As the cold, biting winds of winter sweep across Ontario, the season brings cozy moments but also undeniable challenges. While many of us brave the intensity of the chill, the frigid temperatures can take a toll on our bodies – especially when it comes to hydration. From dry skin to immune defences put to the test, winter’s harsh drying effects can be felt both externally and internally. But what often goes unnoticed is how the quality of household tap water can contribute to these conditions.
That’s where clean, purified water makes all the difference – helping you combat the seasonal effects from the inside out. In this article, we’ll explore how winter dehydration affects our health and why purified water is essential for thriving through the colder months.
The External Stressor: How Winter’s Cold Affects Skin and Hair
As the body’s most exposed parts, skin and hair are in constant contact with external factors, making them the first to suffer from winter. Cold temperatures, low humidity, strong winds, and indoor heating strip away moisture, impair their structure, leaving them vulnerable to damage.
Skin: Winter’s Drying Bite
Winter air is naturally dry, as cold temperatures reduce relative humidity, leaving less moisture in the environment. This accelerates transepidermal water loss (TEWL) – the evaporation of moisture from the skin. In response, the skin slows cell turnover, causing dead cells to accumulate on the surface and leading to dehydration and a weakened protective barrier.
Beneath the surface, the extracellular matrix – composed of collagen, keratin, and hyaluronic acid – is essential for moisture retention and skin integrity. However, low humidity hinders the regeneration of these compounds, reducing the skin’s ability to replenish itself. At the same time, cold temperatures constrict blood vessels to preserve warmth, limiting oxygen and nutrient delivery to skin cells.
These combined effects can lead to dryness, increased sensitivity, irritation, redness, and peeling, triggering or worsening conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea. Strong winds further aggravate the skin, causing windburn, chapped lips, and cracking.
Indoor heating offers little relief. While providing warmth, it exacerbates dehydration by circulating hot, dry air, pulling even more moisture from the skin. The constant transition between cold outdoor temperatures and heated indoor spaces shocks the skin barrier, forcing it to repeatedly expand and contract, increasing susceptibility to irritation.
Finally, while hot water offers temporary alleviation from the cold, it impairs the skin’s keratin cells, making it more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations and further drying it out.
Hair’s Chill: Brittleness and Scalp Woes
Just like skin, hair reacts strongly to environmental conditions. Cold, dry air lifts the hair cuticle, letting moisture escape. This increases porosity, making hair prone to dryness and breakage. The lack of humidity adds to the issue by preventing the hair shaft from absorbing external moisture, leaving strands dehydrated. Additionally, static electricity builds up in dry conditions, further opening the cuticle and increasing frizz, tangles, and dullness.
Wearing hats, scarves, and headbands adds stress, as friction from coarse fabrics like wool and cotton roughens strands and depletes moisture. Meanwhile, trapped heat and sweat can disrupt the scalp’s natural balance, preventing it from breathing and causing further damage.
Since the scalp is an extension of the skin, it too suffers in winter. Cold weather reduces sebum production, resulting in dryness, irritation, and flaking, which can provoke dandruff. Scalp blood vessel constriction also slows the hair growth cycle and increases seasonal shedding.
Frequent shifts between outdoor cold and indoor heat also stress the hair, amplifying brittleness and split ends, while hot water further alters both the scalp and strands.
The Overlooked Factor: Water Quality
While the winter season makes it particularly difficult to maintain hydrated, healthy skin and strong, resilient hair, another often-overlooked factor compounds these issues year-round: tap water quality. Whether from municipal or well sources, household tap water is often hard, containing high levels of calcium and magnesium. These minerals accumulate, clogging pores, raising cuticles, and absorbing natural oils and moisture – mimicking the drying effects of cold air.
In addition to water hardness, chlorine – commonly used in water treatment – exacerbates the problem, as detailed in our article here. Its irritating properties weaken the skin barrier, contributing to dehydration, inflammation, and long-term damage. Chlorine also dries out and strips lipids from scalp and hair, significantly altering their structure.
