Why Filter Your Shower Water?
Shower filters protect your health and the health of your hair and can actually keep you from losing hair. They remove Chlorine from the water and the steam that envelops your body each time you take a shower. They soften the water to reduce soap scum and hard water deposits. They also reduce rust and other oxidized minerals in your shower water. Chlorine, soap scum, hard water and oxidized minerals are all hard on the hair that we have, and can damage the scalp and clog the pores of our present hair and inhibit new hair growth. The better question is “Why Wouldn’t we filter our Shower Water?”
How is Chlorine Harmful?
We take in up to 10 times more chlorine and other chemicals from showering than from drinking water, and the American Journal Of Public Health has documented a link between chlorine and breast, colon and bladder cancer, and has listed showering as a major percentage of this harmful exposure. When chlorine vaporizes, it combines with other airborne particles in your shower to form a chloroform gas which can be a contributor to asthma and other respiratory problems.
The U.S. EPA confirms that due to chlorine in our shower water, there is an elevated level of chloroform gas in almost every home in America today. That statistic alone is frightening. Losing hair is just one of the results of harmful chlorine we can see. It appears that it is just part of the array of health issues we face from our environment on a daily basis.
Filtered Water is Softer on Hair and Skin
More noticeable than health hazards, are the cosmetic benefits of using a shower filter. By removing the chemicals from your shower water, you notice softer skin and hair right away. Swimming in a chlorinated pool or using a chlorinated Jacuzzi or hot tub noticeably leaves your skin drier, causing flaky and itchy skin and sometimes rashes. Showering in filtered water is less drying and allows both skin and hair to retain moisture longer, which gives it a younger and healthier look and feel. In a warm shower the pores of the skin and scalp open allowing rapid absorption of chemicals including chlorine that are in the water and the surrounding vapor. Chlorine and some other harmful chemicals vaporize at a lower temperature than water and at a faster rate, so the steam that we breathe in and absorb through our skin while showering has highly concentrated levels of chlorine. Filtered shower water balances the water’s pH and keeps the harsh chemicals away from our skin and scalp, not to mention lungs, leaving skin, scalp and hair softer to the touch, and us all breathing easier! It keeps us from losing hair through drying, breakage and clogging of hair follicles.
How do Shower Filters Work?
There are 4 types of filtration methods used in shower filters. The most efficient at filtering warmer temperature water such as shower water is known as KDF (Kinetic Degradation Fluxion). KDF is a high purity copper-zinc alloy that creates a tiny electrical charge when water flows through it. This electrical charge forces free chlorine to combine with minerals in the water (calcium or other alkaline minerals) to form a harmless chloride (a chlelatable body salt). KDF also removes lead, iron and hydrogen sulfide, and inhibits the growth of bacteria, algae and fungi.
Carbon physically removes impurities from water because its surface is porous and “sticky” to the minerals that pass over it. The carbon used in shower filters must be of a high quality due to the warm water temperature.
Chlorgon is a chemical which is best combined with the KDF method as it also converts free chlorine and some combined chlorine molecules into the harmless chlorides mentioned above.
Crystals and magnets soften water by breaking up clusters of water molecules thereby reducing their size, making the water feel softer and allowing soap and shampoo to foam up more.
How do I Choose the Correct Filter?
Shower filters come in all shapes, sizes and cost levels. Some need to be replaced every 6-8 months, while others have removable filter canisters that reduce the cost and are easier to do than replacing the whole filter itself. KDF is the standard for an efficient filter, but if it is combined with other filter media it may be more effective. Shower filters alone are a great investment, but the correct shampoos, conditioners, skin products and nutrition all help to make a healthier body all around. We should use an entire system of products and health regimes to address the aging effects created by our environment. Dry skin and losing hair can be a thing of the past!
