Hey there! So you read the last article right? The effects of hard water on our hair? Right, well if you haven’t read it yet follow this link and catch up! All caught up? Good! Now, let’s dive into a scarier situation shall we? Your skin.
We all have it, that blemish or that dry patch that not matter how much moisturizer we slap on just won’t go away. I personally have two PMS pimples and a few skin blemishes on my face that fight through my homemade face mask every time. Trip after trip to the dermatologist, prescription skin cream and a couple hundred dollars spent on essential oils and the problem still isn’t clearing up?
Trust me I know how frustrating it can be to look in the mirror and see all the blemishes. And if you read the last article you’re thinking “You can’t possibly tell me that my water is affecting my skin” or maybe you still have faith in that proactive subscription.
Well yes reader, I can tell you that everything you are doing right now will not work while your still using the same hard water to wash off that handmade oatmeal and egg mask you saw on your favorite Youtubers page. Why because His or Her water, depending on region and level of hardness might be better than yours.
While researching, I had an epiphany of sorts. It’s as if the gates of skin heaven opened up to me; the light poured onto my face it was followed by the hardest slap i’ve ever felt in my life! Then a Tyra Banks looking angel stepped out of the light and told me that everything I’m doing is totally counter productive because not only is my skin not the same as Fenty, Stevie or Brad Pitt my water isn’t the same either! And neither is yours. Hard water also reacts with soap to form salts that stay on the skin combined with your sweat and grime from the elements that occur after doing everyday activities; leaving your skin exposed after each shower.
EFFECTS OF HARD WATER ON SKIN CONDITIONS
Hard water contains minerals that dry out the skin, clog pores, and can lead to skin conditions like dermatitis/eczema, and acne. Now to understand the hard water you must understand the effects to your skin.
Atopic dermatitis, or eczema, is a condition that makes your skin red and itchy, it’s kind of like you’re wearing that itchy Christmas sweater 24/7 and can’t take it off. It’s common in children but can occur at any age. Atopic dermatitis is long lasting (chronic) and tends to flare periodically especially when constantly exposed to harsh chemicals and materials such as magnesium and calcium deposits that come from your sinks and showerhead. If you have eczema, you can see signs where your skin in the most sensitive like your hands, elbows, legs, chest and scalp. If you’re not taking a medication or applying a topical cream every single day you will start to see breakouts all over again. And that can be very time consuming.
Acne, well that is a beast we’ve all been dealing with since puberty, when baby smooth skin got shot up and destroyed by hormones. However when it all levels out and we became adults with nasty things like responsibilities some of us got lucky and others… well no so much. But what do we all really know about acne?
Acne is a skin condition that occurs when your hair follicles become clogged with oil and dead skin cells. Ance is a nasty little culprit that can often cause whiteheads, blackheads or pimples, and usually shows up smack dab in the middle of your face; like your forehead, or the ever present Rudolph curse looming on your nose, or even in my case right on you cheek! So large that you don’t need a magnifying glass to see it, they can see this thing from space! Acne can also occur on you chest, upper back and shoulders, and yes… even your bum.
If you’ve tried everything and nothing is working your dermatologist will tell you that it’s your water. If you don’t have a dermatologist and don’t trust my sarcastic expertise; check out this article and find one of your own on Zwivel a renowned website that helps you find dermatologists in our area, in the article they speak to a dermatologist and he says the calcium, magnesium and iron found in hard water, can dry your skin and contribute to those pesky blemishes.
In 2014, as a college senior, I went through a particularly rough time financially, stress was rising and so were the stress pimples on my face. I was thrusted back to the times of old when I was a wee girl just 5 years prior and me and my grams would have beauty days. It was a time where we were poor but my grams tried to show me how to treat myself. So our first stop was the kitchen! And there I received all the wonders of natural beauty care and that last semester of college I needed it more than anything else. When I tell you I felt great in my apartment painting eggs whites on my face and chopping up cucumbers to put under my eyes. That is until I washed the egg off my face and touched my squeaky… and I do mean squeaky “clean” face. My face felt like one of Pennywise’s balloons! I Couldn’t understand why it felt so different from when I was a child rinsing my face in my grams’ sink.
After college, I began to research ways to clean my face and my body. So I went the extra mile and gained my certificate in Holistic Remedies. You can’t get more holistic than the water we use on and put into our bodies. Water is a key component to a healthy mind, body and soul. We’re told by our doctors to drink 8 glasses a day but honestly who likes the taste of their tap water anymore? There’s even a comedian KevOnStage that comments on the taste of it now vs. when we were kids. “Something changed, it doesn’t taste the same”. Because of all the magnesium and calcium Kev, that’s why.
