Is it good to wash your face with hard water?

The water quality in each region is different due to the different environments and climates. Some regions have relatively soft water, while others have hard water. If people drink water that is too hard, it will be very bad for the body. Water that is too hard is generally not easy to remove dirt, so people will feel that their faces are not clean after washing their faces with hard water. Let's take a look at whether it is good to wash your face with hard water?

It is better to wash your face with soft water because soft water does not contain calcium and magnesium ions, has strong cleaning ability, can protect the skin from external stimulation, and can prevent water loss.

The difference between hard water and soft water:

Medically, daily water is divided into two types: "hard water" and "soft water". The so-called hard water is water containing minerals, mainly calcium salts, magnesium salts, etc. The more calcium and magnesium salts the water contains, the harder the water is. Water that is too hard cannot remove dirt. When washing your face with hard water, calcium salts, magnesium salts and soap interact with each other to form water-insoluble calcium-magnesium soap, which is like a gelatinous, sticky substance that adheres to the face and is difficult to remove. In this way, the original dirt on the skin is not washed away, and new dirt is added. The sticky substances formed by these dirt and calcium-magnesium soaps clog the openings of the skin glands, which not only blocks the skin's excretion channels, forming embolism and irritating the skin, but also affects the skin's normal metabolism, causing the skin to shrink and age prematurely.

Therefore, when washing our face, we should pay attention to choosing soft water with low hardness. In nature, well water and spring water have the greatest hardness, lake water and river water have medium hardness, and rainwater, snow water and distilled water have the smallest hardness, so it is better to wash your face with the latter three types of water. If you only have hard water, don't worry. You can boil raw water for 1 hour and then clarify it, or dissolve half a cup of milk (a pinch of salt will also work) in one liter of water to soften the hard water.

The dangers of washing your face with hard water:

1. Hard water can irritate your skin and cause dryness

2. Hard water can cause acne because the impurities or minerals in hard water will react with the natural oils or creams in your skin, causing the oils or creams to change from an oily state to a solid waxy state, thereby blocking your pores and causing acne, blackheads, etc.

Ways to avoid hard water damaging your skin:

1. Install a water purifier. You can also install a filter on the shower or faucet.

2. Using toner after washing your face every time can effectively remove residual impurities. Try not to use alcohol-containing toner unless your skin is particularly oily.

3. Washing your face with bottled purified water is wasteful and not environmentally friendly.