Ah, the Everything Shower. Whether you have yours once-a-week, month, or year, it’s a top-to-bottom wash routine essential that leaves you feeling clean, soft, and smooth.
But did you know that showering in hard, unfiltered water can limit just how clean, soft, and smooth you can get?
Hard water contains high levels of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, chlorine, and sulphates. These can strip your skin of its natural oils and upset your pH balance, leading to dryness and irritation, and can even exacerbate conditions like eczema. These minerals can also create a residue on the skin, potentially clogging pores and causing breakouts.
Cleansing
By using a shower filter, such as the ULA system, the majority of these harsh minerals are removed resulting in a huge number of benefits.
Your skin will not be dried out by sulphates and chlorine and its natural pH levels will normalise, helping to maintain its protective barrier. The filter also increases the lather of your product and washes it completely off, meaning the potency of your cleanser is amplified, plus no clogged pores from any residue.
Exfoliation
Although our skin naturally sheds dead skin cells, hard water minerals can stunt this process for the reasons we’ve noted above. So, a shower filter makes sense when it comes to avoiding dullness and enhancing skincare absorption.
It’s best to use a mild exfoliator to help remove mineral build-up and promote cell turnover, but whether you use a chemical exfoliant, like a salicylic shower mist, or a physical one, such as a gritty buffer, both have their benefits and work well with softer, filtered shower water.
Shaving
Calcium and magnesium can react with soap preventing it from lathering, which can lead to your razor pulling the skin and leaving you with razor burn or even nicks and cuts. Your skin may also be less ‘slick’ when showering in hard water, working against the glide of the razor on skin.
The minerals can also damage shaving tools over time as they build up on the blades causing them to clog.
Showering in filtered water means your soap with lather effectively, your skin will be slick, and your tools will be tip top. As always, renew your razor blade often, even when using your showerhead filter, and work with the direction of hair growth, not against it.
Haircare
When it comes to filtering your shower water, the hair can sometimes see the most dramatic transformation.
Chlorine and sulphates in hard unfiltered water strip away natural oils from your hair, leaving it dull and prone to breakage. You’ll have to use more product to achieve a satisfying lather which leaves behind residue on your scalp that can cause dandruff or excess oil.
On top of that, hair colour can be affected as the minerals react with pigments in hair dyes causing them to become more instable and wash out more easily. Blondes can become green-toned or brassy, brunettes will experience texture change and afro hair can become more brittle.
In the short term, using a shower filter like ULA means less product goes further and you come away with smoother, glossier hair. Long term, it promotes a happier scalp, leading to stronger and healthier hair growth and ensures your hair colour stays vibrant for longer.
Specialised treatments
The pleasure of an Everything Shower is making your bathroom feel like a spa session. This is when you can finish off with shower oils or a mist that really boosts your beauty routine.
While humectants like glycerine or hyaluronic acid can seal in moisture, vitamin C can brighten skin and reduce hyperpigmentation. And a shower filter can supercharge the efficacy of these actives meaning your results are even more pleasing than before.