A man opened the water tank in his loft last week.
The week before, everything was working perfectly. Clear water. No smell. Nothing wrong.
Inside was rust. A layer of sludge sitting at the bottom.
That is the water he had been washing his hair and his face in every morning.
He had no idea.
This is not really about tanks
Most homes do not have a loft tank any more. But the tank is only the version of the problem you can see.
Two things are in almost everyone's water.
Calcium and magnesium. This is what hard water means. They are dissolved, so you cannot see them. Hard water looks identical to soft water. Over 60% of UK homes have it, worst across London, the South East and East Anglia.
Chlorine. Added on purpose to keep the water safe. Still there when you shower.
Want proof without checking anything? Look inside your kettle. That white crust is the calcium coming out of your water. Now think about where else that water goes.
What it does
On your skin, hard water reacts with soap and leaves a film. Underneath it, your own oils have been stripped away. That tight squeaky feeling after a shower is not clean. It is film on top and nothing underneath.
On your hair, minerals sit on the outside of the strand. Shampoo lathers less. Conditioner sits on top instead of sinking in. Hair feels rougher, so strands drag instead of sliding. Rough hair tangles. Tangled hair gets pulled at with a brush. And that is where it breaks.
That is a coating problem, not a damage problem. Coatings come off.
The check that matters most
Pick up one hair from your brush or the shower floor. Look at the end.
Tiny pale bulb on one end? That came from the root. That is shedding, and it usually points inwards. Iron, thyroid, stress, illness a few months ago, hormones.
No bulb? It snapped. That is breakage, and it points outwards. Friction, heat, brushing wet hair, your water.
They look identical on the floor. They are completely different problems. Most women have never been told this.
About shower filters
I use one and it has made a difference to how my hair and skin feel.
Here is the bit the adverts skip. Most shower filters do not soften your water. They take out chlorine and metals like lead and copper. Calcium and magnesium go straight through. Actual softening needs a whole-house system at a completely different price.
So buy one for the chlorine, which is worth doing, not for the hardness. The exact one I use is at the bottom of this page.
I make no commission on any of this. No affiliate link, nothing. I would rather you spent your money in the right place than spent it with me. Below is my actual shower filter head:
The five things I would actually change
Filter the chlorine. Fits in two minutes, no plumber.
Stop brushing wet hair. This is free and it is the biggest one on this list.
Squeeze, do not rub. A microfibre hair towel instead of a bath towel. Squeeze the water out, never rub. Rubbing roughs the hair up while it is at its most fragile.
Oil before you wash. Oil gets into the hair before the water does and takes up some of that space. Less water in, fewer minerals with it. My father just said oil your hair before you wash it. He was right about the what. This is the why.
Check your iron. Ferritin, vitamin D, and whether you are eating enough protein. Ask your GP for the blood test rather than guessing.
Three of those five cost nothing.
That is what I mean by the 360 approach. It is never one product. And whatever caused a shedding phase happened around three months before you noticed it, so when you start doing things properly you are waiting on that same three months in reverse.
Everything I actually use
You asked, so here it is. All of it, in one place.
The water
Hello Klean shower filter. Screws onto the shower hose by hand in about two minutes, no plumber needed. Chlorine and metals, not hardness. I make no commission on this and there is no affiliate link.
My hair
Strong Roots Hair Oil before I wash, once a week. This is the one my father and I made together. His knowledge, in a bottle and has now won global awards.
Strong Roots Hair Serum daily on the scalp, leave in, no rinsing and not greasy, take it as your daily scalp food.
My skin
Celebrity Glow Face Oil, morning and night. Before moisturiser, not after.
Drying and sleeping
A microfibre hair towel, squeezed not rubbed. I use the Curlsmith one. A silk pillowcase at night. And never brushing my hair when it is soaking wet.
The inside
Ferritin, iron, vitamin D, and enough protein. Ask your GP for the blood test rather than guessing. I am not a doctor and this is the one part I will not tell you what to take.
That is genuinely everything. Three of my own products, two things I make nothing on, and a couple that cost nothing at all.
Consistency is key. It always was.
Parul x
Common questions
Does hard water cause hair loss?
Not from the root. What it does is leave minerals on the outside of the strand, which makes hair rougher and easier to break. Check whether your hairs have a pale bulb on the end. No bulb means breakage, not loss.
Does a shower filter soften water?
Usually not. Most filters remove chlorine and metals, not the calcium and magnesium that make water hard. Softening needs a whole-house system.
How do I know if I am in a hard water area?
Your water company publishes it by postcode. Over 60% of UK homes are on hard water, mostly across the south and east.
Does hard water affect skin?
The evidence here is stronger than for hair. A King's College London study of 1,303 babies found up to 87% higher eczema risk in hard water areas.
Sources: King's College London, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2016. Drinking Water Inspectorate.
