Hard Water and Your Acne

by Linda Clopek

The struggle to find a cure for acne has prolonged for decades. New, more innovative approaches to curing this disorder have surfaced, yet millions continue to live with acne on a daily basis. If you ask a dermatologist or skin care professional what can cause or otherwise aggravate acne, you will get a thousand responses. Toothpaste, shampoo, detergent, and a countless number of other things can adversely affect our skin. However, why is that so many of us fail to consider the substance that interacts with many of these things: water? Water is something that constantly comes into contact with our skin. If you are someone who has seen little success in the way of treating acne with topical and/or oral treatments, yet consistently care for your skin and eat well, your home’s water supply may be the culprit.

We can classify water into two very broad categories: soft and hart water. Hard water refers to water that is rich in mineral content. This is the type of water available in most homes. Those that receive hard water are faced with a number of nuisances, primarily hard water deposits and soap scum on bathroom fixtures. Hard water is favored over its softer counterpart for a number of reasons. For one, it is far less corrosive hard water. Further, it does not extensive treatment. Soft water is derived though a process known as distillation, which is oftentimes costly in large-scale applications. Hard water derives its high mineral content from the ground, where it comes into contact with Calcium and Magnesium ions, among number of other minerals.

Unlike hard water, soft water has a negligible mineral content. It is only available in a smaller number of regions with the United States. As mentioned before, it is corrosive and must be prepared through a process known as distillation. During the distillation process, mineral-rich water is boiled and the resulting vapor is collected. This vapor is pure, or soft water. Although distillation appears to be a simple process, it can be very costly when implemented on a larger scale.

Hard water is not optimal for use in skin care applications. Water, when combined with soap, should form a lather. This lather provides for a cleaning effective. However, creating a lather is difficult with hard water unless harmful additives are included. Rather than forming a lather, the soap reacts with hard water to form soap scum. Soap scum clings to whatever it comes into contact with, including glass doors and shower tiling. Soap scum also clings to our skin, forming an irritation inducing layer.

There are a number of routes you can take to reduce the harmful effects of hard water. You can have a water softening system installed in your home for a comprehensive solution. However, this can be substantial investment. More affordable options include replacing shower fixtures regularly, as to prevent further water contamination from deposit buildup, and taking cold showers as opposed to hot ones. Your pores become enlarged from hot steam, which leaves them more susceptible to becoming clogged with soap scum as well as minerals from the hard water. Using soft bottled water (such as distilled water) in your skin care regimen is also an option. A spray bottle may come handy if you decide to go this route.

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