In response to the hard water/soft water issue, I moved to Vancouver in February from Ireland and suddenly developed cystic acne all over my chin. I went to the doctor and he said it was hormonal and I could have it until menopause even though I had never had it as a teenager (26 now).
However I went to San Francisco for a five days and it magically disappeared so I concluded that it must be the water, I was drinking gallons of it to help my skin as well as washing my face with it three times a day. Now I am back in Vancouver and have only been drinking bottled water and trying to use bottled water to wash my face, it's difficult to avoid getting your face wet in the shower though.
It may also have something to do with the hormones in milk though, I also didn't drink any millk for the few days I was in SF so I can't really figure it out. My chin is still way better than it was, but I have had two spots since coming home. Any ideas?
I don't know anything about the mineral content of water being a problem for skin, but maybe. Soaps don't lather up as well when there is a high mineral content. I have a water softner installed and when the brine tank has run out of salt ( brine/salt tank used in the water softening system) I can tell when I shower, soap doesn't work as well. My city has well water supply, well water usually has high mineral content. My moms, one city over, has water supply from river and is much softer water, they don't soften their water. You even use less detergent washing clothes with soft water. My sister place they have their own well...really hard to even get clothes clean, detergent/soap hardly works/lathers up in really hard water.
Early this month I stayed in the province where my grandparents live. They get their water from deep wells. During my stay there my skin became rough and scaly and several pimples emerged. My skin hurt. I am on Isotretinoin so the dryness could be explained by it... But then when I got back home (to the city) the dryness was very much reduced.
I think it has something to do with the water; I just can't fully explain it scientifically. 
Hehehe.
While were on the topic of washing with tap water just wandering, does it actually make a difference if you wash with warm or cold water? because if it does and you were to use bottled water it is more than likely going to be at best room temperature unless of course you stored it in boiler room or cupboard. But would this also be detremental to the water if it were to be stored in a warmer condition?
I think this is a great theory to look into.
I'm wondering, could maybe boiling water before using it help remove impurities? Like say boiling the water and waiting for it to cool down quite a bit before using it? I don't think I'd invest in washing with bottled water...Although buying a filtered shower head sounds like a great idea as well.
I'm in agreement about water affecting acne. when our local waterworks put a new chemical in our water to get rid of the Chlorine taste, I stated breaking out very badly, everywhere. So I decided to wash my face with bottled distilled water and it cleared up. So I went and spent $22 on a shower head filter and walla, body acne problem solved and less irritation on my face. Also clean your shower head monthly by taking a bowl of water with some bleach solution and hold the showerhead in the bowl for a few minutes. Then use a toothbrush to clean it. Gets rid of microorganisms that can grown on your showerhead.
I don't know anything about the mineral content of water being a problem for skin, but maybe. Soaps don't lather up as well when there is a high mineral content. I have a water softner installed and when the brine tank has run out of salt ( brine/salt tank used in the water softening system) I can tell when I shower, soap doesn't work as well. My city has well water supply, well water usually has high mineral content. My moms, one city over, has water supply from river and is much softer water, they don't soften their water. You even use less detergent washing clothes with soft water. My sister place they have their own well...really hard to even get clothes clean, detergent/soap hardly works/lathers up in really hard water.
Just FYI..Don't know if it makes any difference regarding using bottled water...Water with a really high mineral content ie has an almost metalic taste, usually from private wells (city wells usually treat water like that to a certain extent) My aunt would put water in a plastic pitcher and let it sit for a day on counter before drinking (it was almost rust colored, high iron) The metalic tastte would disappear after a day, but boy was that pitcher stained. Somepeople let water sit to let some of the chemicals "evaporate", I used to do this for my house plants that were sensitive to chlorine that is added to city water, it does help.
Ugh. Terrible news for me. As a freshman in college a few months ago I developed acne. I never had it. My skin was beautiful. This was a horrible case too. I really suspected that it was the water, because I hadn't changed anything else (habits, diet, etc). I come home, and it clears up. I've always drank and bathed in well water. I can't NOT take showers at college. To wash my face in bottled water would be so expensive. Do you have any recommendations of what I can possibly do?
Ugh. Terrible news for me. As a freshman in college a few months ago I developed acne. I never had it. My skin was beautiful. This was a horrible case too. I really suspected that it was the water, because I hadn't changed anything else (habits, diet, etc). I come home, and it clears up. I've always drank and bathed in well water. I can't NOT take showers at college. To wash my face in bottled water would be so expensive. Do you have any recommendations of what I can possibly do?
I'm a freshman too, and going sure changed the way my skin was. It started to get better, now there's a million white bumps. Anyways, just buy a gallon tank 3 stage water filter (I prefer Pur to brita) and then dispense the clean water in a bowl and wash in your sink.
Just want to say that I definitely agree with the idea that hard water can irritate skin and cause acne. My aunt lives up in Massachusetts and every time I am at her house my skin begins to peel and my acne goes bonkers! I asked my mother what this was from and she claimed the hard water does it and I agree.
I just recently moved back to my parents house and they use a water softener. My skin has broken out like CRAZY and it was not before. I'm seeing all these replies as to hard water being bad for your skin, but my skin was doing much better when I was using plain old city water. /cry ;P
My hometown has soft water while the city i study in has hard water - so hard that you can taste the difference. I see a difference in my hair (so much nicer with hard water - but then my hair is psycho anyway lol) but not really with my skin. I had acne at home and at uni 
and it didn't start clearing up till i start birth control. Perhaps those ppl who cleared up had an allergic reaction to a mineral? Or maybe 'hard water' is different from US to australia. Wish it was that easy thou 
yes it does have alot to do with the water! At my parents house my skin stays relitively clear, I moved out a couple yrs ago my skin blows up. And I just recently went 2 jail 4 a couple of months...that was the worst, the water there is recycled through the jail system and is extremly hard..and theres only one tempature(scorching hot)
See about getting a water filter
Just wanna bump this any say that I'm pretty sure this is a significant factor in my acne. I've been in four different locations in the past 2 months, for a good amount of time, and noticed that my skin has gotten significantly drier in some just from taking a shower a day and doing my normal regimen..
Washington DC- dry skin, breakouts
New Jersey- Skin not too dry, minor breakouts
England- Skin normal even in freezing cold weather, no acne whatsoever
Barcelona- Very dry skin, bad breakouts
I'm sure that the water quality has something to do with this. As soon as my skin starts getting dry I realize I have breakouts coming on.
