Is hard water bad for your skin and hair in Las Vegas?

Las Vegas water and your skin: what’s actually different

Valley water carries about 16 grains per gallon of hardness, mostly calcium and magnesium. Those minerals react with soap and many shampoos, which is why lather is thin and a film is left behind on glass, tile and, possibly, skin. Our page on Las Vegas hard water problems covers what that film does around the house, and what’s in Las Vegas tap water lists the other minerals.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority lists an improved “feel” of water on the skin when bathing among the advantages of a softener. It also says softening “is not a necessity to protect your health”.

What the research shows about hard water and skin

Two studies come up again and again. They point in different directions, and they asked different questions.

The softener trial in children with eczema (2011)

The Softened Water Eczema Trial, led from the University of Nottingham and published in PLoS Medicine in February 2011, is the best test so far of whether a home softener helps. It enrolled 336 children aged six months to 16 years with moderate to severe eczema, all living in hard water areas of the UK, and gave half of them an ion exchange water softener on top of their usual care for 12 weeks.

Both groups improved by a similar amount, and the difference in eczema severity between them was not significant. The authors concluded that “water softeners provided no additional benefit to usual care in this study population”. The trial was paid for by the UK’s National Institute for Health Research; water industry bodies supplied the softeners, salt and water testing, and the paper says the funders had no role in its design or analysis.

The skin barrier study (King’s College London and Sheffield, 2017)

In September 2017, King’s College London announced a study, run with the University of Sheffield and published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology (issue dated January 2018), with the headline that hard water damages the skin barrier. The researchers washed small patches of skin in 80 people, some healthy and some with eczema, in hard or softened water. Skin washed in hard water held on to more of a common detergent, sodium lauryl sulfate, which increased water loss through the skin and irritation, most in people with eczema who carry changes in the filaggrin gene. Softening the water by ion exchange reduced those effects.

This study was funded by Harvey Water Softeners, a company that sells softeners, which also supplied the softeners and water samples. The authors themselves wrote that “an intervention study is required to test this hypothesis”, meaning a trial in real homes, like the one above, is what would settle it.

Putting the two together

A lab can show hard water leaving more soap on the skin. A home trial found that putting in a softener did not make children’s eczema clinically better. Neither shows that hard water causes eczema or dry skin in healthy adults.

What does hard water do to your hair?

Again, two small studies, both on cut hair in a lab, disagree:

• No effect (2013). One team soaked hair from 15 women in hard or distilled water for 10 minutes on alternate days for 30 days. Published in the International Journal of Trichology, they found no significant difference in the hair’s strength or elasticity, and concluded that hardness “does not interfere” with either.
• Weaker hair (2018). A team in Pakistan soaked hair from 70 men for three months, in the same journal. Hair kept in hard water broke at a lower force than hair in deionised water or untreated hair, and the authors concluded hard water “decreases strength of hair and thus increases breakage”. They noted that results might differ in women and at other hardness levels.

Neither measured hair loss, shine or how hair feels, and neither tested people washing at home.

Can hard water cause hair loss?

We found no study that tested it. The American Academy of Dermatology’s list of 18 causes of hair loss covers genes, age, stress, hairstyles, medicines, thyroid disease, low iron and more, but not water hardness. Hair that is thinning or falling out has a cause worth finding, so see a doctor or dermatologist rather than changing the water first.

Can hard water cause acne?

We looked for a study that tested water hardness against acne and didn’t find one. What’s online is mostly water treatment sellers’ blog posts and quoted opinion. With no good evidence either way, we can’t tell you hard water causes acne, or that softening helps it.

What helps dry skin and hair on hard water

The American Academy of Dermatology’s tips for dry skin (updated January 2026) work whatever your water:

• Keep showers and baths to 5 to 10 minutes, in warm rather than hot water.
• Use a gentle cleanser, and only enough to remove dirt and oil, not a thick lather.
• Pat skin dry, then put on a fragrance-free moisturiser while it is still damp.
• Run a humidifier in the bedroom while you sleep, and clean it often.

If you want softer water anyway, a salt-based softener removes the hardness; a salt-free system does not, because the minerals stay in the water. Shower filters vary: most carbon filters don’t remove hardness, as our Las Vegas water filtration options explain.

Ask your doctor

Eczema, a rash that won’t settle, or hair falling out are medical questions. A doctor or dermatologist can look for the cause and treat it. A water softener may make water feel nicer, but the best trial found it did not treat eczema, and we found no evidence it treats acne or hair loss.

Sources for this page

• Las Vegas Valley Water District · water quality summary · 2026 (2025 data) · 16 grains per gallon.
• Southern Nevada Water Authority · home treatment systems page · undated (checked October 2026) · “feel” of water as an advantage; softening not needed for health.
• University of Nottingham · randomised trial of ion exchange softeners for eczema in children, published in PLoS Medicine · 2011 · 336 children, no additional benefit; funding.
• King’s College London and the University of Sheffield · news release (2017) and study in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2018) · hard water, detergent residue and the skin barrier in 80 people; funded by Harvey Water Softeners; intervention study needed.
• International Journal of Trichology · two lab studies of hair soaked in hard water · 2013 and 2018 · no change in strength; lower strength.
• American Academy of Dermatology · dry skin tips (updated 2026) and causes of hair loss (undated, checked October 2026) · what helps dry skin; hard water not among the causes listed.