Is Hard Water Ruining Your Acne Treatment Results?

Hard water is all over the news at the moment - and with good reason, as around 60% of the UK supply is hard water (water that contains high levels of dissolved minerals such as calcium and magnesium, picked up as it runs through limestone, chalk or gypsum deposits). This means it causes scale build-up in appliances, reduces the amount of lather you can work up in the shower or on dishes and is a nightmare to clean off surfaces as it tends to develop a scum.

Until now, it has rarely been discussed in terms of skincare but it can certainly interfere with how well your topical acne treatments perform. It doesn't render them completely useless but it can significantly reduce their effectiveness.

Creating a barrier on the skin

From a dermatological perspective, the minerals in hard water don’t just sit on the skin. They bind with cleansers to leave behind a residue. This creates a thin film over the skin’s surface, which can clog pores and disrupt the skin barrier. If you’re applying an acne treatment on top of that, whether it’s benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, or a retinoid, it’s essentially trying to penetrate through that additional layer which makes it much harder and unsurprisingly, less effective.

Why skin feels tighter

Hard water can also make skin feel tighter and drier after cleansing, which often leads people to either overwash or pile on heavier moisturisers to compensate. Both of those reactions can work against acne treatments either by stripping the skin further and increasing sensitivity, or by creating a thicker barrier that again limits absorption.

The problem with cleansers

Another issue is how hard water interacts with cleansers themselves. Many face washes don’t rinse off properly in hard water areas, meaning you’re never able to achieve a totally clean skin surface. If cleansing isn’t effective, then serums, treatments and moisturisers are also compromised.