Winter Weather, Hard Water and Dry Skin

Winter is fast approaching; temperatures have dropped, Christmas songs are playing in the shops throughout the day (let’s spare a thought for the retail workforce, this season) and we’ve all had to get our big coat out of the wardrobe. 

 

Many of us will also have noticed another seasonal visitor...dry skin! 

 

Cold weather can be quite unkind to skin. There is less moisture in cold air – in higher temperatures, water will evaporate more quickly and the air will hold more water vapour. This can make skin feel dry when we’re out and about, and then when we’re at home, we’ll put the heating on. 

 

Lower air temperatures affect humidity levels indoors as well as outside, but introducing heat from a heating system or fireplace doesn’t reintroduce this moisture, but rather creates dry heat, which can make moisture dissipate even more. 

Hard water is tough on skin all year round, and when combined with the cold weather, your skin is going to have a much harder time in winter. 

 

In our last entry in “Paws for Thought”, we explained about hard water and its relationship with soap products. The minerals in hard water react with the surfactants in soaps and cleaning products – these compounds are designed to make soap lather, but hard water has other plans for them; a lot of the surfactant molecules are too busy reacting with the minerals in hard water, forming soap scum, which clogs pores and reduces your skin’s ability to release natural oils, which protect it and help keep it hydrated. Chlorine also has its party to play in stripping the natural oils from skin. 

Whilst coming home to a nice hot shower or a relaxing soak in the bath is certainly a comfort in these colder months, it means that, if you live in a hard water area, your already-dry skin is also contending with hard water and chlorine, after having been exposed to the cold air, so it’s no wonder that winter has us reaching for moisturisers and lip balms! 

 

Here at the Pure Water People, we can soften the water in your home, so that everything that your water touches is protected from the damaging effects of hard water. This includes the water that you are bathing and showering with, so that you have luxuriously soft water to protect your skin and keep it hydrated, in winter and throughout the rest of the year too! We can also remove chemicals, such as chlorine, so we really do go the extra mile to treat your water – to find out how our water treatment process works, book a free survey today!