to appear weighted down.
• Magnesium can inhibit the proper processing of perms, color and relaxers.
• Magnesium causes hair to lack shine.

Silica - Silica is a sand-like substance found in desert or volcanic areas. It is usually bound to calcium or magnesium and forms very hard, virtually insoluble deposits.

How silica effects hair:

Silica causes many of the same effects on the hair as calcium.

• Silica causes hair to feel dry.
• Silica weighes hair down.
• Silica can cause dandruff-like symptoms of flaking.
• Build up of silica can choke the hair follicle causing hair to fall out.

Lead - Lead acetate is used in certain home remedy gray hair cover-ups.

How lead effects hair:

• Lead can cause the hair to feel dry.
• Lead can prevent the proper processing of perms, color, and relaxers.

 What can we do about hard water & dry Skin? see dry skin treatment remedies