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Does hard water cause dandruff?

12th February 2024

Hard water impact on your hair

Our hair and our skin go through a lot on a daily basis that we don’t even think about. Besides bleaching, colouring, and using heat tools, damaged hair can occur from simply getting washed. For our skin, some problems we deal with daily are dryness, breakouts, itchiness and more. These are all hard water problems that you need to be aware of in your household. The answer to all of these common skin and hair problems could be due to your water supply.

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Does hard water cause dandruff or dry hair?

A woman washing her hair in a shower, hard water causing dandruff for hair

Different countries, regions, and towns can all have different water coming through the tap. The big question is, is it hard water or soft water? Have you ever gone on holiday and had the best hair or the dullest limp hair of your life? That could be due to the change in the hardness of the water. Hard water contains calcium and magnesium from limestone, chalk, or marble deposits, which are not a health concern, but cause dandruff, dry hair as well as dry skin, making both look unhealthy. Besides having hair problems, you can tell if you have hard water by indications of stains in sinks, showers, toilets, and more. 

Hard water could make your hair feel dry, dull, or even damaged. For dry scalp treatment, hard water can also cause dandruff and will make your scalp dry, itchy, or even flaky. Using soft water or water softeners can help you completely overcome dry scalp treatment as well as a dry hair treatment, bringing the healthy look back. 

Frizzy or damaged hair would benefit from soft water making it easier to tame and smooth. When taking a soft water shower you do not have to use nearly as much soap, shampoo or body wash as when you shower with hard water, because it lathers more quickly and there are fewer minerals in the water that bind to other molecules. This prevents damaged and dull hair that is caused by hard water. 

Soft water as a dry hair treatment 

For hard water hair users your hair may feel dull and dry. Long term exposure to hard water on your hair can sometimes lead to weighing your hair down with extra minerals. Hair professionals suggest using a dry hair treatment such as hair mask or repair oil to counteract this feeling. However, this only helps you fix the problem after it has already occurred. A long term hard water solution in your home can completely prevent this hair and skin problem from happening. A whole home solution would be investing in a water softener that removes all of the annoying minerals, leaving you with soft water, healthy hair and skin.

So what can you do?

Short term solution is investing in hair products to counteract your problem areas. A long term solution would be investing in a whole home water softener, which also prevents damaged hair and benefits your skin, laundry, cooking and reduces other hard water problems. 

Read more about the benefits of soft water