Both hard water and chlorine interfere with soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and moisturizers, preventing proper cleansing and neutralizing nourishing compounds like ceramides, thus hindering the replenishment of lost hydration. Even the richest creams and most nutritive hair treatments can’t fully combat the harmful residues left by unfiltered tap water.
Consequently, this hidden aspect of water quality can contribute to dry, red, itchy, and scaly skin, promote chronic dermatitis, and cause an irritated, flaky scalp and damaged hair throughout the year – leaving them vulnerable when they need protection the most.
Defending Skin and Hair from the Cold
With skin and hair already stressed by winter conditions, minimizing additional damage from tap water is crucial. A water purification system can help by removing harsh minerals and chlorine, providing the moisture they need and ensuring that hydration-focused skincare and haircare routines actually deliver their intended benefits.
Hydrating from Within: The Power of Clean Water in Winter
The Unexpected Concern of Cold Weather
As we’ve seen, winter’s main challenge is external dehydration, but internal hydration also takes a significant hit during colder months.
While dehydration is often linked to the heat of summer, winter can be just as, if not more, demanding for maintaining proper hydration within the body. Surprisingly, many people don’t realize they’re not drinking enough water in colder weather, which can take a toll on overall well-being. Indeed, temperature drops naturally reduce thirst signals, lowering water intake. Moreover, indoor heating not only dries out skin and hair but also contributes to internal dehydration. As a result, insufficient water consumption becomes a silent yet prevalent issue.
Dehydration can compromise the body’s biological activity, leading to sluggish metabolism, headaches, and fatigue. Cognitive function may also suffer, making concentration difficult and contributing to mood fluctuations. Additionally, without enough fluids, the body struggles to regulate temperature, further intensifying winter’s discomfort.
A Key to Deep Hydration and Nourishment
This is where clean, purified water comes into play. Unfiltered tap water contains pollutants like chlorine, as mentioned, as well as heavy metals and harmful chemicals. One of the consequences is that contaminated tap water often has an unpleasant taste, which can discourage drinking enough. Purified water, on the other hand, can positively impact water intake by enhancing taste and encouraging proper hydration, especially in a deceptive climate.
Hydration isn’t just about water alone – it extends to food and beverages. Clean water is essential in maintaining the integrity of nutrients in food and drinks, ultimately aiding better absorption of essential vitamins and minerals, maximizing the health benefits of what is consumed. This is particularly crucial in winter when the body works harder to sustain energy and immune defence.
Supporting Whole-Body Health
Indeed, contaminated water can hinder hydration by affecting nutrient uptake and fluid retention. Pollutant-free water supports the body’s optimal balance and function, even in harsh seasonal conditions. Proper inner hydration plays an essential role in vital processes such as digestion, cell activity, and circulation. Moreover, water is crucial for detoxification. In winter, when you may be indoors more often, exposed to dry air and pollutants, drinking clean water helps flush out toxins, cleanse the body, and support its natural detox pathways.
Hydrating from within with purified water helps the body fight off the challenges of winter, boosting immunity, metabolism, and overall vitality, while aiding in core temperature regulation.
Lastly, while external moisturization is key for skin and hair, true nourishment begins from within. Purified water supports skin elasticity and resilience from the inside out, while nourishing hair follicles and inner strands to promote stronger, healthier growth. Proper internal hydration directly influences how your skin and hair withstand winter conditions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, water quality plays a crucial role in combatting winter dehydration and body fatigue. As discussed, contaminants in tap water can interfere with its ability to retain moisture essential for biological functions, while purified water ensures deeper, more beneficial hydration. By counteracting the dehydrating effects of environmental factors and helping to prevent internal imbalances, clean water supports your overall health and well-being inside and out throughout the season and beyond.
To help you face winter adversity and fully enjoy the benefits of high-quality water, Kent Water Purification Systems provides effective solutions, including advanced water filtration systems, water softeners, and other customized options. Ready to make a change? Discover our website, contact us, or book a free water test today. Let’s make this winter a little easier, together!
