6 Benefits of Washing Hair with Filtered Water

If you’ve been seeing dryness or breakage in your hair, this could be related to the quality of the water in your home. Contaminants like chlorine and excess minerals can be harmful to the integrity and appearance of your hair. However, using a water filter can alleviate these concerns by addressing contaminants before they can damage your strands. In fact, in our 6th Annual Water Quality Survey we learned that 82% of American shower filter users are satisfied with the results the filter provides.

We've also seen a 140% increase in U.S. adults who say they use a shower filter since 2021, which may suggest people are becoming more aware of how important it is to wash with filtered water.

In this article, we'll talk about the damage unfiltered water can do to your hair and the top benefits of washing hair with filtered water.

Most public water systems use chemicals like chlorine to remove contaminants from their water. For those who may not know, chlorine is the chemical they use in pools to kill bacteria. It’s also the reason why your hair feels gross after swimming. While it may help to disinfect your water for drinking purposes, it isn’t good for your hair.

The strong oxidizing properties in chlorine strips the hair shafts of its natural oils and proteins that help keep it healthy. By washing with chlorinated water, you can cause additional breakage and dullness. Hard water can also expose your hair to high levels of mineral deposits, making it harder to manage and style. While you may think using the right products can prevent this, some contaminants can reduce the effects of your shampoo and conditioner, which means you’re washing money down the drain.

Hard water contains excess minerals that can make your hair difficult to manage and style while also damaging it, but the issue can be addressed with a water softener or conditioner. These systems help to remove or neutralize excess minerals such as calcium, iron, and magnesium so water is softer and more gentle on your hair. As a result, softer water puts less stress on your strands and helps make them softer, shinier, and easier to manage. Aquasana's water softeners and our conditioner can be bundled with our Rhino® Whole House Water Filter to address both chlorine and hard water minerals.

Washing your hair with water that's had chlorine filtered from it, and/or water that’s been softened or conditioned, can offer several benefits such as:

Unfiltered water exposes your hair to minerals and chemicals that take away your hair’s natural properties. Chemicals like chlorine use strong oxidation that strips the hair shaft of its protein and oils, leading to breakage. Using a filtered shower head reduces the dryness and breakage caused by chlorine, keeping your hair fuller and thicker.

Contaminants in your water can make hair difficult to manage, resulting in tangles and hassle when styling. By switching to filtered water, you can lessen this struggle without having to invest additional time and money into your routine. Rather than putting money towards more products to help with manageability, consider putting that towards a filter to improve the quality of the water you wash with.

Side effects of chlorine on your hair include a dry and flaky scalp. Exposure to too much chlorine can lead to issues such as chronic dandruff. Mineral buildup on the scalp can also cause excess oil production, which can worsen scalp conditions such as dandruff. If you wash your hair at the end of the day, chlorine will be sitting on your hair and scalp overnight, creating even further damage. Using a shower filter reduces excess buildup and will improve your overall scalp health.

Unfiltered water can also mess with the effectiveness of your hair care products. The buildup of mineral deposits on your hair can prevent your products from penetrating the hair shaft. Chlorine in unfiltered water will also dry out your hair, which means your hair is not getting any additional moisture from your conditioner, you are only getting back what you lost from the chlorine. Using filtered water helps your products to work better and give you the results you’re looking for.