Many people focus on skincare products without thinking about the water they shower in. If you live in a city, your tap water is almost certainly treated with a disinfectant, usually chlorine or chloramine. That treatment keeps water safe to drink, but in the shower, many people notice the smell and find it leaves their skin and hair feeling dry.
A shower filter is a simple way to reduce that disinfectant before it reaches you. Here is what it can and cannot do.
What a shower filter can do
Carbon filters reduce free chlorine as water flows through the cartridge. The AquaYouth 2.0 Carbon Shower Filter uses a filtration system manufactured by UBS Inc., listed under NSF/ANSI 177 for free available chlorine reduction. In independent lab testing it reduced chlorine by 99%, and it also reduced iron (100%), mercury (100%), lead (63%), and copper (33%).
Vitamin C filters neutralize both chlorine and chloramine. Chloramine is more stable than chlorine and harder for a fast-flowing filter to remove, so if your city uses it, Vitamin C is usually the better choice.
Either way, most people notice the shower smells less like a pool, and many say their skin and hair feel less dry afterward.
What a shower filter cannot do
- It is not a treatment for eczema, acne, or any other skin condition.
- It does not soften hard water or remove calcium and magnesium.
- It does not remove “all chemicals”. No shower filter does.
We would rather tell you this up front than overpromise.
How to choose
Start with what your city uses to treat its water. Your utility’s annual water quality report will say chlorine or chloramine. Or take our quiz, which takes under a minute.