Many people experience itching, dry skin, or hives on their skin after showering.
These ailments can have various causes, but water often plays an important role.
To eliminate itching or skin irritation after a shower*, you can use lotions and other cosmetic products.
However, this only helps to combat the symptoms.
However, it is important to find out the cause of the symptoms.
These can be of different nature.
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The number 1 cause of red spots on the skin after a shower: water that is too hard
One cause of skin problems after a shower can be hard water.
But what exactly is hard water?
One speaks of hard water when it contains a lot of calcium and magnesium.
The consequences of hard water are not only skin problems but also lime stains in the shower and bath or calcified taps.
Water hardness is measured in
millimoles of calcium carbonate per liter.
Specifically, the hardness of water is divided into:
Soft: less than 1.5 millimoles of calcium carbonate per liter
Medium: 1.5 - 2.5 millimoles
Hard: over 2.5 millimoles
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The red spots on the skin can be caused by the fact that hard water is less effective at rinsing soap off the skin's surface because it contains calcium and magnesium.
This removes the natural film of oil from the skin, leaving it dry and chapped.
Hard water also dries out the pores in the skin.
Itching occurs.
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Anyone who often suffers from itchy spots after showering should, for example, make it shorter or less hot in the future.
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If you want to get a grip on skin problems caused by water that is too hard, you can install a water softener.
This removes the hard minerals calcium and magnesium and replaces them with sodium ions.
This softens the water and makes it easier to remove soap.
Residues then have less chance of settling on the skin and causing skin problems.
If this variant is too expensive for you, you should take a correspondingly longer time showering and washing off soap or shower gel.
Cause number 2 for red spots on skin after shower: too much water
Too much water simply means: you shower too long.
Even if you expose your skin to water for too long – and too often in a row – your skin can also dry out.
So pay attention to balanced shower times and turn off the water while you lather yourself or shampoo your hair, also in the sense of water-saving measures.
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Cause number 3 for red spots on the skin after a shower: water that is too hot
With this cause, too, the natural oil film on the skin comes into play.
Hot water can wash this film off the skin and dry it out, as reported by Apotheken Umschau.
If you take a hot shower for a long period of time, you will experience severe itching and redness on your forearms, lower legs and face.
In this case, the cause of the itching is dry skin.
Avoid showering too hot and moisturize your body after showering with a pH-neutral moisturizing lotion.
This article does not replace a visit to the doctor. If you have any problems, please contact your family doctor or a dermatologist.
(sca) *Merkur.de and 24vita.de are offered by IPPEN.MEDIA.
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