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The 6 Best Shower Heads For Hard Water
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It may be difficult to describe the sensation, but if you've ever showered in hard water, you'll know it. Hard water contains more calcium and magnesium than soft water and it can make it a royal pain to remove shampoo/soap — which is why finding the best shower heads for hard water is especially important.
Because of all of the minerals found in hard water, the effect it can have on your skin is far from pleasant. It takes more effort to rid your skin of soap, which means there's a greater chance that residue will be left behind after your shower. Of course, all of that nasty, scummy soap residue can actually clog your pores and lead to pimples, blackheads, and whiteheads. Who would have thought water could make you breakout?
And there's more. It's entirely possible that the minerals in hard water will strip your skin of its natural oils, leaving it dry and itchy. All of these impurities in the water can also form free radicals that can add to skin damage. All this from taking a shower — say it ain't so!
So, now that we have all of the sad facts about hard water and our skin, here's what we can do about it: purchase a water softener for the home and/or — a much cheaper, and more immediately gratifying solution: install one of these amazing shower heads that filters out minerals and impurities in hard water.
1A Shower Head With Five Spray Settings
— Also available at Home Depot, $44, and Walmart, $39
This best-selling massage shower head offers five spray settings and successfully filters out sulfur, chlorine, and scale for a total of 10,000 gallons of water or roughly six months before the filter will need to be replaced. It even has a patented filter media bacteriostatic that controls the passing of bacteria in your water (which can make you rest easier while you're enjoying a long, luxurious hot shower). This is a highly rated pick with a 4.4-star rating and more than 5,000 reviews on Amazon.
According to one reviewer: “I am so glad I bought this for my shower as I have well water and it was destroying my hair. I've spent thousands on my hair only to have well water destroy it and this has saved my hair and skin. I have only been using it a few days but I am in love. My skin is soft my hair is softer.”
2A Multi-Layered Filtered Pick With Colorful Stones
The stones in this filter handheld shower head don't just look interesting — they actually work to help reduce chlorine and other chemicals from drying out your skin and hair. It comes with three spray settings that include rainfall, massage, and jetting and can save water by up to 30%. This pick is incredibly popular, with more than 21,000 reviews on Amazon.
According to one reviewer: “Love this shower head. The size is just right. I live in an extremely dry climate and the water is hard and hard on your skin. Noticed a huge difference after the 2nd shower. Skin wasn't flaking and didn't itch. The side button gives you 3 different water pressures easy to change while the water is on. Took less than 5 minutes to install. Couldn't imagine anything any better than this.”
3The Filtered Shower Head That Focuses On Chlorine
If chlorine is your specific concern, this filtered shower head removes 80 to 90% of chlorine and other dissolved solids that include lead. It has three spray settings and, thanks to its Micro-Hole Technology, will enhance your water pressure so that you may actually end up saving money on your water bill. Your skin and hair will look and feel softer and your wallet will be fatter — cheers to that. It offers three spray modes: massage, rain, and combo.
According to one reviewer: “We just recently bought our new condo and the water in NH is hard, mineral-rich to begin with and where we live now, it is also heavily chlorinated. We could smell it and we both were experiencing itchy, dry skin and scalp. I started looking for water filters to put on our shower heads and read all the reviews about this brand. I thought, why not? This is a DEAL! They work great, were easy to install, and have made a HUGE difference in the quality of the water in the showers. The water is soft, odor-free, and no more itching!”
4A Shower Filter System That Uses Coconut Shells
— Also available at Walmart, $122.00
This shower filter system with adjustable shower head easily attaches to your shower pipe and uses natural coconut shell and patented copper/zinc media to filter out over 90% of chlorine and other synthetic chemicals from shower water. It produces 2.5 gallons per minute of filtered water and only needs to be changed twice a year. It has multiple massage settings and has earned more than 2,000 reviews.
According to one reviewer: “This shower filter is an essential part of your home if you have hard water and [are] on a budget. I was a little skeptical about its performance I purchased it in May and this is August you can see and feel the difference in your shower water within a few months.”
5The Shower Head With Aroma And Vitamin C Filters
Not only does this filtered shower head remove impurities from water like chlorine, chloramine, and sediments, but it gives back in a big way with features such as a vitamin C cartridge that includes tourmaline balls to help improve the condition of hair, skin, and nails. It even comes with three aroma filter cartridges in lavender, jasmine, and rose to give off a soothing scent and make your shower seem more like a spa. The high-pressure handheld shower head is made from stainless steel and plastic and comes with a 60-foot hose.
According to one reviewer: “I have terrible well water. It seems no matter what we do it remains hard with harsh minerals in it. Smelling like eggs. I used to hate taking a shower because I wouldn’t feel the cleanest after. I also have blonde hair that was turning orange/yellow. I have coarse curly hair so the water I felt [ruined] it. Now my hair is soft, skin is clean, and I feel so clean after! I want to shower all of the time! My hair is going back to a lighter shade. My skin looks better.”
6A Rainfall Shower Head With 15 Filtration Stages
This filtered shower head stands out among the rest because of its luxurious six-inch rainfall head in rust-resistant stainless steel, which consists of 60 silicone nozzles so you can be sure it delivers a pleasurable spa-like shower experience. But it doesn’t cut corners when it comes to filtration, either. The pick comes with a replaceable filter cartridge that reduces minerals and sediments in water and its swivel ball connector easily allows you to adjust it to any angle. It comes in chrome or black and has a high 4.6-star rating.
According to one reviewer: “Wooooow. I've only had this for a few days but what a difference in my skin and hair! I live in Florida in an apartment and the water is EXTREMELY HARD! My hair is completely dry and brittle. I felt helpless until I did research. Came across this beauty and I love it!! My skin feels soft again my hair is looking healthy and pretty again!! Will definitely be ordering again when it is time.”
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