Soft Water vs Hard Water
Most people routinely wash with hard water, and while this isn’t necessarily a prime cause of skin blemishes, the benefits of soft water are clear when it comes to skin care.
Hard water differs from soft water in that it contains dissolved chalk, lime and other minerals. Water from underground sources tends to be especially hard, while water not exposed to minerals (such as rain water) is soft. How hard your water is depends on your water supply - whether it originates from an underground well or a river or lake, etc. Note that some commercial water-softening treatments are not the same as naturally soft water, since they merely replace the minerals calcium and magnesium with sodium.
Soft water lathers much better than hard water, and rinses clean without leaving a residue. Most people don’t consider the residue left from the minerals in hard water, but this is why those unsightly white blotches build up on places such as your sink or shower head. When hard water evaporates, your skin is left with some residue from those minerals just like your sink. The buildup of these minerals can clog pipes in your home, so it’s not hard to see how they can contribute to clogged pores. Besides this, there is also the residue left from most kinds of soap. The effect of “soap scum” can hurt the appearance of your skin, not just your sink and shower, so it helps that soft water is more effective at washing it clean (this is thought to help dry skin conditions, such as eczema). Lastly, the minerals in hard water can also upset the pH balance of your skin, making your skin more prone to rashes and other blemishes.
