Hard Water Causing Acne?

I am serving as an intern in Washington State and where I am has very very hard water. I have noticed my skin is breaking terribly! It hasn't been this bad since I was a kid. Grrr. A lot of it is small red bumps and mostly on my lower cheeks and below the jawline. For this internship I am outside a lot and sweat a lot but I used to workout at home before coming here so I don't think it has anything to do with sweating. I know the water here has a lot of minerals in it and I am wondering if mineral residue is building up on my skin. I wonder if there is a toner to get rid of the residue? I have had the same breakouts on my chest and a little on my arms. It is driving me nuts plus I look terrible!!! I normally wear Bare Escentuals and have been since April but I don't use makeup when I am on duty. Any suggestions??

Wow, never thought about all the minerals in hard water causing breakouts...I wonder if you used a Ph balancing cleanser if that would help and some distilled water to rinse...re: the other..they might have some filters that you could use on the faucet heads...

It could be. Since the water is rough it could be vexing the skin and make it act distressed. For your face, Id say buy a water filter that comes with a pitcher. That way you could wash your face properly. When taking a shower, you could also get a filter faucet like Kae mentioned. I hope all goes well!

oh, god, i feel you. i just moved from NYC where the water was freakin' hard and i'm still recovering! i broke out on my body and face. nothing worked for me, but i hope something works for you!

my mom always said water in different parts of the country makes a difference in your skin and i never believed her ... hmm .. shows how much i know

i didn't believe that either..how strange. the only thing i can suggest is maybe a water filter. that might be helpful. eventually your skin will adjust.

Hard water definately makes a difference. I have broken out way more and one reason is that our water here has gotten more hard.

what is hard water ? water from the faucet w/o boiling it first or useing a purifyer ?

A high content of Minerals in the water is what makes it hard. Soap/cleansers don't work near as well in hard water and they won't rinse off completely, probably why you all broke out. Maybe try cetaphil cleanser with no water, just rub it around and wipe it off. It's horrible on your hair, your clothes will begin to look dingy and the bath tub/toilet is hard to keep clean. HATE hard water! Go see the Culligan man!

I believe it does too - I live in West Texas and our water is terrible...I went to Bothell and the have soft water and my face seriously cleared up after the week I was there - I was so pumped about that! Now I wanna move there HAHA!

But now that I am using everday minerals - my face has improved SO much, so maybe I won't have to!

Hmm...that's very interesting! I'm not sure about my water because it's filtered, but that is very interesting!

The house that I originally was staying in and do still a couple times a week has hard water but it is the town water and chlorinated so it isn't that bad. I met a guy here and I have been staying with him a lot and it is his water that is super hard. I noticed how much my skin was breaking out after I started staying with him and taking showers there. It is extremely hard! He doesn't have a water softener but he has said that he will get one. I will be going back to NY in 5 weeks so I am not sure if he will get one before then. I wish he would but it isn't my place to push the issue in my opinion. I plan on coming back out to see him so hopefully by then he will have fixed the problem. Right now I am using spring water from the store to wash my face in instead of in the shower. It is a pain in the butt really but this water is killing my face. My chest is still breaking out but there is nothing else I can do right now. It is going to take awhile for my face to even heal up...bleh!

I believe this too. I live in LA and we have really HARD water, but when I went to New Orleans and Florida last year, my skin was sooo pretty. Hmmm, then again, maybe it was the humidity...

I think I might have that problem too. :x