Filtered Beauty: Why Your Shower Water Could Be Sabotaging Your Skin
Your skin isn’t just reacting to what you put on it—it’s also responding to what you rinse it with. And if you’ve never thought about filtering your shower water? Baby, it might be time.
Because while you’re lathering up with your favorite clean beauty products… your water could be loading your skin with chlorine, heavy metals, and skin-stripping chemicals.
Let’s talk about why a shower filter might be the actual skincare investment you didn’t know you needed.
💧 What’s Really in Your Shower Water?
Municipal water is treated with chlorine, ammonia, and sometimes chloramine to kill bacteria—which is great for your pipes, but not so great for your skin barrier, hair health, or hormones.
Many showerheads release trace levels of:
Chlorine → Linked to skin dryness, irritation, and accelerated aging
Heavy metals → Can disrupt cellular function and accumulate in tissue
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) → Vaporize in steam and get inhaled
Microplastics → Found in up to 94% of US tap water (yep, for real)
Source: Environmental Working Group | National Library of Medicine on Chlorine Exposure & Skin
😳 The Chlorine-Skin Connection
Chlorine strips your skin’s natural oils, damages your microbiome, and accelerates transepidermal water loss.
A 2014 study published in Toxicology and Industrial Health found that chlorine exposure disrupted skin barrier function and worsened symptoms of eczema and acne.
And no, this isn’t just about face care. Your whole body is absorbing it.
💭 But Wait—What About Your Products?
Even if your water is filtered, your shower products might still be working against your skin.
Some “clean” or “green” body washes, shampoos, and scrubs still include synthetic fragrance, sulfates, and preservatives that irritate your skin and mess with your hormones. That’s greenwashing—when something looks clean on the label but isn’t on the inside.
If a brand isn’t fully transparent about their ingredients? That’s a no for me. Once you learn how to spot green washing—you can’t unsee it. And honestly? You shouldn’t have to.
Filtered water is a huge part of the fix. But so is filtering what you believe is clean.
🚿 So What’s a Glow Girl To Do?
✨ Filter. That. Shower.
I personally use and recommend Filterbaby—they’re the gold standard when it comes to sleek, high-performance filters that actually work. Their shower filters use a triple filtration system (KDF-55, calcium sulfite, and activated carbon) to reduce chlorine, heavy metals, and more.
💡 My glow-safe pick: Shop Filterbaby Filters → (USe discount code: Ema at the checkout for $10 off. Valid on starter kit purchases (excluding pre-order products.)
🔗 More Ways to Level Up Your Bathroom Ritual
If you're serious about holistic beauty, your shower is just the start.
Check out these posts to detox your space from the inside out:
one of the biggest swaps I made wasn’t even a product—it was this → Clean Beauty Swaps
✨ Final Thoughts
Your skin is your largest organ. And every time you step into the shower, you’re giving it either a healing rinse—or a chemical bath.
Filtering your water isn’t a luxury—it’s skincare.
And in a world full of hormone disruptors, VOCs, and inflammatory overload… it’s one of the most powerful beauty upgrades you can make.
Protect your glow. Filter your flow.
With clean water and even cleaner skin,
Ema
PS:
The bathroom wasn’t the only room I detoxed—my bedroom got a full glow-up too → Low-Tox Bedroom
and btw, This is what I mean when I say ‘beauty from within and around’ → Holistic Beauty
