Water is something that most of us in the Western world tend to take for granted, and even more when we live in an area that benefits from soft water.

If you’ve moved from a soft water area to one where the water is harder, then you know the havoc it can play on your skin – and this is something that people who have only ever been exposed to soft water will really struggle to understand, but it’s something that can truly impact on your life.

Think of winter skin all year round and you’re pretty close to what living in a hard water area feels like.

However, the good news is there are definitely solutions to this, so you really don’t have to suffer with it anymore.

In this post, I’m going to share with you some of the ways that you can you deal with living in  a hard water area so that it really doesn’t start to negatively impact your life like it has the potential to.

Use special shampoos:

Products like shampoos and conditioners come in all sorts of varieties and all with different uses for people with various hair types. However, once you live in a hard water area, you tend to notice that no matter which shampoo you use your hair still looks dry and dull, and you’ll often find that you have a dry and/or irritated red scalp to go with it, which can really affect things like confidence – especially in summer when you’re not able to cover up so well. The good news is you can often find shampoo and conditioner that are especially designed to be used by people who live in hard water areas – for example, in the south of Germany where the water comes directly from the mountains and is brilliant quality, but very hard, Schwarzkopf have an anti-kalk (anti limescale) shampoo which has been a savior to many expats and those not used to the hard water. You can also find shampoos that are designed for very sensitive skin so they can help soothe the scalp and not strip the hair and scalp of its natural oils.

Install filters:

Filters such as an under sink water filter and shower head filter are essential for anyone living in a hard water area, and although they can range in their cost, they’re absolutely worth it and are very easy to install and maintain. Filters, not only remove the elements responsible for hard water and therefore make it soft, but they purify it and remove any chemicals, so the water is much better quality even in soft water areas.

Buy bottled water or a water filter:

It’s not just when showering or bathing that hard water has an impact on your skin. If you’re drinking the amount of water you should be on a daily basis, then this will have an impact, too. The way around this is, if the water in your area is not good quality, then buy only bottled water, or if it’s good quality like that in places such as Munich, but is very hard, then using something like a Brita filter for drinking water will really make a big difference.

 

*Collaborative post