Is Your Shower Water Causing Your Skin Woes and Even Eczema?

Article from http://www.water-for-health.co.uk/our-blog/2015/06/is-your-shower-water-causing-your-skin-woes-and-even-eczema/

Is Your Shower Water Causing Your Skin Woes and Even Eczema?

The first step in treating any skin dryness, itchiness, rash, eczema, or other skin condition is to identify its cause. After all, if there is frequent contact between your skin and the cause of the problem, you may want to remove or avoid the cause before you spend hundreds or even thousands of pounds on a remedy. One common cause of irritating skin conditions is the water in which many of us shower every day.

Causes of Dry Skin Conditions

Many people are lucky enough to have only occasional bouts of dry skin, usually on the hands, the face or behind the knees and elbows. Others battle with eczema, dandruff or other skin irritations throughout their lives. Whether you are trying to prevent the next round of eczema or merely trying to keep your skin soft, elastic and hydrated, these are some of the potential concerns regarding your shower water.

Acidity of Water

Detergents and soaps do not dissolve well in water that is highly acidic or highly alkaline, chiefly because acidic and alkaline minerals block the solution. If your water falls into either of these categories, you may have noticed that it is exceptionally difficult to wash soap off your body, out of your hair, and out of your clothes. This is also why it is so hard to get the soapiness off your hands after working in water that contains bleach or dish washing liquid. These are strong alkalis. While soap is a good cleaning product when it is washed off immediately, it dries out skin that is in constant contact with it. Washing with special shower gels may exacerbate your skin problems, because they don't wash off in such water either and may block your pores and cause acne if they stay on. Scrubbing hard to get moisturisers out of your skin's pores will exacerbate the problem even further by causing sensitive, itchy, red spots.

Excessively Hot Water

Hot shower water may destroy the natural oils in your skin, which can leave it dry and itchy. Alternatively, it may actually burn you and damage skin cells. These spots will almost certainly dry out completely while those dead cells are replaced with new ones. This is similar to what happens when you spend too much time in the sun. While it is less common, some people's skins are also sensitive to cold water and can develop tiny cracks in response to it.

Excessive Bathing

We all want to be clean, but twice a day should be the maximum number of times you shower. Water and soap wash off the natural oil with which your skin coats and moisturises itself. Your skin must then re-moisturise every time you step out of the shower. Some people's skins are just not capable of doing this too often.

Chlorine, Chemicals, and Heavy Metals

British water authorities add chlorine to tap water primarily to keep it clean of bacteria. They also apply other chemicals to clean recycled water so that it is fit to drink. Other chemicals and heavy metals make it into the water via old water pipes, contaminated soil around your home, contaminated soil around Britain's rivers and reservoirs, and so forth. Some people have an acute response to chlorine and even break out in hives after exposure. Others have a less dramatic, but still irritating response that involves itchiness and dryness of the skin. Iron, zinc, copper, lead, and other heavy metals can have the same effect. These substances can also change the consistency of creams and the skin's natural oil from runny oils to waxes, which can clog pores and cause acne.

Strategies to Prevent Dry Skin Conditions and Flare-Ups

Water Temperature

Shower in warm water instead of in hot water. This serves many purposes. It prevents the skin from burning. It limits the amount of chlorine steam you inhale. It destroys less of your skin's natural oils. Think of the water temperature you use when scrubbing greasy pans. Scrubbing an oily surface with soap and near boiling water removes the oil quite effectively, but this is not what you want on your skin.

Abandon or Reduce Soap

Consider using soap only on important areas like your armpits, genitals, hands, and feet while merely rubbing the rest lightly with a wash cloth, a sponge or your hands. Alternatively, use less soap to decrease soapy residue, especially if your water is particularly acidic or alkaline. If abandoning your soap habit sounds too awful, buy natural oils like coconut oil, which also happens to be anti-bacterial. Avoid products with fragrances, synthetic antibacterial ingredients, alcohol, preservatives, and additives. These can all make eczema symptoms worse.

Buy a Dechlorinating Showerhead

The vast majority of people benefit when chlorine is removed from their shower water, including those without serious skin conditions. If you do not struggle with eczema, you may want to try a dechlorinating showerhead anyway. It may save you on moisturisers, as the natural oil in your skin may not be dried out at the same rate as when you shower in chlorine every day. You can still enjoy the antibacterial effects of chlorine, since the chlorine is present in the water from the municipal water supply up to your bathroom. Moreover, together with chlorine removal, the Biocera dechlorinating showerhead also includes anti-bacterial balls that kill the bacteria that may still lurk in the water.

Article from http://www.water-for-health.co.uk/our-blog/2015/06/is-your-shower-water-causing-your-skin-woes-and-even-eczema/