Beautiful skin and hair tips from BWT

16.June 2021, 02:04

If skin and hair are dry and brittle, it may not be because of the wrong care - but the water. We explain why softening your water is a real beauty insider tip for silky hair and softer skin and how you can save some of your care products - and money - in the future.

It's all about the water

Our skin comes into contact with water every day, be it when we’re showering, washing our hands or rinsing. Having prolonged contact with water can have an effect on your skin and hair, especially if it’s hard water. A study by the University of Copenhagen¹ suggests that frequent washing can make your hair feel dry and can cause your skin to become irritated. King College London also confirmed that skin irritation, especially in small children, is associated with hard water ²

How hard is your water?

Determine your water hardness easily with our simple to use BWT free hard water test kit

Why can hard water be problematic?

Hard water favours dry skin and neurodermatitis. The more calcareous the water, the harder it is. As such limescale is not only deposited on fittings and shower walls, but also on the skin, which can make it feel dry and flaky.

Once the skin is dry, it cracks easily. Fine particles of dirt can penetrate the skin through the cracks. At the same time, the limescale on the skin ensures that care products can no longer penetrate the skin layers. The result: more care is required to soothe the irritated skin.

Skin diseases are also favoured by hard water. A study by King's College London² showed that atopic dermatitis occurs in young children especially in areas with high water hardness. Other studies also show that eczema and neurodermatitis are associated with hard water. A study by Sheffield University³ in England indicates that hard water can destroy the protective skin barrier, aggravate existing eczema and promote the development of eczema in healthy people.

Hair also suffers from calcareous water. Hard water can cause limescale insoluble salts to remain on the hair⁴ which as a result, makes your hair feel dry, makes it harder to comb through after washing, artificial hair colours fade faster and your hair overall loses its shine.

Those who live in soft water regions consider themselves lucky. Over 60% of the UK live with varying degrees of hard water, but there is still a surprising number of us who are not aware of the differences between hard and soft water and the impact they can have on our daily lives.

Thanks to softened water, your skin feels softer!

Let our experts advise you!

Softened water makes your skin softer and hair shinier

Softened water cleanses more gently and supports the well-being of the skin. Care products can then easily penetrate stressed areas of the skin and protect against limescale. With softened water, your hair also uses less shampoo and treatments to become shiny and silky, whilst, the colour shines for longer. Plus, your skin feels significantly softer. Softened water can help you save money as you will no longer need to spend more money on hair and skin care products.

Luxury Water softeners soften hard water

BWT Luxury Water Softeners remove up to 60 kilograms of limescale per year in an average single-family home. You can see and feel the difference! The water that has flowed through the Luxury Water system leaves fewer traces of limescale and is gentler on skin and hair. A water softener works by passing hard water through a cylinder containing ion exchange resin. The resin consists of tiny beads that attract and retain the hardness minerals, allowing the now softened water into your household water supply. Periodically, these resin beads are automatically cleaned and regenerated by rinsing with a small amount of brine (a salt solution). All this takes place automatically, all that remains for you to do is occasionally top up with salt. Please, see the video below for more information:

How a water softener works - BWT Luxury Water®

Softened water not only makes skin and hair look and feel better but is also beneficial for household appliances. Limescale attacks household appliances, like the washing machine and dishwasher, leaves traces on all fittings in the house, clogs pipes and shortens the service life of water-carrying devices. Luxury water systems not only ensure softer skin and shinier hair, but also help protect against the build-up of limescale throughout your home.