Water is one of the most essential components of human life. Water is not merely used for drinking. It is used for cooking, bathing and cleaning purposes as well. In order to maintain a healthy life, it is necessary that the quality of the water being used is up to the mark. In simpler words, the water being used should not be ‘hard’ water.
Hard water is generally defined as the type of water which contains minerals like calcium and magnesium particles. These particles significantly decrease the quality of water. Hard water is not only harmful to consume, it also has a bad impact upon the skin if it is used to wash the face and take bath.
Following are some of the points which highlight that how the use of hard water has several adverse effects on the skin of the users:
- Hard water is responsible for disrupting the moisture level of the skin. Using hard water to shower and wash face causes the skin to dry out. Moisturizers and lotions do not penetrate well in the skin which has been exposed to hard water.
- Hard water makes it difficult to clean the soap residue from the skin while showering or washing the face. This causes improper cleaning of the skin.
- As stated above, hard water disrupts the moisture level of skin, making the skin dry. Dry skin become irritated and scaly which makes the individual uncomfortable.
- When hard water makes direct contact with the skin, it leaves behind deposits of minerals on the skin. One of these minerals is calcium. The presence of calcium on skin upsets the levels of natural oils and also end up clogging the pores. Disturbed levels of natural oils means dry, itchy skin as stated above while clogged pores will result in the appearance of pimples. Hence, hard water can also cause acne breakouts.
- Hard water is also harmful for skin of the head which is commonly known as scalp. When hard water is used to wash hair, it dries them out. The traces of shampoo cannot be washed out completely using hard water. This leaves a film of shampoo in scalp which can further lead to dryness and irritation of scalp. Conditions like dandruff are also aggravated by the use of hard water to wash the scalp.